SICAD: Birth of a Red Tape Behemoth
There was huge confusion yesterday following the launch of SICAD (the newfangled “Sistema Complementario de Administración de Divisas”), meant to supply additional dollars to importers shut out of the...
Economy
When cement becomes a privilege
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,...
The Genius of Devaluation
So did you see all the insanity in Cyprus over the last few days? Man! For reasons too complicated to go into here – but which will surely...
Herd mentality
“I’m telling you man, we Venezuelans are the best managers in the world.” My buddy Diógenes is sitting across a miniature sized table from me. We are sipping...
David Frum thinks our book is essential, so go buy it!
An exceedingly generous review of our book, by The Daily Beast’s David Frum. The money quote: If [the authors’] telling is correct, whatever else Chavismo is, it’s not sustainable...
Lukoil learns the hard way
Andrei Kuzyayev, an executive of Russian oil giant Lukoil, told Reuters last week that Venezuela could boost its oil production in the next few years, but to do so...
G.M.V.V. Chronicles, cont.
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 sabotaje va por dentro
The rolling power blackouts that have spread around the country have gotten worse in recent days, to the point that even weekends are no longer safe. In my...
Annals of socialist cell-phone making
Remember the vergatario cell phone? The model is still being produced (and upgraded) by Vtelca, a state-owned company created in association with the Chinese electronics maker ZTE. But...
My Kingdom for a Cake
This is a post about cake, and how I became a soulless, sociopathic monster who makes children cry to make one. See, when I’m not obsessing about politics...
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