'We are like a bomb': food riots show Venezuela crisis has gone beyond politics
Three years of shortages have left Venezuelans desperate and angry for
change, posing the most serious threat yet to President Nicolás Maduro
The rumour was there would be chicken.
Word had spread that a delivery of poultry meat was due at the
Central Madeirense supermarket, and long before dawn a queue of shoppers
was snaking around the block.
Kattya Alonzo was one of them. The 48-year-old mother of three was
already planning to make the traditional chicken and rice dish arroz con pollo – if she could also find some rice.
“I haven’t been able to buy chicken in more than a month, so I was there early at about 4am,” she said.
At about 6.30, two trucks finally drew up outside the store, but
before the drivers could start to unload, national guardsmen told them
to drive on.
Venezuela
is rich in oil, but dogged by chronic shortages of basic goods and
essential medicines, electricity and water rationing, spiraling
inflation and rampant crime.
Perhaps it was not surprising that the mood outside the supermarket
quickly turned ugly: frustration turned to despair, anger to violence.
Before long, the incident on Tuesday had escalated.
Mobs tried to loot several bakeries and delis and another food delivery truck.
The unrest soon spread throughout this city of 200,000 just outside
the capital, Caracas. Protesters shouted “We want food” as they blocked
intersections with burning tyres and clashed with security forces.
Police and the national guard quickly controlled the outburst, with
some 14 people reportedly arrested, and at least one person was injured,
according to witnesses.
The protests were not related to marches in Caracas and other major cities, which were called this week by opposition leaders seeking to cut short the term of President Nicolás Maduro who they say has driven the country into the ground through mismanagement.
But spontaneous outbursts such as the one in Guarenas may present a
more serious challenge to Maduro’s rule than any efforts by his
political rivals.
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