Maduro’s Failure, in Eight Numbers
Rhetoric aside, what has the Maduro Era done to Venezuelans’ livelihoods? A deep dive into the numbers behind a calamity.
Economy
Bare Shelves, Empty Wallets: Shopkeepers Brace for the Worst Christmas Ever
Venezuela has always had a "port economy," with most consumption goods coming from abroad. What happens when there's no money for imports? A very bleak holiday season, that's what happens.
Pernil Paternalism: For the Millionth Time, State Benefits are NOT Gifts
2018 is seeing the dispiriting return of a sad year-end ritual: the pernil messaging wars. As we argue over who does or doesn’t and should or shouldn’t get a pork leg, can we just get one thing straight? The stuff the state hands out is NEVER a gift.
Government Paying Old Age Pensions in Petros, Without People’s Consent
Want a peek at the future of how the government wants to control your financial life? Talk to your grandma, who’s now receiving her pension in phantasmagoric petros, with no obvious way to turn them back into bolivars.
Venezuelans Know a Dollar Income Ain’t Enough Anymore
Yes, having an income in dollars can go a long way. However, there are plenty of other factors at play in order to make it to the end of the month in this economy. Earning dollars, on its own, just won’t cut it anymore.
TWENTY Years of Pdvsacide
The company that produces nearly all of Venezuela’s export earnings looks like a store the day after it’s been looted. How chavismo took an oil giant from world class to bankrupt-in-all-but-name in just two decades.
Venezuela Needs a Helping Hand, a Crypto Hand
Cubans used to say that all they needed to survive in Cuba was a lot of “FE,” meaning not faith, but “Familia en el Extranjero.” Venezuelans walk that trail today and there are plenty of ways you can help them... with crypto.
Debtbook Diplomacy: Predatory Imperialism Made in China
As the world’s largest oil importer, one would think China would bet on keeping Venezuela up and running. Turns out that, either way, they’ll turn a profit.
Goodbye Bolivar
Venezuela’s currency is dying not with a bang, but with a whimper as virtually all large —and many mid-sized— transactions are switching, de facto, to the dollar.
Happy First Anniversary, Hyperinflation... When Will You Go Away?
It’s been a year of hyperinflation in Venezuela, with a yearly rate that ravages consumers’ purchasing power and devours companies left and right. Just where does it ends?
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