Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 21 November 2019
Many in Venezuela's 2nd city turn to prayer, not politics

By SCOTT SMITH Maduro has not budged
Associated Press from power.
MARACAIBO, Venezuela In Maracaibo, located in
(AP) — Thanks to the gen- Venezuela's western Zulia
erosity of neighbors, Hayde state along the Colombian
Chacin and husband Jose border, many residents say
Calderón are surviving their they've abandoned politi-
elderly years on the out- cal marches, lacking faith
skirts of Venezuela's second in leaders or fearing for
largest city of Maracaibo. their personal safety.
The manager of a nursery Araujo, 36, said she couldn't
down the street gives them join the demonstration,
a bit of rice when they having to care for her two
have nothing else to eat. young children, ages three
The night watchman at a and four. Her husband left
restaurant across the street for Colombia, promising to
runs a hose every other send back money from sell-
day to their house to fill up ing street food, but he calls
buckets of water. her only to report difficulty
Neighborhood trash heaps making a living, she said.
provide discarded plastic She's thin and continuing to
bottles that they cash in for lose weight, living on $5 or
pennies and wood to burn $10 that friends occasion-
for cooking on an open fire In this Nov. 18, 2019 photo, faithful referred to as "Servidores Mañaneros" or morning servers, carry ally send her from abroad.
in the backyard. They com- the image of the Virgin of Chiquinquira during a procession, in Maracaibo, Venezuela. "With this, I'm surviving," she
plain government social Associated Press said. "There are so many
programs fall short. decades of socialist rule dus of millions has made gathered around the Vir- hungry children in the
"The two of us live in pover- for destroying an oil indus- them ask for something gin of Chiquinquira, one of streets."
ty — but we're proud," said try that today produces a bigger than themselves. Venezuela's most revered Maracaibo residents on
60-year-old Chacin. fraction of what it did at its "I've come here to pray Catholic icons. Monday held a celebra-
The couple focuses on dai- height two decades ago. for Venezuela, asking for a Nationwide, an estimated tion opening the holiday
ly survival, accepting their The Venezuelan govern- miracle much larger, that 4.5 million residents have season, but the faithful
hard lot even as Venezue- ment blames U.S. sanctions they help all Venezuelans fled Venezuela, most going continued to fill the pews
lan opposition leader Juan for many of its problems. escape this crisis," said to nearby Colombia, Peru the next day. They quietly
Guaidó pushes for street Some banks of the lake are 36-year-old worshipper Jes- and Ecuador. They search bowed their heads, many
protests in his protracted constantly covered in a sica Araujo. She became for better jobs to send saying they reflected on
campaign to oust President slick of spilled oil from the emotional while talking money home, but they of- their family members and
Nicolás Maduro. broken platforms, making it about her husband's de- ten confront backlash and friends driven far away by
Few in Maracaibo have hard for local fisherman to parture to Colombia four hardships as their numbers the crisis.
responded to Guaidó's ef- make a living. The smell of months ago with the prom- steadily grow. Johan Bolivar, 31, sells veg-
forts to reignite his move- crude wafts into a city with ise to send home money Guaidó in January de- etables nearby at the city's
ment, despite it being a more than 1 million resi- to his wife and their two clared presidential pow- largest open-air market.
city hard hit by crisis. Its resi- dents. young children. ers, vowing to end socialist He said vendors like him
dents endure daily power Thousands of Venezuelans So far, no money has come, rule, but his attempts have have begun packaging
outages in a region that's flocking to Maracaibo's she said. stalled, despite backing small bags of vegetables,
punishingly hot. ornate basilica each year Worshippers launched the from more than 50 nations, called "combos," made up
Vast oil reserves pumped at this time traditionally ask holiday season with a cer- including the United States, of a single tomato, onion
from Lake Maracaibo once for help overcoming illness emony on Monday that which has targeted Mad- and potato. It's a cheap
made Venezuela one of or conceiving a child. But drew masses, even as the uro's government with far- for customers who can't af-
Latin America's wealthiest many faithful say the eco- crisis strains budgets and reaching sanctions aimed ford large quantities of pro-
nations. Critics blame two nomic crisis driving the exo- breaks up families. They at forcing him out. duce, he said.q
Death toll in violence at Bolivian fuel plant rises to 8

By CARLOS VALDEZ to mourn the dead said ularities. Former President
Associated Press they were fired on by secu- Evo Morales resigned Nov.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The rity forces. 10 after protests against
death toll from an opera- Police and soldiers escort- him and pressure from the
tion by Bolivian security ed gasoline tankers from security forces, but his sup-
forces to clear the block- the Senkata fuel plant fol- porters oppose the interim
ade of a fuel plant by anti- lowing food and gasoline government that took his
government protesters has shortages in some Bolivian place.
risen to at least eight, offi- cities. Jeanine Áñez, the self-
cials said Wednesday. The plant provides fuel to proclaimed president,
The public defender's of- more than two million peo- said Wednesday that she
fice and the state Institute ple in El Alto and neighbor- planned to call for new
of Forensic Investigations ing La Paz. elections following the
announced the casualty Bolivia has been in a state deaths of at least 30 peo-
figures, a day after the vio- of turbulence since a dis- ple in political violence
lence in the city of El Alto, puted Oct. 20 vote that, ac- since last month.
Soldiers guard the Senkata fuel plant in El Alto, on the outskirts of near La Paz. People gath- cording to an international "We want the violence to
La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.
Associated Press ering at a Catholic church audit, was marred by irreg- stop," Áñez said.q