Formalizing a Rogue Economy in a Rogue State
The ANC is looking to modify the VAT law to tax transactions in dollars. What does this mean?
Economy
Digging Under Rock Bottom
When Hugo Chávez spoke of finally diversifying the Venezuelan economy, nobody, least of all himself, could have guessed how it’d come true. This is what happens when you pummel domestic production.
The Five-Year-Transformation of the National Assembly
2020 might be the stage for new parliamentary elections in which chavismo expects to revert the effects of MUD’s 2015 victory. In the meanwhile, harassment and coercion have scraped off the opposition majority.
2019 Gave Us a New Kind of Country
It was a year where political change looked closer than ever in two decades of chavismo. However, hope dissolved again. But this defeat was different: it left an...
Sanctioned Baseball Goes On
The OFAC sanctions produced another case of overcompliance when American baseball cut its ties with the Venezuelan league. This is the story of how I learned to stop worrying about MLB and love the game.
Notes From The Venezuelan Black Friday Battlefront
Cash dollars made possible an illusion of recovery in the capital of the world’s worst-performing economy. Here’s how things looked in the Sambil mall
Chaotic Luxuries: Living with a De Facto Dollarization
With the vibe of “things improving in Caracas” comes a lot of chaos in a society that dollarized its trade based on trust, which is frankly a mess.
How Dollars Make It Into Venezuela
Spontaneous dollarization seems to have taken over Venezuela. Even Maduro admitted it represents an “oxygen valve.” Two experts describe the different sources of cash dollars.
The Revolution Annihilated Oil Workers
Layoffs due to political persecution, mass resignation and retirement, terrible working conditions. The human dimension of this industry helps us understand why oil production has plummeted.
The ‘Access Denied’ Economy
The Maduro regime let the official dollar be and allowed prices to go up, in exchange for reduced shortages. Caracas is now repeating a pattern that we’d seen in Maracaibo already: shelves are full again, but few can afford the products.
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