Chavez struggles to fix Venezuela's housing crisis
23.02.12
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — For more than a year, thousands of Venezuelans have been living in disaster shelters, sleeping in bunks and sharing bathrooms.
Their long wait for government homes shows how far President Hugo Chavez still has to go to fulfill his promises of aid for the poor after nearly 13 years in office.
Opposition politicians estimate that more than 30,000 people remain in the shelters waiting for Chavez to deliver. And yet, his inability to keep such grand promises doesn't seem to be a serious handicap as he seeks re-election next year.
"I trust Chavez will get us into an apartment. I just don't know when that could occur, and waiting so long is becoming more and more difficult," said Christian Ortiz, who spent a second Christmas in the crowded shelter with his wife and two children.
For months, Ortiz and his family have been watching construction workers shoulder steel rods and pour cement as they build a government apartment building two blocks away from the community center where they are living. They expect to eventually be assigned one of the 400 apartments in the half-finished building, and are hoping that 2012 will be their year.
Source: The Associated Press