Battling the Scourge of Microlatifundia
Here’s one that’s slipping under the radar. Recall how the 1999 constitution bans especially large landholdings – "Latifundia"? Well, funny thing. It turns out the recently amended Land Law’s new Article...
Life
The Case of the Vanishing Monetary Base Data
If, reading that, you’re gripped by an overpowering urge to click off and go watch a video of a duck riding a skateboard…well, I can understand that. But...
Oliver Stone watch #3
As some of you will know, there’s a charming little show on State TV called "La Hojilla." Technically a political talk show, it’s mostly catnip for the most...
Chabuki watch #8
Communists?! ¿Quién dijo? To hear chavista candidate to the National Assembly (and former two-term governor of Delta Amacuro) Yelitza Santaella tell it, this government is almost right wing:...
Yup, he's crazy...
…but don’t take it from me – take it from that inimitable curmodgeon, Christopher Hitchens. His latest Slate piece, which recounts a trip to Venezuela he took with...
The food that rotted is literally the least of it [Corrected]
Just in those 8 months, nearly $2 billion worth of food paid for by PDVSA failed to reach Venezuelans’ dinner tables for one reason or another. The bulk...
PDVAL Math
For this exercise, assume: You have a $28 million budget for transport. The maximum payload of the Boeing 777 you’re using is 102 tons. The distance between Buenos...
A Patchwork Orange
Ever notice how chavismo’s instinct, when facing a clear policy failure, is always to see how they can patch it up? Take SITME – the Central Bank’s baroquely...
SITME Bond Yield Voodoo
The kicker is that your bank has to document every step of that operation to the Central Bank, which is thereby empowered to effectively control the implicit price...
"Your child can't have that operation because we need the money to capitalize SIDOR"
It had to come to this. The renationalized SIDOR Steelmaker has started hitting up the Central Bank for emergency loans. The BsF.2 billion bailout announced today is a throwback...
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