There are food shortages in Venezuela. People cannot buy basic goods. Too many people buy too much of something when they see it in the stores. It's like panic buying. The president will start a new system to stop people buying too much. Shoppers will have to scan their fingerprints when they buy food at stores and supermarkets. This is so people buy an equal share of food. The president did not say when the new system would start. People close to him say it could be January. No one knows how much food people can buy or what happens if they buy too much.

There are many reasons for the food shortages. The government says smugglers are buying cheap food and reselling it in Colombia for up to four times their original price. Another reason is that the government controls food prices. Food companies say they cannot make a profit, so they do not produce much. A final reason is the weakness of Venezuela's currency. This makes it expensive to import food from other countries. Critics say the fingerprinting takes away people's privacy. They say the economy needs to change and that the government needs to have less control.