NY Times, March 11, 2004 The Oil Company as Social Worker By BRIAN ELLSWORTH
CRUCERO DEL CARO, Venezuela - Siadys Bayuelo, 33, has spent four years urging local authorities to pipe potable water into her home in this dusty town in eastern Venezuela, sparing her the trouble of walking a mile every day to the nearest well.
Now, contractors are drilling wells around the region as part of a $140,000 project that will eventually pipe water into her three-room cinderblock house and hundreds of others nearby, easing a hardscrabble life. But rather than thanking the local government, Ms. Bayuelo says she is grateful to the state-run oil company, which has extensive but faceless operations in this gas-rich region.
"I'm so happy that we're finally going to have water in the house," she said recently while bathing her 1-year-old son from water drawn out of an old petroleum drum. "This is the first time the company has ever done anything for us."
All across this oil-rich and poverty-riddled country, the state oil giant, Petróleos de Venezuela, the country's economic engine, is embarking on a radical and wide-ranging social spending program that includes building homes, running literacy programs and developing agriculture. In all, the company, known worldwide as Pdvsa (pronounced peh-deh-VEH-sah), is increasing its social spending from less than $40 million in previous years to $1.7 billion this year, according to the company's 2004 budget: $616 million on various programs, $600 million on agricultural development and $500 million on low-income housing.
The new spending measures are transforming a state company long run like a private concern into President Hugo Chávez's primary vehicle for social change in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
"Pdvsa used to function as a transnational company only interested in maximizing oil sales," said Pdvsa's president, Alí Rodríguez. "Now, Pdvsa is working with other state institutions to reduce Venezuela's exceedingly high rate of poverty." According to Venezuelan research groups, more than 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Social spending initiatives are crucial for the embattled President Chávez, who has recently faced violent opposition protests as electoral authorities announced setbacks in a recall referendum.
First elected in 1998 on promises to redistribute oil wealth, Mr. Chávez's rule has been characterized by deep polarization. His foes accuse him of ruining the economy; supporters say he is the first leader to represent the poor. While thousands of Mr. Chávez's adversaries have demonstrated against him and in favor of a recall vote, millions are set to benefit from programs that receive Pdvsa financing and other donations, from furniture to literacy videos.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/11/business/worldbusiness/11pdvsa.html
--
The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
