By Emiliano Teran Mantovani ....Who will control the oil industry and its revenues? Or how will Venezuela benefit? A purely normative or legal interpretation of this one-sided [oil] agreement is not even sufficient when what is prevailing in the course of events is the exercise of arbitrary power through neocolonial subordination — in its purest, most naked form — linked to domestic authoritarianism. Nor are analyses based on partisan political expectations sufficient — a segment of the population, for example, had expectations of democracy and “progress” under Trump, which have evidently been deflating. Even less useful are interpretations based on superficial political promises of “growth” and “economic recovery”. Consider that, if those promised US$200 billion in royalties and taxes over 25 years (approximately US$8 billion annually) were ever realized, they might represent barely one-fifth of average annual oil-fiscal revenues during the 2005–2009 period. And we don’t even know how or on what they will be spent (for example, we may be forced to pay off the restructured foreign debt under who knows what conditions), or which groups will benefit.
Questions such as these must instead be contrasted with the clear evidence of how the country’s looting is being reorganized, under different structures and modalities. Of how an imperial/oligarchic-national pact is dismantling the historic Republic in order to reshape the country, where a new neo-colonial state emerges to facilitate the massive appropriation of cheap natural resources, territories, rents and surpluses and, eventually, cheap labor as well. It may be useful to review similar cases, such as Iraq after the 2003 invasion and the reshaping of that country’s petro-state. In this framework, democracy and rights have no place. The aforementioned U.S. Fact Sheet is clear: “Private-sector led growth in production, output, and investment in Venezuela is a key precondition to driving continued reform and democratic transition following the incredible success of Operation Absolute Resolve”. First and foremost, guarantee energy appropriation; everything else comes afterward. Despite the rhetoric of U.S. officials about a ‘transition to democracy’, Trump insisted on September 2 what he has said on various occasions: “Venezuela is not yet ready for elections.”13 Democracy, the separation of powers, the independence of the state, and compliance with the Constitution have no place here because they are obstacles to the energy and economic objectives. Ultimately, this means that Venezuelans themselves have no place. They hardly matter. Their decisions, expressed, for example, in the July 28, 2024 elections, do not matter. Neither do their social and labor rights. And the environment is even less relevant, an area that has been rendered completely invisible in this conflict. It is impossible to imagine what environmental governance under the Oil Agreement will look like; what spills and accidents will mean amid the agony of the rule of law and the frightening track record of U.S. corporations around the world. Much less is there any thought given to the fact that those 11 billion barrels of oil will be burned in 25 years with such impunity, while the climate crisis worsens, and Venezuela (like the rest of Latin America) is only weeks away from facing the so-called “Super Niño,” an unprecedented one... Recognizing the enormous challenges before us, and as a contribution to a collective discussion, I outline seven aspects for addressing our current situation:...\ Read full article at https://links.org.au/trump-rodriguez-oil-agreement-united-states-venezuela-neocolonial-pact -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#43418): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/43418 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/121258177/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
