MARACAIBO, Venezuela—Igro Alvarez once was a mechanic on offshore oil rigs that produced vast riches. Now, he digs with pick and shovel to help residents in a city reeling from blackouts and scarcity to access another vital underground resource: water. “We can’t depend on the state anymore,” the 47-year-old Mr. Alvarez, shirtless and barefoot, said as he took a break from using a pulley to haul buckets of dirt from a 60-foot well he was digging next to an apartment complex here. “Now everyone has to fend for themselves.”...

Source: Wall Street Journal April 16, 2019 10:52 UTC