Venezuela Trucks Food Directly to the Poorest as Chaos Spreads
- Maduro government is competing with the black market
- Empty refrigerators infuence the battle for hearts and minds
Members of a CLAP group receive a food truck in Catia.
Photographer: Manaure Quintero/BloombergCatia, a vast network of makeshift homes in western Caracas, has long been a proud bastion of Venezuelan socialism. The residents may be working class but their housing is subsidized, their clinics free, their favorite color ruling-party red.
Red T-shirts were everywhere in Catia one recent morning but not for another ribbon cutting. This time, loyalists were unloading a government truck packed with food for once-resolute supporters whose pantries are achingly empty.