2004: The Year of the Recall
Your yearly briefing for 2004. Translated by Javier Liendo.
Politics
2004: When Censorship becomes an Institution
The freedom of expression gag seen today in Venezuela has been around for over ten years. An ambiguous and voracious law from 2004 would establish censorship as a fundamental part of chavista philosophy for years to come.
How low can you go?
"Mal paga el diablo a quien bien le sirve". In 2004, over 2,400,000 Venezuelans who demanded Chávez to step down are put in the regime’s sights when the (in)famous lista Tascón is published. 2008: Tascón is being left aside from the government’s circles.
No Passports for You
After a lot of back and forth, the Venezuelan government just admitted that it cannot provide new passports for its people. The reason is as sad as it is predictable.
2003: The Smell of Loss
Everyone I grew up with in Paraguaná worked for PDVSA. The defeat of the oil strike in 2003 shattered the company, our community and, very nearly, our families.
2003: The Architecture of Control
Photo: Historia Total February 3, 2003, marked the end of the indefinite strike called by the Democratic Coordinator the previous December. The government believed that Christmas would finish...
The less enlightening face of chavismo writes in...
“Think of it as an e-mail” is a common advice from editors to writers for a post that really sounds like Caracas Chronicles. This is the spirit of this whole thing: a conversation between friends that goes public.
Fighting for an Empty Shell
Helen Fernández, the person Antonio Ledezma designated as a mayor in his absence, was just ousted from her post by a sick powerplay… authored by the opposition itself.
2002: The Ugly Sound of History
Those who went to that march to Miraflores, like me, or those who saw it happen on TV, didn’t know back then what we know now: that April 11th, 2002 was going to benefit chavismo, ironically enough, and change the country in profound and perhaps irreversible ways.
Caracas Chronicles’ First Post Ever: A Look Back in Horror
I was asked to look back on the very first post ever on Caracas Chronicles. Much cringing followed. Here’s the email I would’ve shot back to myself if 2002-Quico submitted that text to me today.
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