Gustavo Coronel
Se le acaba el maíz a la
gallina? Los pollitos se van a
rebelar
According to figures from the Venezuelan
Central Bank the member countries of PetroCaribe owe Venezuela more than $22
billion in unpaid petroleum bills. It is becoming increasingly evident that this
debt will never be paid. PetroCaribe is an organization created in 2005 by
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to supply subsidized petroleum to Caribbean
countries. The terms are extremely generous: 40 percent of the bill can be paid
back in goods and sevices, including bananas, black beans, kahki trousers and
the like. The money portion is paid in 17-25 years, with two years grace and an
interest rate of one percent, practically a give away.
Paradoxically the amount owed Venezuela by
the PetroCaribe member countries is very similar to the amount owed by Venezuela
to China, for loans received during the
last five years. For all practical purposes Venezuela has been borrowing money
from A to give it away to B,C, etc.
With Chavez now dead, the new leaders of
the regime have suddenly realized that
this extreme prodigality cannot go on. But the solution proposed recently seems
to be too little too late: raising the interest rate on the unpaid portion of
the bill from one percent to…. two percent, or even, up to four percent. Since payment is dubious, this raise in
interest rates will mostly have a
negative psychological impact on the organization, as the real payment from the
countries to Venezuela has not been in
cash but in political loyalty. Through PetroCaribe Venezuela has essentially
bought the vote of the 18 member countries in the OAS and/or the U.N. This
strategy has allowed the authoritarian Venezuelan government to escape action
from these organizations. Especially in the OAS the votes of the Caribbean block
have been decisive to put to rest attempts by other countries to penalize the
Venezuelan regime for their constant human rights violations and abuse of power.
As reality catches on with the Venezuelan
regime one of the early casualties could be PetroCaribe.
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