Given that Venezuela has the most oil reserves in the world, why isn’t the country as rich as Saudi Arabia? Also, why have so many of the major oil companies stopped operating there?
In: 8
As others mention, in short:
– politics (corruption, firing anyone that votes against the gov., bureaucracy, Etc )
– nature of the oil (heavy you still need light oil to process it)
– lack of diversification (for 100+ years… selling the crude oil then importing with a premium price the manufactured products; same with cacao that is exported to Europe while the country eats those processed milk mixed cheap chocolate bars made by Nestlé)
I am not an historian, views may not be accurate or wrong, take with grain of salt. Combination of first hand experience (living through it) anectodal and interest; as I always found it disappointing while having natural Oil, Gas, Precious (Diamonds, Gold ,etc.), etc. still doesn’t go forward, like a genius kid that accomplished nothing
Oil was discovered around 1900 in Venezuela during a Dictatorship that lasted for 30+ years where the US quickly jumped in; where basically the Dictator & friends were getting a big cut and the American companies another big cut (in exchange for the knowledge/extraction/people/machinery/strategy/discovery/administration/etc.). There was a significant US influence (e.g. Schools that were American for the children of the oil professionals) and many funny words that are unique to Venezuela vs the rest of LATAM due mispronouncing English words that were spoken during those times (not that accurate but some examples https://www.soloenvenezuela.net/noticias-curiosas/palabras-venezolanas-derivadas-del-ingles/). I believe there was already inequality, heavy corruption and this desire to follow and idealise a leader “caudillismo”. There are so many more factors there though where it is better to read historians
Politics were a huge factor, many things were mentioned in the thread, two parts I would like to highlight were when the Government did fire the qualified people for Oil treatment/digging/etc if they had any participation on the 2002 National Strike (Paro) or if they signed a referendum that was against Chavez (Tascón List).
There was a huge lack of any type of maintenance for the refineries and a couple of the big ones blew up, but this comes many years latee (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&q=refinery+explosion+Venezuela+&oq=refinery+explosion+Venezuela+&aqs=heirloom-srp..0l3)
Reference: https://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/venezuela0908/2.htm
Chávez requested that electoral authorities give legislator Luis Tascón a list of those who signed the referendum petition, which was made publicly available on the internet. The “Tascón list” and an even more detailed list of all Venezuelans’ political affiliations—the “Maisanta program”—were then used by public authorities to target government opponents for political discrimination
Political discrimination has been openly endorsed and practiced in the oil industry, which is one of the country’s largest sources of employment and the backbone of the national economy. After a two-month-long strike in December 2002, the government fired close to half of the workforce from the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), and blacklisted them from future employment in the oil sector. A month before the 2006 presidential election, the energy minister (who also serves as PDVSA president) boasted that the company had “removed 19,500 enemies of the country from the [oil] business” and would continue to do so, telling PDVSA employees that anyone who disagreed with the government “should give up their post to a Bolivarian.”
Given that Venezuela has the most oil reserves in the world, why isn’t the country as rich as Saudi Arabia? Also, why have so many of the major oil companies stopped operating there?
In: 8
As others mention, in short:
– politics (corruption, firing anyone that votes against the gov., bureaucracy, Etc )
– nature of the oil (heavy you still need light oil to process it)
– lack of diversification (for 100+ years… selling the crude oil then importing with a premium price the manufactured products; same with cacao that is exported to Europe while the country eats those processed milk mixed cheap chocolate bars made by Nestlé)
I am not an historian, views may not be accurate or wrong, take with grain of salt. Combination of first hand experience (living through it) anectodal and interest; as I always found it disappointing while having natural Oil, Gas, Precious (Diamonds, Gold ,etc.), etc. still doesn’t go forward, like a genius kid that accomplished nothing
Oil was discovered around 1900 in Venezuela during a Dictatorship that lasted for 30+ years where the US quickly jumped in; where basically the Dictator & friends were getting a big cut and the American companies another big cut (in exchange for the knowledge/extraction/people/machinery/strategy/discovery/administration/etc.). There was a significant US influence (e.g. Schools that were American for the children of the oil professionals) and many funny words that are unique to Venezuela vs the rest of LATAM due mispronouncing English words that were spoken during those times (not that accurate but some examples https://www.soloenvenezuela.net/noticias-curiosas/palabras-venezolanas-derivadas-del-ingles/). I believe there was already inequality, heavy corruption and this desire to follow and idealise a leader “caudillismo”. There are so many more factors there though where it is better to read historians
Politics were a huge factor, many things were mentioned in the thread, two parts I would like to highlight were when the Government did fire the qualified people for Oil treatment/digging/etc if they had any participation on the 2002 National Strike (Paro) or if they signed a referendum that was against Chavez (Tascón List).
There was a huge lack of any type of maintenance for the refineries and a couple of the big ones blew up, but this comes many years latee (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&q=refinery+explosion+Venezuela+&oq=refinery+explosion+Venezuela+&aqs=heirloom-srp..0l3)
Reference: https://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/venezuela0908/2.htm
Chávez requested that electoral authorities give legislator Luis Tascón a list of those who signed the referendum petition, which was made publicly available on the internet. The “Tascón list” and an even more detailed list of all Venezuelans’ political affiliations—the “Maisanta program”—were then used by public authorities to target government opponents for political discrimination
Political discrimination has been openly endorsed and practiced in the oil industry, which is one of the country’s largest sources of employment and the backbone of the national economy. After a two-month-long strike in December 2002, the government fired close to half of the workforce from the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), and blacklisted them from future employment in the oil sector. A month before the 2006 presidential election, the energy minister (who also serves as PDVSA president) boasted that the company had “removed 19,500 enemies of the country from the [oil] business” and would continue to do so, telling PDVSA employees that anyone who disagreed with the government “should give up their post to a Bolivarian.”
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