8/13/2014
It is not a small grocery store, but one of the most important oil companies in the world. Today as we once did yesterday, all Venezuelans would have to oppose its privatization. And not just on a mere whim, since that would seem very outmoded at this point. We have been arguing for years that in Venezuela the State has very long tentacles, which allow it to grab much more than it should
By TalCual
Two top government officials are hinting at the possibility of selling Citgo. However, Nicolás Maduro, who happens to be one of them, suggested that “there is no rush” for such deal.
But, obviously, they have thought this over and are waiting for the right time, perhaps one in which that privatization won’t make any waves. This brings memories of a conversation between this editorialist (Teodoro Petkoff) and the late Hugo Chávez, in the house of José Vicente Rangel, back in December of 1998, after the first became president-elect.
In that conversation, Chávez said, among many other things, that he was thinking about selling Citgo. I asked him if he was going to privatize PDVSA, because that would mark the first step on that path since Citgo was always deemed a major and very profitable asset from our state-run oil company.
The president frowned and claimed that that was not his intention, then the topic was not discussed anymore as the conversation took a different turn. Citgo was not privatized in the end.
But 15 years after, the subject was brought up again “without haste,” as Maduro says, but “alive and kicking.” The purpose of this eventual deal is not even being disguised anymore: that of tackling the country’s huge fiscal deficit by obtaining (according to some sources) between $10 and $15 billion from the sale of Citgo.
This is no small grocery store, but one of the most important oil companies in the world. Today as we once did yesterday, all Venezuelans would have to oppose its privatization. And not just on a mere whim, since that would seem very outmoded at this point. We have been arguing for years that in Venezuela the State has very long tentacles, which allow it to grab much more than it should.
But just as it owns and manages businesses that logically it would not have to manage, there are others that inevitably must be in the State’s hands. Such is the case of both PDVSA and Citgo, which belong to it.
A company this big, with global reach, in private, domestic, foreign or mixed hands, would constitute a State within a State, thus making up an immense power that may eventually compromise the national sovereignty. In this regard, it is worth holding that “national debate” once suggested by the president.
Moreover, it would be advisable to make a referendum on this matter, because it is about national interest and the Constitution provides for the possibility of a public consultation in cases such as this particular one.
In any case, an eventual privatization of Citgo should not be carried out without prior consultation, which would be preceded, naturally, by the debate suggested by Maduro. It would be interesting if the country could weigh up the arguments (in favor and against) the sale of Citgo.
In the end, if it’s true that PDVSA (and Citgo with it) belongs to all Venezuelans as the slogan goes, without a doubt this deal must be of concern for all of us. Citgo is national heritage and its sale should not go through without the country discussing the reasons presented by the promoters of the idea.
source
It is not a small grocery store, but one of the most important oil companies in the world. Today as we once did yesterday, all Venezuelans would have to oppose its privatization. And not just on a mere whim, since that would seem very outmoded at this point. We have been arguing for years that in Venezuela the State has very long tentacles, which allow it to grab much more than it should By TalCual
Two top government officials are hinting at the possibility of selling Citgo. However, Nicolás Maduro, who happens to be one of them, suggested that “there is no rush” for such deal.
But, obviously, they have thought this over and are waiting for the right time, perhaps one in which that privatization won’t make any waves. This brings memories of a conversation between this editorialist (Teodoro Petkoff) and the late Hugo Chávez, in the house of José Vicente Rangel, back in December of 1998, after the first became president-elect.
In that conversation, Chávez said, among many other things, that he was thinking about selling Citgo. I asked him if he was going to privatize PDVSA, because that would mark the first step on that path since Citgo was always deemed a major and very profitable asset from our state-run oil company.
The president frowned and claimed that that was not his intention, then the topic was not discussed anymore as the conversation took a different turn. Citgo was not privatized in the end.
But 15 years after, the subject was brought up again “without haste,” as Maduro says, but “alive and kicking.” The purpose of this eventual deal is not even being disguised anymore: that of tackling the country’s huge fiscal deficit by obtaining (according to some sources) between $10 and $15 billion from the sale of Citgo.
This is no small grocery store, but one of the most important oil companies in the world. Today as we once did yesterday, all Venezuelans would have to oppose its privatization. And not just on a mere whim, since that would seem very outmoded at this point. We have been arguing for years that in Venezuela the State has very long tentacles, which allow it to grab much more than it should.
But just as it owns and manages businesses that logically it would not have to manage, there are others that inevitably must be in the State’s hands. Such is the case of both PDVSA and Citgo, which belong to it.
A company this big, with global reach, in private, domestic, foreign or mixed hands, would constitute a State within a State, thus making up an immense power that may eventually compromise the national sovereignty. In this regard, it is worth holding that “national debate” once suggested by the president.
Moreover, it would be advisable to make a referendum on this matter, because it is about national interest and the Constitution provides for the possibility of a public consultation in cases such as this particular one.
In any case, an eventual privatization of Citgo should not be carried out without prior consultation, which would be preceded, naturally, by the debate suggested by Maduro. It would be interesting if the country could weigh up the arguments (in favor and against) the sale of Citgo.
In the end, if it’s true that PDVSA (and Citgo with it) belongs to all Venezuelans as the slogan goes, without a doubt this deal must be of concern for all of us. Citgo is national heritage and its sale should not go through without the country discussing the reasons presented by the promoters of the idea.
source
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