Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Latin America
Related: About this forumThe $755 Condom Pack Is the Latest Indignity in Venezuela
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/the-755-condom-is-the-latest-indignity-in-venezuelaVenezuelans who already must line up for hours to buy chicken, sugar, medicines and other basic products in short supply now face a new indignity: Condoms are hard to find and nearly impossible to afford.
The country is so messed up that now we have to wait in line even to have sex, lamented Jonatan Montilla, a 31-year-old advertising company art director. This is a new low.
A collapse in oil prices has deepened shortages of consumer products from diapers to deodorant in the OPEC country that imports most of what it consumes, with crude exports accounting for about 95 percent of its foreign currency earnings. As the price the country receives for its oil exports fell 60 percent in the past seven months, the economy is being pushed to the brink with a three-in-four chance of default in the next 12 months if oil prices dont recover.
The impact of reduced access to contraceptives is far graver than frustration over failed hookups. Venezuela has one of South Americas highest rates of HIV infection and teenage pregnancy. Abortion is illegal.
Without condoms we cant do anything, Jhonatan Rodriguez, general director at the not-for-profit health group StopVIH, said by phone Jan. 28 from Venezuelas Margarita Island. This shortage threatens all the prevention programs we have been working on across the country.
The country is so messed up that now we have to wait in line even to have sex, lamented Jonatan Montilla, a 31-year-old advertising company art director. This is a new low.
A collapse in oil prices has deepened shortages of consumer products from diapers to deodorant in the OPEC country that imports most of what it consumes, with crude exports accounting for about 95 percent of its foreign currency earnings. As the price the country receives for its oil exports fell 60 percent in the past seven months, the economy is being pushed to the brink with a three-in-four chance of default in the next 12 months if oil prices dont recover.
The impact of reduced access to contraceptives is far graver than frustration over failed hookups. Venezuela has one of South Americas highest rates of HIV infection and teenage pregnancy. Abortion is illegal.
Without condoms we cant do anything, Jhonatan Rodriguez, general director at the not-for-profit health group StopVIH, said by phone Jan. 28 from Venezuelas Margarita Island. This shortage threatens all the prevention programs we have been working on across the country.
Venezuela had the third-fastest rate of HIV infections per capita in South America, after Paraguay and Brazil in 2013, United Nations data shows. The country also has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies on the continent after Guyana, at 83 per 1,000, according to 2012 data from the World Bank. This compares to just 4 per 1,000 in Germany and 31 in the U.S.
Another achievement from the glorious "revolution"
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 845 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The $755 Condom Pack Is the Latest Indignity in Venezuela (Original Post)
Marksman_91
Feb 2015
OP
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)1. Fertile ground for a protection racket.
Bacchus4.0
(6,837 posts)2. LBN material, some will get it
On the auction website MercadoLibre, used by Venezuelans to obtain scarce goods, a 36-pack of Trojans sells for 4,760 bolivars ($755 at the official exchange rate), close to the countrys minimum monthly wage of 5,600 bolivars. At the unofficial black-market rate used by people with access to dollars, the cost is about $25, compared to $21 in the U.S.
Bacchus4.0
(6,837 posts)3. n/t