CARACAS, Venezuela — The transportation minister appeared on live television from an auto-parts store, trumpeting prices that had been slashed in half, at least. A top regional official, broadcasting from another shop, boasted that prices of toys and other goods had been cut to the bone. From an appliance store, the commerce minister called on shoppers to buy washers and dryers at new, low-low prices. This week, the entire cabinet of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has been waging a battle against soaring inflation like a socialist version of Crazy Eddie, the onetime electronics chain store famous in New York for its goofy 1980s ads that trumpeted its “insane” prices. It is all part of a fever-pitch campaign to quell frustration with the economy by forcing retailers to slash prices, giving a much-needed shot of adrenaline to Mr. Maduro’s government just weeks before municipal elections that opponents want to […]