Ferraris and Hungry Children: Venezuela’s Socialist Vision in Shambles 法拉利與飢童:委內瑞拉社會主義願景一團亂


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讀紐時學英文
2023/05/12 第432期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 Ferraris and Hungry Children: Venezuela's Socialist Vision in Shambles 法拉利與飢童:委內瑞拉社會主義願景一團亂
Sunak's Pivot Away From 'Global Britain' Makes Friends on World Stage 誇口「全球化英國」的年代後 務實首相達成協議
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Ferraris and Hungry Children: Venezuela's Socialist Vision in Shambles 法拉利與飢童:委內瑞拉社會主義願景一團亂
文/Isayen Herrera,Frances Roble
譯/周辰陽

法拉利與飢童:委內瑞拉社會主義願景一團亂

In the capital, a store sells Prada purses and a 110-inch television for $115,000. Not far away, a Ferrari dealership has opened, while a new restaurant allows well-off diners to enjoy a meal seated atop a giant crane overlooking the city.

在首都,一家商店出售Prada包與售價11萬5千美元的110吋電視。不遠處,一家法拉利經銷商開業,而一家新餐廳讓富裕食客坐在俯瞰城市的巨型起重機之上享用美饌。

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?" the restaurant's host boomed over a microphone to excited customers as they sang along to a Coldplay song.

當興奮的客人跟著「酷玩」樂團的歌一起唱時,這家餐廳的主持人對著麥克風,向他們發出低沉洪亮的聲音,「你最近一次嘗試新事物是什麼時候?」

This is not Dubai or Tokyo, but Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, where a socialist revolution once promised equality and an end to the bourgeoisie.

這裡不是杜拜或東京,而是卡拉卡斯,委內瑞拉的首都,在這裡發生的社會主義革命曾經承諾平等與終結資產階級。

Venezuela's economy imploded nearly a decade ago, prompting a huge outflow of migrants in one of worst crises in modern Latin American history. Now there are signs the country is settling into a new, disorienting normality, with everyday products easily available, poverty starting to lessen — and surprising pockets of wealth arising.

委內瑞拉的經濟在近十年前內爆,是現代拉丁美洲史上最嚴重危機之一,曾引發移居者大量外流。現在有跡象表明,這個國家正在適應一個新的、令人迷惘的常態,日常用品方便可得,貧困開始減少,財力出人意料的開始增加。

That has left the socialist government of authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro presiding over an improving economy as the opposition is struggling to unite and as the United States has scaled back oil sanctions that helped decimate the country's finances.

這顯示專制總統馬杜羅的社會主義政府掌管的經濟正在好轉,而反對派正努力試圖團結,而且美國的石油制裁正在縮減,這項制裁是重挫委國財政的原因之一。

Conditions remain dire for a huge portion of the population, and while the hyperinflation that crippled the economy has moderated, prices still triple annually, among the worst rates in the world.

對大部分委國人民來說,形勢依然嚴峻,儘管讓經濟陷入癱瘓的惡性通貨膨脹有所緩和,物價仍每年增加3倍,通膨率仍是世界最糟糕之一。

But with the government's ease of restrictions on the use of U.S. dollars to address Venezuela's economic collapse, business activity is returning to what was once the region's wealthiest nation.

但隨著政府放寬美元使用限制以解決委內瑞拉經濟崩潰,商業活動正重返這個曾是該區域最富裕的國度。

As a result, Venezuela is increasingly a country of haves and have-nots, and one of the world's most unequal societies, according to Encovi, a respected national poll by the Institute of Economic and Social Research of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.

根據卡拉卡斯安德烈斯.貝約天主教大學經濟與社會研究所執行、受到敬重的Encovi全國民調,如今委內瑞拉逐漸成為富人和窮人兩極分化的國家,以及全世界最不平等的社會之一。

Maduro has boasted that the economy grew by 15% last year over the previous year and that tax collections and exports also rose — though some economists stress that the economy's growth is misleading because it followed years of huge declines.

馬杜羅吹噓說,去年經濟比前一年成長15%,稅收與出口也有所上升,儘管一些經濟學家強調,因為經歷多年大規模衰退,經濟成長有誤導之嫌。

For the first time in seven years, poverty is decreasing: Half of the nation lives in poverty, down from 65% in 2021, according to the Encovi poll.

