Bad Habits: The Case of the Bolivar’s Overvaluation
All governments have incentives to avoid depreciating the bolivar. But this habit harms our export capabilities and keeps Venezuela uncompetitive and vulnerable
El Feed
A Point of No Return for Civil Society?
The National Assembly began a “popular consultation” process for a law to supervise and control, and even close, NGOs operating in Venezuela. The bill was approved in the first discussion on January 24, 2023, but it’s being retaken up now, in an election year.
Twenty Million Venezuelans Still Have Severe Humanitarian Needs
The fourth edition of a report on the humanitarian complex emergency, published by HumVenezuela platform, shows a fall in purchasing power and a new push for migration in 2022 and 2023
The Return of The Anti-NGO Law
This Friday, the National Assembly began a “popular consultation” process to approve a Nicaragua-like law to supervise and control, and even close, NGOs operating in Venezuela. The bill was approved in the first discussion on January 24, 2023, but it’s being retaken up now, in an election year, by important figures of Chavismo such as Diosdado Cabello and Jorge Rodríguez. The International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, established by the United Nations, has described the proposed law as “a possible point of no return in the closure of civic space.”
Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, also proposed the appointment of a Special Commission to investigate the lawmakers of the 2015 National Assembly for “the crime of usurpation of public positions and theft of national property” and apply the Asset Forfeiture Law, which can lead to the confiscation of assets that belong to the accused opponents.
“Under the law, NGOs in Venezuela would be forced to register with the new agency and reveal their beneficiaries and activities to the state”, Tony wrote in Foreign Policy in 2022, when a previous version was leaked, “The agency would also create a fund where all international donations are held and make the decisions about which NGO activities to finance. Organizations would have six months to ‘adjust their forecasts and guidelines’ to fit with rules created by the agency. This stipulation would potentially force them to align their activities with government policies and make them vulnerable to control, censorship, and even closure.”
Memory-Holing The Chataing Era
The Bolivarian revolution, in all effect, is a revolution. The almost unnoticed passing of Gustavo Cisneros and the erasure of cultural products of the Chataing Era show the extent of Chavismo’s impact in our collective memory.
The Fight Against Childhood Illiteracy in Venezuela
Around 65% of schoolchildren in the country fell behind in basic skills such as reading and writing and around 1.5 million are out of school. But several initiatives are working hard to revert this education catastrophe
The New, The Old and The Unbelievable: Watching Baseball in Caracas
When you move to the Venezuelan capital from a city like Maracaibo, or have spent some years abroad, you may be amazed by how affordable watching Ronald Acuña can be, and how spectacular is the new stadium
Ecuador Is A Warning For A Post-Chavista Venezuela
Ecuador’s organized crime crisis could be a warning for a post-Chavista Venezuela, when democracy will try to reassert itself in institutions and break the coexistence Chavismo fostered with criminal non-state actors.
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