Food lines part of everyday life in Venezuela скачать в хорошем качестве

Food lines part of everyday life in Venezuela

(12 Jul 2016) As Venezuela's food queues have grown longer, they have become not only the stage for everyday life in the South American country but also a backdrop to death. More than two dozen people have been killed while queuing in the past 12 months, including a four-year-old girl caught up in a gangland crossfire. An 80-year-old woman was crushed to death when an orderly line of shoppers suddenly turned into a mob of looters, an increasingly common occurrence as Venezuela runs out of everyday staples. The extent of the country's economic collapse can be measured in the length of the lines snaking around virtually every corner. There are queues at ATM machines and shops selling water, as well as lines outside immigration offices and even the Caracas morgue. The longest queues, however, are for what is in the shortest supply: food. The average Venezuelan spends 34 hours waiting to buy food each month. That's three times more than in 2014, according to the polling firm Datanalisis. Venezuela's vast oil wealth once fuelled a bustling economy. But years of mismanagement under a socialist government has ground much of the nation's production to a halt, and the country has growin increasingly dependent on imports. The supply chain broke down, first slowly, then all at once, as a steep drop in the price of oil left the country unable to pay for even the most basic necessities. Shortages now consistently top voters' lists of concerns, surpassing even safety. For older shoppers, standing in the heat can be too much to bear, especially if they have not had enough food or needed medicines. Nine out of 10 people here say they can't buy enough to eat, according to a study by Simon Bolivar University. The lines are driven by scarcity and poverty, but they also reflect how much people have given up on traditional employment. With the minimum wage at less than 15 US dollars a month and inflation running well into triple digits, it barely pays to go to work. It makes more economic sense to fill one's pantry, and then sell or trade anything not vitally needed. As Venezuela's food queues have grown longer, they have become not only the stage for everyday life in the South American country but also a backdrop to death. More than two dozen people have been killed while queuing in the past 12 months, including a four-year-old girl caught up in a gangland crossfire. An 80-year-old woman was crushed to death when an orderly line of shoppers suddenly turned into a mob of looters, an increasingly common occurrence as Venezuela runs out of everyday staples. The extent of the country's economic collapse can be measured in the length of the lines snaking around virtually every corner. There are queues at ATM machines and shops selling water, as well as lines outside immigration offices and even the Caracas morgue. The longest queues, however, are for what is in the shortest supply: food. The average Venezuelan spends 34 hours waiting to buy food each month. That's three times more than in 2014, according to the polling firm Datanalisis. Venezuela's vast oil wealth once fuelled a bustling economy. But years of mismanagement under a socialist government has ground much of the nation's production to a halt, and the country has growin increasingly dependent on imports. The supply chain broke down, first slowly, then all at once, as a steep drop in the price of oil left the country unable to pay for even the most basic necessities. Shortages now consistently top voters' lists of concerns, surpassing even safety. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...