Las Mercedes Archives - The Daily Journal

Caracas rediscovers its riverbed: The Guaire River as a catalyst for civic integration

October 20, 2026October 20, 2026Tatiana Da GamaLeave a Comment

José Leonardo Salazar For decades, Caracas residents’ relationship with the Guaire River has been marked by distance and rejection. Historically treated as an open sewer the city chose to ignore, this waterway has become synonymous with pollution, foul odors, and a profound urban divide. Yet a paradigm shift is gaining momentum in the capital’s streets. […]

The mutilated city: the billboard business, local anarchy, and Caracas’ lost shade

September 17, 2026September 17, 2026Tatiana Da GamaLeave a Comment

The Daily Journal. Caracas is losing its shade. Across the valley, the deafening roar of chainsaws has replaced the song of urban birds, exposing a severe crisis of environmental governance, institutional opacity and commercial interests. What local authorities and waste collection companies describe with euphemisms such as “sanitation,” “maintenance,” or “Cut and Prune,” activists and […]