"Paper Tigers and Minotaurs is an insider's account of national transition from a protected and state-controlled economy to one relying on free markets and open trade. Venezuela's experience with dismantling an entrenched economic structure and coping with the political consequences of a new system is a national story with international lessons. It is recounted from the author's perspective as a minister directly involved in the process, a scholar equipped to understand its broader implications, and a World Bank executive director we acquainted with the international record of economic reforms. With an eye for paradox and the unexpected, the author retraces his country's passage through the maze of surprises and dangers that beset managers of large-scale reform. Some of the dangers turn out to be roaring but harmless paper tigers; others, the unexpected and deadly minotaur capable of derailing the entire process of reform. Distinguishing one from the other, a none-too-simple task, emerges as an indispensable survival skill for reformers everywhere." "Venezuela, a country boasting one of the oldest and more affluent democracies in Latin America offers a case study exemplifying the complex links between market reforms and political instability. After the painful economic shock that accompanied the launching of the reform program in 1989, Venezuela enjoyed some of the highest economic rates in the world. Yet, this once politically stable, country turned suddenly and traumatically unstable. Two violent army revolts, widespread political turmoil and the ouster of President Carlos Andres Perez suddenly transformed a glowing example of successful economic liberalization into a gloomy reminder of the political costs of market reforms." "In rich and illuminating detail, the book analyzes this transformation and the consequences of the new policies that were meant to deal with the deepest economic crisis in Venezuela's history. The crisis was a classic and instructive example for governments everywhere that are undergoing the transition toward markets and away from state intervention. The author examines the initial impact of the reforms on the country's economy and the social situation, including the practical problems and the politics of implementing social "safety nets" to help the poor cope with the harsh burdens of economic adjustments. The book deals forthrightly with the central challenges to economic reform: the military and its reaction to reform and instability; the link between economic liberalization and corruption; the emergence of "media barons" as a political force brandishing unprecedented power; the inability of the government to communicate effectively with the people and build support for the reforms; the effects of the fierce rivalries that broke out among private economic groups; the demise of Carlos Andres Perez, once the most popular and powerful of the country's political leaders." "This engrossing reconstruction and interpretation of the Venezuelan experience is filled with lessons, insights, and deeper questions for all who enter the labyrinth determined to distinguish between the paper tigers and minotaurs that confront economic and political change."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Excessive consumption of calories, too much fat, and too little fiber in western regions such as Latin America have caused a range of twentieth-century diseases like modern malnutrition and metabolic syndrome. The study of these diseases has found relationships between the lipid fractions found in blood plasma and the individual's food consumption. As such, Venezuela in Focus: Economic, Political and Social Issues relates some biochemical markers and some lipid fractions with the frequency of nutritional consumption in subjects belonging to the F.A.C.Y.T. community.Next, a study is presented with the aim of exploring A-I and B100, as well as their relationship with some lipidic fractions and biochemical markers in adults with and without metabolic syndrome belonging to a community in a Venezuelan university.The authors discuss how Venezuelan authorities, after examining the possibilities offered by cryptocurrencies, developed their own project, the Petro, while facing increasing economic and financial pressure at the start of 2018 compounded by sanctions from Western states and internal instability. The Petro was devised as a new lifeline to reengage Venezuela with the global financial system despite significant pressures from Washington. The purpose of the closing study is to explore, from 1960 up to 2018, the dynamics of talent loss in the Venezuelan academic community of researchers. During this 58 year period, 2,235 members of that community left the country, and in the last 20 years, 84% of them went overseas.