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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Chavez Furiously Backtracking As Venezuela Petro-Economy Deteriorates |
| 2010-01-28 |
| In anticipation of Thursday's Carabobo oil field auction, outspoken Marxist president Hugo Chavez quietly pleaded for foreign investment. ""Investment and experience from foreign oil firms is necessary in Venezuela. We need it," Chavez said, according to Dow Jones. The statement is a serious turnaround for a government that has nationalized dozens of foreign oil companies in recent years. But they 'need' foreign investment because mismanagement is turning the country into just another failed petro-state. This is also the second instance of Chavez backtracking today. Chavez reversed a six-year ban on the sale of U.S. dollars by Venezuela's central bank, in an effort to control the vast amount of money that was leaving the country through unregulated exchange, according to Bloomberg. He had previously threatened to "burn the hands" of speculators who speculated against the bolivar. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Investment and experience from foreign oil firms is necessary in Venezuela. We need it. Heh heh. After you screwed over the foreign oil companies? Fat chance. Time for your payback, Oogo. Bend over. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-01-28 17:27 |
| #6 The statement is a serious turnaround for a government that has nationalized dozens of foreign oil companies in recent years. This isn't backtracking. Backtracking would involve returning nationalized assets to their original owners. Chavez isn't backtracking - he's merely asking foreign investors to add to the list of assets he can steal in the future. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2010-01-28 14:28 |
| #5 It appears the Chinese are about as interested in Hugo's oil as they're becoming in Treasury Bonds. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-01-28 12:45 |
| #4 "Peak oil" redefined, eh, Phil? |
| Posted by: KBK 2010-01-28 11:37 |
| #3 I'm treating with scepticism the IEA projection that world oil consumption peaked for good a couple of years ago, but if true, it will have some interesting consequences. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-01-28 06:23 |
| #2 "I demand that more wealthy capitalists move here so I can steal their stuff." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-01-28 06:02 |
| #1 What you need, Hugo, is *more* socialism. Go nationalize something. Nothing like nationalizing industry to reassure foreign investors. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-01-28 00:22 |