A social fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living or prosperous thing from an age preceding Socialism.
This is my adaptation of a basic definition of the term. In Venezuela, we have different kinds of fossils.
We have the ones that now serve to propagate the narrative that Venezuela "is getting fixed."
New businesses are opening and they promote them on the skeleton of a former fancy building. This particular building is one of the most emblematic examples in my city of how the bolivarian revolution turn anything built before into a poverty factory.
A private bank (Maracaibo), a university, and union offices used to operate here. There were also luxurious apartments; there are some remnants of government-run utility companies (like the water company) on the first floor (which is literally on the ground). The building was invaded by homeless people and looks now like a typical Latin American prison. A testament to the kind of poverty this regime is willing to perpetuate.
The economy is growing (or so they say). Never mind poverty still runs rampant, unemployment is at an all-time high, there is no social security, and minimum wage is just over $25 a month.
We are not supposed to see the eye-sore of a building. Now we should be happy knowing that a new Rio Supermarket has opened (even if you cannot afford to shop in that fancy new place).
It does not matter either that we have no idea where the money for the new businesses is coming from (considering that another official narratives tells of a certain blockade that is preventing the country from performing their main industry, which is oil, as well as other important areas, like mining).
We have another kind of fossils, closely realted to the skeletons we have seen in natural science museums. We have the empty buildings that used to be the best stores and apartments in the area.
There was an amazing maritime store call Nautihogar where you can still read Yamaha. You could, find anything from a hook to a boat, top of the line, imported, great quality, amazing customer service.
I knew the owner; great people, very humble and accessible. All of them exiled now. Like their store, many other traditional stores that have been serving the eastern part of the country for generations closed for good. Most of the apartments are also empty and their increasing decrepitude stands as an apt metaphor for this sort of fossil accelerator that guarantees that no matter how promising a business is, under the current regime, it will not last. Its empty shell may ramain as proof of a promise.
Finally, there is a third kind of fossil; the living ones; the walking dead. We are supposed to look at the new flashy store; we are suppsoed to enjoy the smell of new plastic, glass, ceramic, leather. We are supposed to enjoy the loud music coming from the colorful speakers.
We are not supposed to see the beggar sitting on the corner, facing a soon-to-become fossilized dying mall (Express Mall).
"Venezuela is getting fixed," the social and financial influencers say.
Short-sightness, like fear, is free. Anyone can get it. Many people are choosing a very careful angle of the picture to avoid more trauma, they say.
That works until you or your business get fossilized. It does not take much to put your alleged prosperity to the test.
In the meantime, some will enjoy the hype. I try to see the full picture and it still doe snot look good. A fixed Venezuela makes sense only in the context of a bet or gambling.
Thanks for your reading
This was my entry to 
