CARACAS—In southwest Caracas, 68-year-old pensioner Carmen Brito sits in her living room furnished with little more than an old sofa, a battered fridge, and plastic containers to store the water that's delivered to her neighborhood just once a week. Like many pensioners in Venezuela, she says she's struggling to get by.
The state pension is currently just 130 bolívares, around $0.30 a month, which is not even enough to buy herself a loaf of bread. The government is set to increase wages and pensions on May 1 but has not yet disclosed the amount. Many are skeptical it will be a meaningful change.
