Woman should have six children for the good of the country: Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro

President Nicolas Maduro sparked a furore in Venezuela after he urged women to produce six children, each for the "good of the country".

While addressing a woman present at the healthcare event, Maduro said, "May God bless you for having given life to six little girls and boys".

He then urged that "Every woman should have six children for the good of the country", he said.

Although Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela's economy has collapsed under Maduro's leadership and the country has suffered five years of recession. The UN says more than 4.5 million people have left the country due to its crisis while inflation is the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In 2019, the official currency, the bolivar, depreciated more than 90%, while hyperinflation in the first nine months of the year clocked in at 4,680%, according to the central bank.

According to a report by the United Nations' children's agency Unicef, 13% of Venezuelan children were malnourished between 2013 and 2018.

A bitter power struggle between the Maduro government and the opposition leader Juan Guaido has exacerbated the country's economic crisis.

Last year, Guaido declared himself the country's acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro.
He derived such authority from his position as the speaker of the National Assembly after the legislature declared Maduro's 2018 re-election invalid following a poll widely denounced as rigged.