https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/12/30/2019-gave-us-a-new-kind-of-country/
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/12/01/what-is-happening-in-venezuelas-protected-capital/
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/09/25/the-access-denied-economy/
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2020/01/28/dollars-in-barrios-are-not-a-privilege-anymore/
Caracas has superficially recovered from the state of near societal collapse the country was last year, or at least isn't declining as fast as it did. Empty shelves have been filled with extremely expensive imported goods. Activity returned to the streets and the local private sector thrives. This is mainly in the capital, where remaining infrastructure is prioritized, and even then electricity and water aren't abundant; in the hinterland it is worse. The reasons for this "recovery" are:
-Massive depopulation from emigration, so remaining economic activity is better scaled to the population.
-Widespread dollarization, providing a usable medium of exchange in place of the bolívar.
-Relaxation of price controls and other regulations.
-Unenforcement of still overwhelming remaining regulations, such as labor legislation, by simple lack of administrative capacity but tacitly accepted by the regime.
Maduro's power structure has morphed into something completely different from that built by Chavez. The extremely weak state has given up on exerting its power, either on the capital's economics or on the country's geography: only in Caracas and some resource-producing areas it makes any attempt to rule, and the rest is left to fend for itself. The state itself is no longer the ruling clique's sole means of exerting control as many functions have been transferred to colectivos, gangs and the like.