A water rationing regime began today in Caracas and may last as long as six months depending on climatic conditions.
The cuts to water service will affect the capital of Caracas and some nearby areas for periods of up to 48 hours, the state-owned water utility Hidrocapital announced.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said the unseasonably dry past few months have caused the water shortage.The rationing is the latest development in the government’s efforts to combat the effects of an unusually dry rainy season.
Critics of the Chávez administration contend that the rationing has less to do with weather patterns than with the nationalization of utility companies and the government’s failure to adequately invest in water-related infrastructure over the last decade. Some weather forecasters blame a severe drought spawned by “El Niño”
Chávez asked recently: “What will the rich fill their swimming pools with?” ; “With the water that is denied inhabitants in the poor neighborhoods,” blaming the lack of sufficient water on “capitalism—a lack of feeling, a lack of humanity.”
