According to the Misery Index developed by economist Arthur Okun, who in his analysis studies inflation, poverty and employment indicators, Venezuela is expected to be the second “most miserable” economy in the world in 2023.
By La Patilla
Jan 11, 2023
One of the consequences of this dramatic scenario is that the most vulnerable of the population have returned to trash dumpsters. Older adults and children returned to the waste containers in search for their livelihood and something to eat.
On “El Milagro de Maracaibo” Avenue, Circunvalación 2, and on the main streets and avenues of the capital of Zulia, old people can be seen rummaging through the garbage in search of something to eat.
Some are seen eating solid waste, others collecting plastic and cans to sell, and thus obtain a few bolivars to buy at least a bun of bread.
The sixty-year-old Oswaldo Villalobos recounted lapatilla.com his daily tour. He leaves his home at 4:00 in the afternoon, located in the “Puntica de Piedra” neighborhood, and walks to the “Mirador del Lago” Residence. There he begins his route rummaging through garbage bags.
“Sometimes God blesses me and I get chicken bones with plenty of meat and I eat them. I’ve also gotten slices of bread and arepas. That sustains me, and I take the opportunity to take out the plastic bottles. I keep these and sell them to a man near my house. For 20 bottles he gives me 15 bolivars – Now less than one U.S. dollar the official exact rate – in cash and with that I buy a cup of coffee and three salty bread buns,” he recounted.
Villalobos said that at his age no one would give him a job and he resolves to “half feed” himself this way by collecting trash and also cleaning on the outskirts of homes or picking weeds at his neighbors’ homes. Payment ranges from $3 to $5, or a “well-resolved” plate of food.
Acacia Piña works as a maid in a residential complex in “El Milagro”. She asserted that it had been months since she had seen old people or children looking through the garbage to eat.
“This has been seen again around here since November when the dollar skyrocketed. Every day I save a little of my food for Mr. Alberto and give it to him. He told me that in his house, the little that his daughter earns, who has six children, is not enough for them to eat. That’s why he goes out to rummage for himself.”
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Read More: La Patilla – Economic crisis intensifies in Venezuela: older adults and children return to garbage dumps to eat
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