While raising the minimum salary by 25% and expecting $16 bln annual windfall income from oil, the Miami Herald reports that Chávez is also expected to raise $11billion in a fund he can dispose of without having to answer to anyone on how it’s spent, for next year’s presidential campaign.
El Herald’s article, not yet translated to the Miami Herald website, explains (my translation, please credit me and link to this post if you use it),
Approved without public debate during Holy Week through the controversial Enabling Law, the reform forces Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil company) to give the National Development Fund (FONDEN) a greater portion of the excess income generated by high oil prices.
The fund, which was scheduled to receive some $7 billion this year, will receive an additional $4 billion if the average price of Venezuelan crude remains at $94, according to Venezuelan consulting firm Ecoanalítica.
And those funds will be completely at Chávez’s disposal.
Venezuela News and Views explains the effect of the amendment; The Devil’s Excrement plots the graph.
What this means to the US is that America’s current oil policy is funding foreign governments who will keep themselves in power at all costs.
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