Category Archives: infrastructure

Parking in Caracas is getting harder

Posted on May 23, 2013 by

Almost a year ago, I wrote a post about the ordeal that drivers in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities face every day just to find an available parking spot. Well, at least 40,000 parking spaces in Caracas have been lost … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Society | 47 Comments

Double dose of crazy

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

As many of you, I watched Nicolás Maduro’s speech last night in awe. Not only was it a rambling, incoherent mess; it also made clear what everyone seems to be catching on to – that Maduro is insane. For me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Crisis, infrastructure, Nicolas Maduro | 26 Comments

When cement becomes a privilege

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

A friend of the family who works in construction tells me about the ordeal he has to go through lately to get a few bags of cement. “Sometimes, I get a phone call from an associate who tells me to … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, The Economy | 18 Comments

G.M.V.V. Chronicles, cont.

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

For the residents of a couple of recently-opened housing development in Caracas, their brand new homes are no longer bringing them joy, but really big headaches. One, in El Morro (Petare), was apparently built over a geological fault line, which … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Nicolas Maduro, Society | 10 Comments

I’ll see you in health!

Posted on March 3, 2013 by

A fortnight ago, one major public hospital of Western Caracas (the Periférico de Coche) was close to shutting down. Doctors and patients staged a loud protest from both inside and outside the hospital. 24 hours later, Nicolás Maduro himself made a … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Society | 6 Comments

Margarita’s “Torre de David”

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

The “Torre de David” highrise in Caracas got a lot of attention recently thanks in part to John Lee Anderson’s great article in the New Yorker, to the point that its residents have suspended all outside visits. But it’s not the … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Society | 4 Comments

Amuay = devaluation?

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

Today marks the six-month “anniversary” of the explosion in the Amuay Refining Complex. Aside from being a massive tragedy, Amuay could have also been responsible for the devaluation of the bolivar. These two events might seem to be unrelated at … Continue reading →

Posted in infrastructure, Oil, Politics, The Economy | 24 Comments

G.M.V.V. Chronicles, ctd.

Posted on February 22, 2013 by

A fire broke out last week in the improvised shelter for displaced people located in La Rinconada, Caracas’s racetrack. After the fire was put out, the shelter spent two days without any electricity. Many families are still living in the … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Misiones, Society | Leave a comment

Finding a cure for pessimism in Rio’s favelas

Posted on January 26, 2013 by

(A Spanish version of this post appears in Prodavinci) The New Yorker published a shattering article this week by Jon Lee Anderson, about Caracas’ slow, brutal decadence. The city Anderson paints, seen through his foreign eyes, is known by all … Continue reading →

Posted in infrastructure | 79 Comments

G.M.V.V. Chronicles

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

Last month, after two years of waiting in shelters, 96 displaced families were given the keys of their brand new apartments in a new tower built in Western Caracas, as part of the Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela program. What could … Continue reading →

Posted in infrastructure, Misiones, Society | 36 Comments

Caracas’ Metro is 30 years old

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

I was two years old when the Caracas subway opened to the public. My first time using it was in 1987. It was a unique experience, like I was on another place different from the country where I live. Even … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Venezuelan Culture | 3 Comments

Zero hour for public transportation

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Right now, public transportation buses in Barquisimeto (called the rutas) has the words hora 0 (zero hour) written in all their side windows. Those words indicate the possibility of a strike. The reasons behind it vary: from the lack of … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Labor Movement, Society | 4 Comments

The chavista who stole Christmas

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

The Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela housing program was drastically reduced right after the October 7th election. Understandably, both its workers and those waiting for new homes are not happy with the sudden slow-down. To try to solve this issue as … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Society, The Economy | 13 Comments

Blowing smoke

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

Today there was (is?) a fire in the International Hall of Venezuela’s main international airport. What does State media say? It quotes the head of the airport saying everything is working normally. The Minister for Air and Water Transportation (yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in infrastructure | 12 Comments

New planes for Conviasa, junk for the rest

Posted on November 13, 2012 by

Venezuelan flag carrier Conviasa has started to recieve the first group of the twenty Embraer E-190 aircraft it bought in late 2011 to Brazil. The state airline, which was already in an urgent need of renewing its fleet and looking … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, International, Society, The Economy | 5 Comments