As food shortages bite, a queue of angry shoppers stretches for blocks

around a supermarket in the leafy quarter of Altamira in eastern Caracas.

Across the road, though, is a different picture: the Hotel Cayena, built at a
cost of $40m, has become a refuge for those who can afford to drink
Bollingers La Grande Anne champagne costing more than $1,000 a bottle.

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The price is equivalent to 40 times Venezuelas minimum monthly wage.
Meanwhile, food staples such as cooking oil, sugar, rice and maize flour are
increasingly scarce and prices are rising fast.
Buoyed by high oil prices, the previous socialist government established
programmes to help the poor, in an attempt to damp the gross inequalities
that still exist in Caracas.
Now the economy has collapsed, plunging Venezuela, which has larger oil
reserves than Saudi Arabia, into one of the worst crises in its 200-year
history. It may sound like an idyllic place, but the wealthier are
permanently preyed upon, says one successful businessman, who is not
just talking about criminals but also the government itself.
Food shortages and inflation are hardly new phenomena but have been
worsening steadily. Three decades ago, Venezuela boasted some of Latin
Americas highest living standards. During its golden age, Caracas was the
envy of neighbouring cities, with its museums and galleries holding the best
collections of modern art in the region.
Today, after 17 years of socialist revolution, there is not even toilet paper in
the shops and the people are fed up. No hay (there isnt any in Spanish)
is a commonplace refrain from shopkeepers asked if they have basic items
in stock.
But not at the Hotel Cayena. This is an oasis in the middle of chaos;
everything works and you can find everything, one hotel investor adds,
stirring Italian Grana Padano cheese into his mushroom risotto.
The wealth that was around here before Hugo Chvez came to power is
still around but much diminished. The lifestyle of all Venezuelans has
plummeted, particularly in the past two years and particularly in the past
two months. My wife also struggles every day to get everything we need at
home.
For now, the business of the investor, who wishes to remain anonymous,
has escaped the war cry that once resounded across the land. Oligarchs,
tremble became the mantra of the late President Chvez on launching his
socialist revolution in Venezuela. The threat of expropriations led to an
exodus of the wealthy to Miami.

An empty supermarket in Caracas Getty

Indeed, the Bolivarian revolution begun by Chvez, and now pursued by
his embattled successor Nicols Maduro, vowed to take power away from
the wealthy. Dubbed esculidos (squalid) and pelucones (bigwig
conservatives), they have been derided by officials for years, yet many have
resisted attempts to seize their wealth.
The elegant Caracas Country Club, founded almost a century ago, has 3,000
members, who enjoy manicured lawns, antique chairs and an 18-hole golf
course. It is always full because people feel safe here, says a veteran
member and businessman.
Understandably so. Caracas is one of the worlds deadliest cities; security is
frequently rated the top concern for Venezuelans both rich and poor. The
situation is absolutely dramatic, says a respected Ivy League-educated
businessman, who is one of the 240 wealthy neighbours who live in the area
surrounding the clubs grounds.
Recently one of his neighbours was kidnapped not far from the many
diplomatic residences that dot the area. Like many of his peers, with the
money he earns from his companys local operations he has enough to be
chauffeured in an armoured car but not enough to pay for his childrens US
university fees.

