More dollars and fewer protests in Venezuela

THE HUMBOLDT, a pencil-shaped luxury hotel overlooking Caracas, has long symbolised broken promises by Venezuelan governments. Built in 1956, during the military dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, it has been empty most of the time. The cable car to its mountaintop location keeps breaking down. The current regime, a socialist dictatorship led by Nicolás Maduro, promises that the Humboldt will soon be relaunched as Venezuela’s first “seven-star” hotel.

On December 14th it threw a party. Christmas lights twinkled. A DJ pumped out reggaeton hits. Models cavorted around the empty swimming pool. Enchufados (plugged-ins), made rich by their connections to the regime, sipped imported vodka at tables with panoramic views while two green laser lights beamed down upon the capital of a country that is suffering from the world’s deepest recession. “Caracas has become like something out of ‘The Great Gatsby’,” said Karina González, a young secretary, as she looked up at the light show. “Decadence alongside penury.”