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- [00:10]
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A reliable and useful metro system is a point of pride in many cities around the world. But for Maracaibo, Venezuela's second largest city, the limited coverage of their urban rail transport system, the result of a lack of funding and corruption allegations, has led to residents referring to it as with a particularly diminutive nickname. You're listening to Tall Stories, a Monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist. I'm Andrew Tuck. In this episode, Gustavo Ocando Alex tells us the story of the Maracaibo Metro.
- [00:48]
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Maracaibo, a city in Venezuela nicknamed the Land of the Beloved Son, is known for several characteristics that make it peculiar in this South American its hot temperatures, the oil wealth that hides under its lake, one of the largest bodies of water in the Americas, the largest population in the nation, and it is also famous for the spicy humor of its citizens. Part of that comical spark of its inhabitants is what led many of them to colloquially rename its metro system and inaugurated 32 years ago, and which has a single line 8km in length, with only six stations. Curiously, the word metro, as this fast system of transport through tracks in the great capitals of the world is known, is also a Spanish term that symbolizes the length unit to identify 100 centimeters. So more than a few Maradinos started to call it el centimetro, the centimeter, to ironize about its brief distance and scarce practicality for a metro. The Maracaibos metro was conceived as one of the architectural and utility jewels of a new and more modern city in western Venezuela. German made wagons of the M1 model were built for it, which was interpreted as a major step towards Excellency. The oil bonanza that Venezuela experienced in the early years of this century made it possible to materialize what was thought to be the first of many phases of this great infrastructure project, which would facilitate the daily social mobility in a city marked by trade and businesses that even involved transnational companies. However, deputies denounced million dollar corruption scandals in the local and national parliaments as the metro advanced in its construction. Residents also criticized that the metro, built at ground level in its fill stations split in half the Savaneta Avenue, from where its wagons start to move in a straight line to downtown Maracaibo. Nowadays, with no oil bonanza, and after a prolonged economic crisis, with no mention of its possible expansion at site, the Maracaibo metro is far from flourishing. It operates on a limited schedule of 12 hours a day and and with a bus system that complements the routes where it was imagined. Its modern and comfortable cars would circulate. Miguel Ramirez, the general who presides over the Maracaibo Metro, says that U.S. economic sanctions have prohibited the purchase of German spare parts. But according to his office, the metro service of the large and warm city in western Venezuela is no less efficient, safe, and of high quality. Despite its limitations for its witty users who still frequent its six stations from Altos de la Venega to Libertador, the Maracaibo Metro remains as concise as a centimeter.
- [04:00]
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Tolstoys is a monocle production from the team behind the Urbanist, and this episode was written by Gustavo Ocando Alex and produced and edited by David Stevens. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Receive new episodes every week. I'm Edge Tuck. Goodbye and thanks for listening. City lovers.