Residents carry water from the local hospital up narrow staircases in the Guarataro neibourhood.

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Venezuela is in crisis, many of its people taking to the streets to protest against President Nicolas Maduro and his government, which they see as criminally negligent.

Hyperinflation is so extreme that Venezuelans cannot buy enough food and many of them are losing on average 11kg in body weight a year. This phenomenon has been ironically dubbed the "Maduro Diet".

Many poorer Venezuelans were previously Maduro supporters, but as conditions worsened, their loyalty has shifted to the opposition, which is spearheading the calls for him to leave.

Maduro is refusing to give up power and opposition leader Juan Guaido has declared himself the interim president, splitting international opinion and setting the stage for a power struggle.


Aura Sarmiento told Al Jazeera about her small house in Guarataro, a lower-income neighbourhood in the capital Caracas. Anger is palpable in her voice.

"I've not had water for the past two years in my home...the closest [running water] is two miles away at the hospital... almost 500 people use one faucet," she said.

Aura vents her anger at opposition rallies; she, like many other residents of Garataro, is disillusioned with the Chavismo government she once supported.


To draw attention to the lack of water in Guarataro, she picketed the Hidrocapital water company along with opposition politician Jesus Armas.

"We were even able to sit down with the director but nothing ever changes. They say they will fix the problem but they never do," she said.

Aura had running water for just four days in 2018.

Not all impoverished Venezuelans are politically active; many are too focused on securing their families' livelihoods.

"I don't give it much thought," said Alvaro, a resident of the Caracol neighbourhood of Caracas.

"My major worry is where the money for my family is coming from," adds the 45-year-old father of eight, four from his first marriage and four with his current wife, Maria.


The minimum monthly salary in Venezuela is 18,000 bolivars ($5.47).

A bag of flour costs 2,600 bolivars ($0.79), a bag of rice 2,900 bolivars ($0.88) and a pound of potatoes 6,000 bolivars ($1.80). Buying those staples amounts to more than half a month's wages.

Anderson, a 23-year-old blacksmith and father to a six month-year-old daughter, has lost his job and cannot buy any food. He has to dig through rubbish for scraps of food.

"I do this because I have to... some days I go back empty-handed and we go hungry. It's either this or stealing, and I'm not a bad person. So this is what I do to survive," Anderson said.

Aura Sarimierito lives with her husband and youngest son. Her eldest lives in peru to send money back to her and the family which is their main source of income. Since 2016 hyperinflation has left many with little food and water.

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Locals come to the store to get their groceries. Cash used to buy the food, is on a daily basis, becoming more devalued.

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Aura Sarimierito stores water in old milk containers and bottles due to not having water in over two years. Only four days in 2018 she had running water in her taps.

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Up to 500 residents use the same single tap in the Guarataro neighbourhood of Caracas many residents have to walk up to two miles to the local hospital to collect water from the local hospital.

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In the Guarataro neighbourhood of Caracas many residents have to walk up to two miles to the local hospital to collect water from the local hospital.

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A local shop in the Guarataro neighbourhood sells the basic foods. They have shortages often and the prices can rise daily, sometimes even twice a day due to the hyperinflation.

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Anderson searches through the garbage truck to look for food for his wife and year old child at home. He will scavenge for food from 8am to 5pm. Some days he comes home with nothing. He worked as a blacksmith but in 2016 had to stop because the work dried up.

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Anderson picks out a bunch of old oranges from the back of the truck. "If I don't do this my family will stave" he says.

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"Hambre" translated to english means hunger. People graffiti the walls highlighting their issues and looking for Juan Guaido to restore democracy in Venezuela.

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Smantha watches TV in the bedroom area of two of the eight children living in a two room house. Maria is finding it harder to support the family. Her husband Alvario lost an eye in an accident at work so he finds it hard to get money to support the family now. They have to rely on charity and the food the catholic mission gives.

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Maria lives with her four children and her husband, Alvaro with his four children. Her and her husband sleep with four of the children in one bed. There is no running water and she says things are getting harder with the price of food.

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At 55 years old Elgemar's father passed away from a stroke. The family struggled to find the medication to treat him. Elgemar said that she is ashamed that she couldn't afford a box for his ashes.

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Many children in Puturo are malnourished and rely on NGO food banks to feed them. Many of the children have scabies and have no medication to treat them.

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"Hambre" translated to english means hunger. People graffiti the walls along the highway highlighting their issues and looking for Juan Guaido to restore democracy in Venezuela. The next day this was removed.

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Many children in Puturo are malnourished and rely on NGO food banks to feed them. Many of the children have scabies and have no medication to treat them.

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With no running water in Caracol the family of eight use a bucket to wash and use as a toilet. The toiletries are about ten meters from the main house.

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Just outside Caracas people are living in squalid conditions with no help from the government. Alvaro walks to his plot of land where he grow food for his family of eight.

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"Hay Pan?" translates to "Where's the Bread?". People graffiti the walls along the highway highlighting their issues and looking for Juan Guaido to restore democracy in Venezuela.

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Florimar, 25 years old her oldest son, 5years old and Leandro, 1 year old sit in their small house in Puturo slum. Leandro is suffering from scabies on his body and face.

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The only two foods she has in her cubard is brown sugar and salt. She buys bread cheap and resells it in another area of Puturo which is how she supports her family. The father does help but rarely she says.

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Florimar, 25 and her son Leandro, walk back home after attending the food bank set up by an NGO in Puturo.

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A local NGO helps to provide medication and food to Amelia who has lost the majority of her body weight due to the "Maduro Diet", a term for the mass malnutrition in Venezuela.

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Petera, Caracas is the largest slum in Latin America. Many areas in Caracas have been left indisrepair because of the lack of money for infrastructure. 90% of Venezuelans live below. the poverty line.

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