[ad_1]
Ooutside a gas station in eastern Caracas, the fuel queue stretches for blocks. Motorists know that the United States has imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan state-run oil company and worries that the pumps will not work soon.
"Everything will get worse," said Tomás Pacheco, who was waiting to fill his car. "And those long lines are the new standard for us."
The sanctions, entered Monday, prohibit US companies from exporting goods or services to PDVSA, as part of a campaign to compel Maduro to withdraw and hand over power to Juan Guaidó, chief of l & # 39; opposition. US refineries are also prohibited from purchasing crude oil from PDVSA unless the money is paid into accounts unrelated to Maduro.
In Venezuela, however, concern is that these measures will only create more suffering in a country already plunged into hyperinflation and chronic shortages of staple foods and medicines.
"In all my years, I have never seen anything so radical," said Carlos Fuentes, an engineer who was waiting for fuel. "If the essence disappears, it will be just another problem in all this chaos."
According to badysts, the aim of the sanctions is to increase the suffering of the population and to trigger even larger protests than those that have shaken Venezuela in recent weeks.
"The United States is hoping that the big outcry will be the miracle solution that finally kills the Maduro regime," said Geoff Ramsey, deputy director of Venezuela's Washington office for Latin America. "But as we learned from Cuba, authoritarian regimes can be very resilient."
Opposition demonstrations outnumbered government supporters, but Maduro maintained crucial military support by offering senior positions in the government and PDVSA. Sanctions are also aimed at striking kingdoms in their portfolios, although the vast illegal economies they run – from drug trafficking to illegal mining and extortion – will not be affected.
"There is so much money coming out of the ground in Venezuela that ends up in the pockets of the regime, it's hard to see these sanctions doing much more than increasing the suffering of normal people," Ramsey said.
PDVSA, which has been Venezuela's economic lifeline for so long, is unlikely to be able to withstand the storm: if the country has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, it is increasingly affected by oil spills. fuel shortages due to dilapidated infrastructure.
The crude that comes out of the soil contains a lot of sulfur and can only be turned into gasoline in some refineries. Venezuela's refineries are dilapidated, so oil is shipped to the United States where it is refined, before being sold to the nation in difficulty to meet the demand at the pump. In the first eight months of 2018, imports from the United States increased by 76% to 125,000 barrels per day, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
A man carries a sign in Spanish "They attack for oil" during a demonstration in favor of the public oil company PDVSA, Caracas Thursday. Photo: Ariana Cubillos / AP
"This is a completely mismanaged business since Chávez piled it up with loyalists," said Gilberto Morillo, a consultant who served as PDVSA's chief financial officer until 2003, when Hugo Chávez, the deceased Maduro's predecessor, began named people policies.
Morillo added that Maduro would try to woo other crude buyers to try to mitigate the looming crisis, but these calls are likely to be rejected. "Countries with the appropriate refineries, like India or African countries, are on the other side of the world … transportation costs would be huge for them."
The misfortunes of PDVSA could also isolate Maduro from its main boss, Russia, which invests up to 20 billion dollars in Venezuela, according to experts, a significant part of which goes to PDVSA.
Russian energy giant Rosneft lent more than $ 6 billion to PDVSA. This loan is repaid by deliveries of crude oil to Rosneft until 2019 and depends on the ability of PDVSA to pump oil.
The decline in production in Venezuela last year led to reports that Igor Sechin, an influential ally of Vladimir Putin, had personally traveled to Caracas in November to complain to Maduro and signal the growing impatience of the Kremlin.
The guarantee for part of this loan is the 49.9% stake in PDVSA in the American refiner Citgo. New US sanctions against PDVSA could make it difficult for Russia to take a stake in the event of default. Rosneft also holds joint interests with PDVSA in several oil fields in Venezuela.
China, another key ally of Maduro, is also dismayed, with PetroChina planning to scrap a $ 10 billion oil refinery in the south of the Asian superpower, reported Thursday. Reuters agency.
Meanwhile, as petrol lanes dragged in Caracas, some drivers welcomed the sanctions, even as they prepared to face tough times. "Are we going to suffer? Of course, but they are a necessary evil, "said María Alexandra Villasuso, a video producer, while she was filling her vehicle. "The government is already drowning and if the ship sinks, so be it. At some point, we will float again. "
Source link
