Lives on the Petroleum Frontier: Sovereign Power and the informal petrol economy in the Colombian border-city of Cúcuta

在哥伦比亚边境城市Cúcuta，很大一部分经济是非正式的；其中很大一部分与在委内瑞拉边境廉价购买的汽油销售有关。尼古拉斯·马杜罗领导的委内瑞拉政府将这种非正式经济视为对其玻利瓦尔革命的威胁，当两国之间的外交谈判失败时，委内瑞拉军队正式关闭了边境。这使得科伦坡-委内瑞拉家庭分离，非正式经济企业受到阻碍。与此同时，哥伦比亚政府要么对非正规经济睁一只眼闭一只眼，要么无能为力。Cúcuta受到首都波哥大和加拉加斯所做决定的严重影响。最明显的物理表现是边境执法，但也可以在Cúcuteños的社会和经济生活中看到。

In the Colombian border city of Cúcuta, a large percentage of the economy is informal; a significant proportion of that is related to the sale of petrol bought cheaply across the border in Venezuela. The Nicolas Maduro-led, Venezuelan government perceives this informal economy as a threat to its Bolivarian revolution and when diplomatic negotiations between the two countries fail, the border is formally closed by Venezuelan forces. This leaves Colombo-Venezuelan families separated and informal-economic enterprises impeded. At the same time the Colombian government either turns a blind eye to informal economies or is impotent to stop them. Cúcuta is heavily affected by the decisions made in the capital cities of Bogota and Caracas. The most obvious physical manifestation being border enforcement, but also seen in the social and economic lives o f Cúcuteños.