Getting safe water a struggle for many of Venezuela’s poor

By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Water has long been a luxury in the sprawling low-income neighborhoods that surround Venezuela’s capital. The problem preceded the government of the late President Hugo Chavez. But under the watch of his successor, Nicolas Maduro, the shortages in Caracas have intensified and expanded to other parts of the nation. Compounding the problem is the decreasing value of people’s wages after years of runaway inflation that has driven consumer prices ever higher amid Venezuela’s economic and political crisis. Those who must buy water through formal or informal private vendors pay exorbitant fees in relation to wages or just cannot afford it.