Fernando Escalona, 51, poses for a picture at the Mother Teresa of Calcutta eating center in Caracas March 21, 2014. Fernando lives with his brothers. He used to work as a framer, but currently works cleaning a mall. He has having meals at the eating center for over four months, because he cannot afford enough food. The Mother Teresa of Calcutta eating center, located in a back-street of Caracas, is frequented by people who are unemployed and homeless, as well as those who work but are unable to make ends meet. Shortages of basic products have become the norm in Venezuela over the last year and workers at soup kitchens for the homeless and hungry face an ever-more difficult task in finding the staple foods they need to provide a free hot daily meal. Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro’s government say the queues are a national embarrassment and symbol of failed socialist economics similar to the old Soviet Union. But officials say businessmen are deliberately hoarding products as part of an “economic war” against him. Picture taken March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins (VENEZUELA – Tags: POLITICS FOOD SOCIETY POVERTY)
ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 22 OF 27 FOR PACKAGE ‘HUNGRY IN CARACAS’
TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH ‘BOLIVAR CARACAS’