Among the changes Venezuelans have experienced in the last years, and which the government narrative sells to the world and people's empowerment, one of the most detrimental to our overall living standards have been the deprofessionalization, if you will, of most services. Take domestic gas, for instance.

_{That's me in red, waiting for my gas canister, crossing my fingers to get home in one piece.}

We used to have companies that provided the service, right to your kitchen. Just a quick call and in hours, sometimes minutes, you had the canister installed, by the very company employees. With the revolution the whole gas industry is in shambles and now there are communities that can spend as much as a year waiting for some canisters to be distributed, now by the local "communal council" and the canisters are poorly handled by your own neighbors, one of whom lent their house to be used as storage and you have to find a way to carry the heavy thing home and install it yourself. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Source

As you can imagine the accidents have multiplied on a daily basis.
one of the most dramatic ones in recent history happened on December 28, 2020 in the Caño los Becerros community, in the Piar municipality, state of Monagas. Residents stood in line to receive 198 cylinders after 7 months without domestic gas sales in their community .

The alleged mishandling of a 42-kilo cylinder caused an explosion that made other 160 cylinders detonate, setting those present on fire and generating an expansive wave that affected some 17 homes.

Source

After the explosion, 46 adults, adolescents and children were affected with second and third degree burns. The nearby hospitals were not equipped to treat burns and patients start dying in January. At least 9 (according to some sources) died between January 1st and February 6th

You might think that must have taught a lesson or two, right?

Wrong!

No lesson has been learned. They have kept the same distribution system. The gas company has technically disappeared (they just fill the canisters, and I wonder what kind of workers they have now because many canisters are coming from the filling centers in bad conditions and have caused quite a few accidents).

This afternoon we witnessed first hand the irresponsible handling of the gas service in our community. The two big canisters had been received allegedly with an extra of gas that was putting too much pressure, so they decided to open valve to release some of the gas/pressure.

So here we were standing in line while two big time bombs were releasing flamable gas to the street. I am not an expert in these matters and I may be overreacting, but isn't this the best way to cause "an accident" and kills some innocent people?

There were elders and children in the line; all of them seemed to be ok with what was happening, except for the strong smell. They did not like that my wife took the pictures and videos after I asked her to stay away and record the event, just in case.

And this is how improvisation and good luck accounts for the achievements of the revolution in times of crises.

I think it is just a matter of time for worse things to happen. It's simple maths.

Thanks for stopping by. I really wish I had a good report to bring you,but miracles seem to take longer these days.