Good for the British, but not the Venezuelans

The World Bank recently published a report entitled "Doing Business 2008" to work as a "guide for evaluating regulations that directly impact economic growth,
downloading underlying laws, and identifying good practice reforms" per their website, www.doingbusiness.org. In other words, this is a thorough compilation of data about reforms that take place in each of the selected countries and how these might affect the way they do business.
For the British, it's all good news as the report puts them in the 6th position over all (out of 178 countries). Singapore, New Zealand and the United States come on top as the easiest countries to do business, in first, second and third place respectively.
Venezuela, on the other hand, can be found at the bottom of the pile. Number 172. This means that, during the past year, reforms enacted in Venezuela have negatively impacted trade and business in areas such as employment and trading accross borders. It is the study's general conclusion that Venezuela has taken a step backwards with respect to it's fellow countries.
Amidst the reforms carried out by the Bolivarian government, I guess facilitating small and middle businesses is not a priority.
For more information go to http://www.doingbusiness.org/documents/DB-2008-overview.pdf

London buses, Caracas's woes

Last February, London Mayor Ken Livingstone announced a scheme that would benefit a quarter of a million low-income Londoners by reducing bus prices. The scheme has been made possible by the contribution of the Venezuelan state-owned company, Petroleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), towards cheaper fuel. In turn, Venezuelans would get advise from British specialists on areas such as transport, protection of the environment, development of tourism, and town planning.
During a ceremony in London's City Hall on February, 20, Livingstone said: "That country (Venezuela) has started on the road of using its oil riches for the benefit of the majority of its population, which lives in cities, prioritising areas such as improving health care and the environment, public transport, better housing and town planning. This will gradually transform the quality of life for the majority of Venezuela’s population, including replacing slums with modern towns and cities served by first class public services."
It seems to me that the Mayor of London has not really taken the time to visit the cities that are being "improved" by the Bolivarian government. If he had, he would have realised that the money Pdvsa is so keen on spending abroad should well be used to bring back to life the squandered barrios and streets of Caracas or even to clean the once healthy Lago de Maracaibo. Where are these "modern towns and cities" with "first class" public services? Caracas, the biggest and most populated of Venezuela's troubled cities, has the highest crime rate of the country. There are an average of 150 deaths per week due to violence and insecurity. Problems with the collection of rubbish have resulted into unsanitory living conditions and the majority of homes do not have basic services. According to declarations from the Venezuelan Chamber of Real-Estate (Camara Inmobiliaria de Venezuela) only one in every two Venezuelans live in dignified conditions. The wildly out-of-control informal sector populates the city centre, with stalls and markets set up on sidewalks and squares. Pedestrians are then forced to walk on the road. Public transport fares no better. Without any regulations, old buses and taxis wreak havoc on the city's roads more often than not ignoring signs and traffic laws.
While I am sure that lower-income Londoners deserve any help they can get, I think it is wrong for the Bolivarian government and Pdvsa to attend to them instead of looking first after their own.

The tropics and the Thames

You may be wondering what is up with that photo... It's a view of El Avila, the green and lush mountain that surrounds the valley of Caracas (Venezuela), and the skyline of that most vibrant and cosmopolitan of cities, London. A mix then, of my two favourite places in the world and an appropriate depiction of my place in time and space right now.
Over the next year, I will be attending Brunel University as a postgraduate student doing an MA in Journalism. In this blog, you will find feature articles, commentary, reviews and other assignments, both academic and of my own personal interest. There might be a tendency towards Venezuelan and international news, but that's to be expected... after all, I do have one foot in the tropics and another in the Thames.
All comments are welcome and appreciated!