Not really. See a previous post with the subject - Venezuela Oil Fields Back in State Control, from Keith Addison:
"In 2001, it passed a new law requiring oil production to be carried out by companies majority-owned by the government." Greg H. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marty Phee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Biofuel@sustainablelists.org> Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 10:04 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Chicago Turns Down Discounted Venezuelan Oil Very true, but wouldn't they be signing a contract with Citgo and not Venezuela. Greg and April wrote: > IIRC, it's not legal for individual states or cities to make treaties with > foreign nations, as such an agreement might be considered. > > > Greg H. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Keith Addison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <biofuel@sustainablelists.org> > Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 23:56 > Subject: [Biofuel] Chicago Turns Down Discounted Venezuelan Oil > > > http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2710 > > Chicago Turns Down Discounted Venezuelan Oil > > by Jessica Pupovac (bio) > > As Chicago's poorest face an increase to already-high public transit > fees, the city is ignoring an offer of discounted diesel fuel to > benefit low-income people. > Chicago, Dec 28, 2005 - The Chicago Transit Authority is refusing an > opportunity to alleviate commuting costs for hundreds of thousands in > the Windy City's low-income neighborhoods. Instead of accepting > deeply discounted fuel from the Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum > Corporation, the city is instead raising fares to solve budget > shortfalls. > > In an October meeting with representatives from the Chicago Transit > Authority (CTA), the city's Department of Energy and other city > officials, Citgo unveiled a plan to provide the Chicago with low-cost > diesel fuel. The company's stipulation, at the bidding of Venezuelan > President Hugo Chavez, was that the CTA, in turn, pass those savings > on to poor residents in the form free or discounted fare cards. > > But two months later, despite claims of a looming budget crisis, the > CTA president "has no intent or plan to accept the offer," according > to CTA spokesperson Ibis Antongiorgi. She gave no explanation. > > According to Venezuela's consul general in Chicago, Martin Sanchez, > the CTA has yet to inform his office of its decision to decline the > discount offer. > > In place of the proposed discount, which the CTA apparently does not > want Chicagoans to even know about, budget shortfalls will be > addressed by fare hikes. Chicagoans who are unaware of the Venezuela > offer will be hit with an increase of 25 cents per ride next month, > and discounted route-to-route transfers will be eliminated for > passengers paying cash. > > "This is going to hurt the poor and the minority people, like me," > said Dorothy Chew, resident of Humboldt Park, where one-third of > residents live below the federally recognized poverty level - > currently just $16,000 for a family of three. Chew relies on the CTA > to get to work and to Chicago Commons, where she attends classes > daily in preparation for taking her GED. Since she rarely has money > to invest in a fare card, she will be forced to pay for transfers the > majority of the time. > > Chew's classmate, Linda Cox, works a minimum-wage job and has been a > Public Aid recipient for 15 years. She also relies heavily on public > transportation. > > "I only earn $560 a month and of that, over $200 a month goes to my > bus fare," Cox told The NewStandard. "I have a 15-year-old and a > 17-year-old who also need to get to school. If they change the prices > and take away transfers, there are going to be a lot of days missed. > I already see no money at the end of the month." > > The offer of discount fuel is not just confined to Chicago. Over the > Thanksgiving holiday, the first of Venezuela's "oil-for-the-poor" > programs in the US was launched. Citgo struck a deal with three > nonprofit organizations in the Bronx to deliver 5 million gallons of > heating oil at 45 percent below the market price. The deal will > amount to a savings of $4 million for the 8,000 low-income households > slated to benefit from the plan. > > "This is going to hurt the poor and the minority people, like me." -- > Dorothy Chew Citgo has made a similar arrangement with Citizens > Energy Corp. in Boston for the sale and distribution of 12 million > gallons, saving low-income and elderly residents there a total of $10 > million. The company's website says that it expects to expand the > program to other boroughs in New York City and that it is exploring > the possibility of offering discounted fuel to residents in Maine, > Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. > > However, in all of Illinois, only about 12,000 households use heating oil. > > So instead of fuel for heat, Citgo representatives offered the CTA a > 40-50 percent discount on diesel fuel for buses to benefit Chicagoans > most in need of relief from soaring oil and gas prices this winter. > > "We didn't know how else to reach enough people," said Consul Sanchez. > > Another difference between the Chicago offer and the programs enacted > in the Northeast is that Citgo proposed to work with a government > agency, rather than nonprofit organizations. The CTA relies on the US > federal government - which is in a constant war of words with > Venezuelan President Chavez - for much of its funding. In fact, just > weeks after Citgo made its offer to the CTA, Congress signed the > Federal Transportation Appropriations bill, allocating $89 million in > infrastructure project funds the CTA had been seeking for years. > > Representatives from the US State Department and city officials, > including Aldermen involved in the negotiations and the Chicago > Mayor's Office, refused to respond to queries about whether > international politics played any part in the CTA's rejection of > Citgo's offer. > > Some critics of President Chavez say his offer of cheap fuel to > low-income communities in the US is a political ploy to win the > support of the American people. Larry Birns, executive director of > the progressive think tank, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, said > Chavez is trying to counter Bush administration criticisms with > "petro-diplomacy." Birns, who criticizes both US policy toward > Venezuela and Chavez's confrontational style, told TNS, "There is a > certain amount of humor involved in needling the Bush administration > for neglecting its own while attempting to stand tall in Latin > America." > > However, as Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy > Research - another progressive think tank - pointed out, the > Venezuelan government has been providing cheap fuel to several > countries in Latin America. Weisbrot is a staunch supporter of the > Chavez administration. > > "It is part of [Venezuela's] policy to compensate for the impact of > the high oil prices on poor people," he said. "They don't have any > grudge against the American people; it's just the Bush administration > that they don't like." > > Consul Sanchez echoed this sentiment. "Any corporation that makes a > big profit in a community owes that community something in return," > he said. With one of Citgo's three light-oil refineries located in > nearby Lemont, 30 minutes outside the city, Sanchez said, Venezuela > has "a special relationship with people and community organizations > in Chicago." > > There remains no sign, however, that the government of Chicago will > take Citgo and Venezuela up on the unilateral offer. > > © 2005 The NewStandard. > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
