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Hard Times in Venezuela By Jean-Francois Numainville, TheWorldJournal.com 
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PRINT VERSION The country located between Columbia Brazil, Guyana and the Caribbean Sea is normally living off their vast oil reserves that represent about 80% of the country's exportations. Also, the oil industry is also responsible for about 50% of the government revenue. The head of the of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) , Carlos Ortega, understands the importance of the workers of the oil industry. And so, after an appeal against President Hugo by the official opposition, Ortega gave a lot more credibility by joining himself and the workers of the PDSVA in the strike. The goal of the strike is to act against the alleged accusations of corruption and bad management from President Chavez. But as if seeing the largest industry in the country stopping production wasn't enough, the strike extended its barrier to all the sectors of the economy, making the country more and more falling into decadence. But so far, the President of Venezuela is still hanging on to power, and no signs of relief are coming from Mr. Chavez. So far, the President - elected triumphally on February 3 1999 - is decided to stop the movement by dispatching troops in the capital Caracas; the envoy of military personnel is to ensure order. This is much needed due to the falling stocks of food and gasoline that have to be distributed in smaller quantities to spread the goods. Both the government and opposition parties are refuting the responsibility for the struggle of the people of Venezuela to the other party, and the eventuality of negotiations is comparable to the economy of the country: simply stalling. On December 21, the Supreme Court of the country order an injunction to forced the workers of the PDVSA to return to the refinery, after all, the country is in desperate need of oil. Major clients like the United-States have to look for more reliable source of gasoline while Venezuela itself has to import oil to ensure its own minimal demand. That is said, the workers of the energy sector have refused to comply with the judiciary order. For now, repercussions on the foreign markets were little, but signs of the increase in gas prices for car drivers and home owners are getting clearer because the price of crude oil is now over the 30$ per barrel, something unseen in the last two years. This crisis is still not showing any signs of ending and there is a risk for the country to plunge in chaos. The fact that people are uncertain about how much food there going to have is very preoccupying, and therefore chances that violent riot and general chaos occurs are getting increasingly realistic. Finally, to restore calm and order in this country of 24 million habitants, there must concessions on both sides to reach a common ground for the good of the people of Venezuela. © January 12, 2003 |
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