How Chavismo Makes the Water Taps Run Dry
The water taps are dry and it’s chavismo’s fault, says The Economist.
Photo: Chronicle
Chavismo keeps stunning the world and making headlines with its inefficiency. Stephen Gibbs just published a piece for The Economist about the collapse of the water service in Venezuela:
“Venezuela is an oil-rich country that cannot pay for food and medicines. Now its autocratic regime is showing that it can create shortages even when nature provides abundance. ‘I’ve forgotten what it is like to bathe in running water,’ says Soledad Rodríguez, a graphic designer.”
I found this piece very relatable. I can’t tell you how many times I haven’t had running water in my house while it’s raining outside. Gibbs didn’t cover Ciudad Guayana, so let me add some extra info: My city is literally split by a freaking river and the taps are dry.
And there’s no excuse this time, no Niño to blame. Chavismo’s inefficiency is breaking it’s own records. I asked Stephen if he’d seen anything like it and, to my surprise, he has… after living in Cuba for five years:
“People just get used to it, it becomes the new normal, and you see it here (…) It happens slowly enough so people don’t realize how things are deteriorating, and celebrate the arrival of a water truck, rather than see it as a symptom of a system (water supply) that’s not working.”
And that’s the thing, how do you not adapt? How do you block that relief inside when the water truck comes after a week?
You should read the whole article here. They’ve got testimonies, interviews from ex workers at Hidrocapital, and they blame Chávez for good measure, which is always cool.
(By the way, remember when we made the headlines for good things? Me neither.)
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