From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Tim Desser, and this is Heritage Explains. Food is scarce.

There's no medicine and hospitals lack basic supplies.

Crime is rampant.

The poverty level hovers around 90%.

Starving people dig through dumpsters out of desperation

to feed their malnourished families. This is real life in Venezuela since the socialist took

power under Hugo Chavez and the current leader, Nicholas Maduro. A recent article talked about how the children of the leaders of Venezuela are taking

photos, flashing dollar bills, and chartering private jets to Paris.

They attend the finest schools and spend incredible amounts of money on lavish vacations and dining.

But this is not new.

This is the same story with different characters and a different plot line.

This is what socialism looks like.

The many suffer while those in power parade their wealth.

People waiting in line for hours for the possibility of getting just a loaf of bread.

A common scene for Venezuelans trying to get essential goods.

Many spending most of their days waiting in lines to get basic necessities.

Kimberly has two young children.

She says it's never been so hard to find food.

Kimberly's youngest son, he was taken recently to hospital.

What it says here is that he was suffering from diarrhea, asthma, anemia,

but also from acute malnutrition. There's a whole list of medicines here also for him.

I've just asked her and they haven't been able to buy any of them.

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