根據Encovi民調,貧窮率出現7年來首次下降:全國一半人口生活貧困,低於2021年的65%。

But the survey also found that the wealthiest Venezuelans were 70 times richer than the poorest, putting the country on par with some countries in Africa that have the highest rates of inequality in the world.

但該調查還發現,最富裕的委內瑞拉人比最貧困的人富有70倍,使該國和全球貧富不均比率最高的一些非洲國家平起平坐。

 
Sunak's Pivot Away From 'Global Britain' Makes Friends on World Stage 誇口「全球化英國」的年代後 務實首相達成協議
文/Mark Landler
譯/周辰陽

誇口「全球化英國」的年代後 務實首相達成協議

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain has mothballed his predecessors' projects, large and small, from Liz Truss' trickle-down tax cuts to Boris Johnson's revamped royal yacht. But one of Sunak's most symbolic changes since taking over as prime minister five months ago has received less attention: retiring the slogan "Global Britain."

英國首相蘇納克已經將其前任的多項計畫束之高閣,有大有小,從特拉斯的富人減稅到強生的翻新皇家遊艇。不過,自5個月前接任首相以來,蘇納克最具象徵意義的變革之一比較未受關注:淘汰「全球化英國」的口號。

No longer does the phrase, a swashbuckling relic of Britain's debate over its post-Brexit role, feature in speeches by Cabinet ministers or in the government's updated military and foreign policy blueprint released last Monday.

這個用語是英國就其脫歐後角色進行辯論的虛張聲勢遺跡,如今在閣員們的演講或政府上周一公布的最新軍事與外交政策藍圖內,都不再是重點。

In its place, Sunak has hashed out workmanlike deals on trade and immigration with Britain's nearest neighbors — France and the rest of the European Union. In the process, analysts and diplomats said, he has begun, for the first time since Britain's departure from the European Union, to chart a realistic role on the global stage.

取而代之的是,蘇納克跟法國和歐盟其他國家等英國最近鄰國,就貿易與移民方面達成平凡無奇的協議。分析師跟外交官說,在這個過程中,他已開始在全球舞台上描繪一個現實的角色,是英國脫歐以來頭一次。

Global Britain, as propounded by Johnson, was meant to evoke a Britain, unshackled from Brussels, that could be agile and opportunistic, a lightly regulated, free-trading powerhouse. In practice, it came to symbolize a country with far-fetched ambitions and, under Johnson, a habit of squabbling with its neighbors.

根據強生的說法,「全球化英國」意在喚起英國去掉布魯塞爾的鐐銬,可以靈活與投機取巧,成為一個監管寬鬆、自由貿易的強國。實際上,它象徵一個有著難以置信野心的國家,在強生的領導下,慣於跟鄰國爭吵。

Sunak has changed all of that, with a pragmatic approach that, to some extent, reflects his button-down, technocratic style.

蘇納克改變了這一切,採取務實的態度,在某種程度上,反映出他的保守、技術官僚式風格。

But a leader's style matters, and on the world stage Sunak's no-bombast approach is paying eye-catching dividends.

但領導人的風格很重要,在世界舞台上,蘇納克不誇大的作風正產生引人注目的效益。

In the past few weeks, he has struck a deal with Brussels on trade in Northern Ireland, eased years of Brexit-related tensions with France, inaugurated the next phase of a submarine alliance with Australia and the United States and announced 11 billion pounds in increased military spending over the next five years, cementing Britain's role as a leading supplier of weapons to Ukraine.

過去幾周,他跟布魯塞爾就北愛爾蘭貿易達成協議,緩和多年來因脫歐跟法國的緊繃局勢,啟動與澳洲和美國潛艦聯盟的下一階段,並宣布未來5年軍費增加110億英鎊,鞏固英國帶頭供應武器給烏克蘭的角色。

"It's too early to say whether Sunak has found a role for post-Brexit Britain," said Peter Westmacott, who served as Britain's ambassador to France and to the United States. "But he has banished the much-ridiculed 'Global Britain' Johnsonian slogan, preferring to under-promise and over-deliver. He's also moved fast to fix some of the obstacles to better relations with our partners."

曾任英國駐法與駐美大使的魏斯麥柯特表示,「現在說蘇納克是否為脫歐後英國找到了角色,還為之過早,但他排除了強生式飽受嘲笑的『全球化英國』口號,更傾向於少承諾多做事。他也迅速行動解決一些障礙,改善我們與夥伴的關係」。

 
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