With support from Cuba, Maduro's socialist regime stays afloat, and it continues to create poverty out of prosperity
ON JANUARY 10, Nicolas Maduro started his second term as president of Venezuela. The political drama behind his rigged re-election, the economic collapse of the country and the traumatisation of the society resemble the story of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The Venezuelan reality, however, is even more bizarre than the magical realism in the Marquez novel.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, even more than that of Saudi Arabia. Besides oil, the country is blessed with minerals, hydroelectric potential, arable land, a pleasant climate and beautiful beaches. In the 1960s, Venezuela's per capita GDP was much higher than that of Brazil and Colombia. Venezuelan capital Caracas was the only destination for Concorde flights in Latin America. On weekends, the Venezuelan middle class used to go to Miami for shopping. The country was a vibrant democracy, while many countries in the region languished under military rule.
Since then, most of Latin America has moved on with a new paradigm of democratic maturity and economic growth, while Venezuela has gone backwards with a toxic combination of authoritarianism, political chaos, economic disaster, hyperinflation, shortage of food and medicine, rampant crime and corruption. The Chavistas, the followers of former president, the late Hugo Chavez, have given a bad name to socialism.
Denne historien er fra January 27, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 27, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