School meals in a shanty town in Higuerote, 120km east of Caracas AFP

Despite their grumbles, most of the countrys wealthy live their lives in
dollars. As the local currency has plummeted, remaining in Venezuela has
become much more affordable.
Yet it is difficult to feel as if you are in the middle of an economic crisis.
Late last year, a franchise of the fashionable Buddha-Bar opened in
Caracas. At the opening-night party, acrobats tumbled and drummers
provided the beat for celebrity DJ Ravin as Taittinger champagne flowed in
the packed two-storey restaurant and club. There are still beautiful people
with money who want to enjoy life here, says the heavily accented
Lebanese-Venezuelan businessman who opened the bar.
And indeed there are. At weekends they charter private boats or jets to the
white, unspoilt beaches of Los Roques, a Venezuelan archipelago about
130km off the coast that was popular with high-end tourists from Latin
America and Europe before the crisis hit. The crystal-clear waters are one of
the few luxuries on Venezuelas Caribbean coastline, much of which is
littered with empty beer cans while reggaeton a combination of Latin
music and hip hop and rap blasts out of loudspeakers.
Yet for many, the blame for some of the countrys woes should be laid at the
feet of the so-called government enchufados (plugged-ins).
Maladministration has reached such levels that the legislatures finance
commission says that 17 years of Chavismo have led to some $425bn of
public money going missing.
Meanwhile, high-end car sales in Venezuela are at their highest level for
years: close to the Hotel Cayena, a red 1960 Ferrari is on sale for a mere
$300,000.
For more than a few, then, it seems there is no economic crisis. To many,
things are not going that badly here, says the manager of the car
dealership, running his hand over a grey Porsche 911 Targa (price:
$210,000).
Even in the current situation the rich are richer, and there are many newer
rich who can afford this.
People queue for food in Caracas AFP

Hotel Cayena: an oasis amid the chaos

With its woeful infrastructure and appalling service, Venezuelas tourism

sector is not geared to the international traveller. The economic crisis and
currency controls have left hotels in a decrepit state. Moreover, visitors are
hardly encouraged by Venezuela having one of the worlds highest murder
rates.
Caracass Hotel Cayena, the only member in Venezuela of the exclusive
Leading Hotels of the World group, was once called an oasis in the middle
of the chaos. Its views of leafy mountain slopes make the citys troubles
seem far away.
It has played home to presidents, and diplomats and local and foreign
business people praise its restaurant, La Sibilla. We are trying to make
something unique here, which is to put Venezuela back on the map, says
Esteban Torbar, the hotelier behind Cayena.
People change their perception of Venezuela when they enter this hotel.
We have broken the paradigm of Venezuelas bad service, he adds. Let
alone being the safest hotel here.

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--

Para algunos no existe la crisis econmica.

Conforme se empeora la escasez de alimentos, se extiende la cola de compradores alrededor de un

supermercado en la seccin arbolada de Altamira en el este de Caracas. Si cruzas la calle vers un
escenario muy diferente: el Hotel Cayena, cuyos costos de produccin alcanzaron US$40 millones,
se ha convertido en un refugio para los venezolanos que pueden pagar US$1,000 por una botella
de champaa La Grande Anne de Bollinger.
Ese precio equivale a 40 veces el salario mnimo mensual en Venezuela. Mientras tanto, los bienes
bsicos como el aceite de cocina, azcar, arroz y harina de maz se vuelven cada vez ms escasos
y sus precios siguen subiendo.

El anterior gobierno socialista aprovech los precios altos del petrleo para establecer programas
para ayudar a los pobres, intentando reparar las enormes inequidades que siguen existiendo en
Caracas.

Ahora la economa se ha colapsado, sumiendo a Venezuela que tiene reservas petroleras an

ms grandes que Arabia Saudita en una de las peores crisis en los 200 aos de su historia.

La escasez de alimentos y la inflacin no son fenmenos nuevos pero se han ido empeorando.
Hace tres dcadas, Venezuela tena los estndares de vida ms altos en Amrica Latina. Caracas
era la envidia de las ciudades vecinas con sus museos y galeras que exhiban las ms preciadas
colecciones de arte moderno en la regin.

Actualmente, 17 aos despus del inicio de la revolucin socialista, no hay papel de bao en las
tiendas y los venezolanos se han hartado. No hay es la respuesta que se escucha cuando les
preguntas a los comerciantes si tienen bienes bsicos disponibles.

Pero no es as en el Hotel Cayena. ste es un oasis en medio del caos; todo funciona y puedes
encontrar de todo, dice un inversionista del hotel mientras mezcla un poco del queso italiano Grana
Padano en su risotto de setas. La riqueza que exista antes de que asumiera el poder Hugo
Chvez sigue existiendo, pero ms reducida.

