Abstract Introduction For multiple reasons, elective pediatric otolaryngology surgical procedures have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The purpose of the present study was to assess whether the prevalence of pediatric neck abscesses managed with operative drainage decreased compared with previous years. Methods Medical records of all pediatric cases at a tertiary care children’s hospital diagnosed with abscess of the neck and treated with incision and drainage were evaluated between the dates of April 1 and November 30 from 2015 to 2020. Outcomes were compared for each year from 2015 to 2019 to 2020, which included location, abscess size, duration of antibiotic treatment, microbiology, and the number of cases per year. Results A total of 201 cases were included. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) presenting age in the 2015 to 2019 group was 5.05 ± 5.03 years old and 2.24 ± 1.91 years old in the 2020 group. The mean number of cases between 2015 and 2019 was 35.6 ± 4.2, whereas the number of cases in 2020 was 23 (p = 0.002). Of those patients who underwent IV antibiotic therapy prior to presentation (n = 43), the mean number of days before admission was 1.98 ± 2.95 (n = 40) from 2015 to 2019 and 12.00 ± 10.39 (n = 3) in 2020 (p = 0.008). The percent of cases with multiple strains cultured between 2015 and 2019 was 13.4% versus 18.2% in 2020 (p = 0.007). Conclusion There was a decrease in the number of operative neck abscesses in 2020 compared with the mean number per year from 2015 to 2019. COVID-19 mitigation strategies leading to reduced transmission of other viral and bacterial illnesses and a tendency toward prolonged medical management to avoid surgery are two possible explanations.

ABSTRACT Venezuela's descent into the abyss deepened in 2018. Half of the country's GDP has been lost in the last five years; poverty and income inequality have deepened, erasing the previous gains from the earlier years of the Bolivarian Revolution. Significant economic reforms failed to contain the hyperinflation, and emigration accelerated to reach three million people between 2014 and 2018, ten percent of the population. Politically, the government of Nicolás Maduro completed its authoritarian turn following the failed Santo Domingo dialogue in February, and called for an early election in May 2018. Maduro's victory amidst a partial opposition boycott and international condemnation set the stage for a major constitutional clash in January 2019, when the world was divided between acknowledging Maduro's second term or an opposition-declared interim president, Juan Guaido.

RESUMEN El descenso de Venezuela en el abismo se profundizó en 2018. La mitad del PIB se perdió en los últimos cinco años; la pobreza y la desigualdad de ingresos se profundizaron, anulando los avances de los primeros años de la Revolución Bolivariana. Las importantes reformas económicas no lograron contener la hiperinflación y la emigración se aceleró para llegar a tres millones de personas entre 2014 y 2018, el diez por ciento de la población. Políticamente, el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro completó su giro autoritario luego del fracasado proceso de diálogo de Santo Domingo en febrero, y Maduro pidió una elección adelantada en mayo de 2018. La victoria de Maduro en medio de un boicot parcial de oposición y el rechazo internacional, preparó el escenario para un importante choque constitucional en enero de 2019, cuando el mundo se dividiría entre reconocer el segundo mandato de Maduro o un presidente interino declarado por la oposición, Juan Guaidó.

El artículo introduce esta edición especial de la Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales. Las autoras indican los principales temas y debates contenidos en las ponencias presentadas en la reunión del Latin American Studies Association Conference de 2007, celebrada en Montreal. Señalan el carácter pionero de la investigación cualitativa realizada, la importancia de las conclusiones sacadas de sus estudios de campo y la perspectiva de abajo hacia arriba y desde las bases que los trabajos tienen en común. Las autoras discuten el carácter transformativo del proyecto bolivariano, señalando tanto las oportunidades que ofrecen los nuevos procesos participativos, como sus innegables limitaciones.

The article introduces this special edition of the Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales. The authors outline the main themes and issues raised in the papers presented at the 2007 Latin American Studies Association Conference in Toronto, which are reproduced here. They draw attention to the innovative nature of the qualitative research that is presented, the importance of the insights produced by the authors’ solid field work and the bottom-up, grassroots perspective common to these essays. The authors explore the transformative nature of the Bolivarian project, drawing attention to both the opportunities presented by the new participatory processes, and also to the limitations.

O artigo enfoca o referendo revogatório realizado na Venezuela em agosto de 2004, que confirmou a permanência de Hugo Chávez na Presidência do país até o fim de seu mandato. Apontam-se o contexto político que nele culminou, no qual o governo Chávez foi alvo de intensas contestações por parte de seus opositores, e seus conturbados desdobramentos, com acusações de fraude e de atuação imparcial da autoridade eleitoral. A autora destaca a rígida polarização que permeou o processo, dividindo a sociedade venezuelana e impondo ao governo e à própria oposição o desafio de reconstituir o consenso nacional em torno dos interesses coletivos.

The article focuses on the recall referendum that took place in Venezuela in August 2004, which confirmed the permanence of President Hugo Chávez. It points out the political context that culminated in the referendum, in which oppositionists fiercely criticized Chávez and his administration. The author shows the sharp polarization that characterized this process, dividing Venezuelan society and affecting the notion of collective interest.