The gasoline lottery: Venezuela raffles fuel distribution

Every morning, through local radio and social networks, the Government of the State of Mérida, in Venezuela, broadcasts a raffle in which a toy tombola decides the license plates that can load gasoline that day. With this scheme, local authorities try to improve the distribution of fuel, in the face of the crisis that forces drivers to spend hours in lines waiting to get it.

The system selects the numbers at random and collates them to assign to each license plate the service stations where they can be supplied. The system has had positive results, while the rest of the country suffers from shortages. In the state of Bolívar, for example, motorists wait several days to be able to charge their vehicles.

Venezuela has experienced a gasoline crisis for the past decade. The provinces are the most affected, in a distribution system that often favors the capital. The black market and smuggling into Colombia and Brazil have exacerbated the problem.

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