Por ahora, el negocio del inversionista, que desea permanecer annimo, se ha escapado del
llamado a la guerra que alguna vez reson a travs del pas. Qu tiemblen los oligarcas era el
mantra del Presidente Chvez cuando inici su revolucin socialista en Venezuela. Las amenazas
de expropiaciones provocaron el xodo de los venezolanos ricos a Miami.

De hecho, la Revolucin Bolivariana iniciada por el Sr. Chvez, que sigue intentando mantener su
sucesor Nicols Maduro, prometi quitarles el poder a los venezolanos pudientes. Estos individuos
llamados esculidos y pelucones, han sido criticados por los funcionarios durante muchos aos,
sin embargo muchos han resistido los intentos de confiscar su riqueza.

El elegante Caracas Country Club, fundado hace casi 100 aos, tiene 3,000 miembros que disfrutan
de bellos jardines, habitaciones llenas de antigedades y un campo de golf de 18 hoyos. Siempre
est lleno, porque aqu la gente se siente segura, dice un empresario miembro del club.

Tiene razn en decirlo. Caracas es una de las ciudades ms mortferas en el mundo, la seguridad
es considerada el problema principal para todos los venezolanos, ricos y pobres. La situacin es
totalmente trgica, dice un empresario respetado, quien es uno de los 240 vecinos pudientes
quienes viven en el rea que rodea el club.
Recientemente uno de sus vecinos fue secuestrado cerca de algunas de las residencias
diplomticas que se encuentran en el rea. Al igual que muchos de sus amistades, l recibe
suficientes ingresos de las operaciones locales de su compaa para contratar a un chofer y un
coche blindado, pero no para pagar las colegiaturas de las universidades estadounidenses de sus
hijos.

A pesar de sus quejas, la mayora de los ricos en el pas viven sus vidas en dlares. Ya que la
moneda local ha bajado, permanecer en Venezuela se ha vuelto mucho ms asequible.

Sin embargo, en este ambiente es difcil percibir que el pas est en medio de una crisis econmica.
A finales del ao pasado, se inaugur una franquicia del reconocido Buddha-Bar en Caracas. En la
fiesta de inauguracin fluy la champaa Taittinger, los invitados disfrutaron de los malabarismos de
acrbatas y los percusionistas proporcionaron el ritmo para la celebridad de la noche, DJ Ravin.
Sigue habiendo gente bella con dinero que quiere disfrutar de la vida aqu, dice el dueo
venezolano de ascendencia libanesa quien abri el bar.

Y eso es verdad. Durante los fines de semana alquilan barcos o aviones privados para visitar las
playas vrgenes de Los Roques, un archipilago venezolano que queda a 130km de la costa, el cual
era muy popular entre los turistas europeos y latinoamericanos antes de la crisis. Las aguas
cristalinas son uno de los pocos lujos que quedan en la costa caribea de Venezuela, gran parte de
la cual est cubierta de latas de cerveza vacas.

Sin embargo, muchos piensan que los problemas del pas son la culpa de los enchufados del
gobierno. Los malos manejos han llegado a niveles tan altos que la comisin de finanzas de la
legislatura dice que durante los 17 aos del Chavismo se han desaparecido cerca de US$425 mil
millones del fondo pblico.

Mientras tanto, las ventas de automviles de lujo estn en el nivel ms alto que se ha visto en aos:
cerca del Hotel Cayena, hay un Ferrari color rojo de 1960 a la venta por tan slo US$300,000.

Entonces parece ser que para ms que unos pocos, no existe una crisis econmica. Para muchos,
la situacin en el pas no es tan difcil, dice el gerente de un concesionario de automviles mientras
seala un Porsche 911 Targa que cuesta US$210,000.

Incluso en la situacin actual los ricos son ms ricos y ahora hay muchos nuevos ricos que pueden
pagarlo.

Por Andres Schipani (c) 2016 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved