Venezuela suffers an economic collapse of historic proportions. Thanks to a booming oil industry, the country was once the richest in South America. Today, the plants to rot.
children splashing on the shore of lake Maracaibo. The school is down again, because there is no electricity – as so often in the last few months. Then the conditioners don’t work and the humid heat is hard to endure. At a pipe that juts out into the turbid water, stick to thick black Oil residue.
On the Lake, on the Caribbean coast, the former centre of the Venezuelan oil production, the environmental disaster. Again and again plants in large quantities of Oil comes out from the rot. Fisherman’s wife Yelick Zamora observed children playing in a shady spot:
“Our men are trying to find Places where the water is a bit cleaner, so that you can fish. If we have here a fresh Oil slick, we can’t go into the water. The hinges break and the chemicals in the water we get skin rashes, eczema and tumors.”
Less oil Spills only positive message
In recent times, there is, however, less oil Spills, told the woman. This is the only positive side effect of the slump in production, a five-member group of workers of the state oil company PDVSA. To a secret place, without a name, and photos, reports, the men from the extent of the decline of the last few years. No one is allowed to talk openly about it. Show the Video that has shot a colleague at the dilapidated facilities. For this he now sits in prison. The worker Francisco says:
“The lake is contaminated, because for years, nothing against the pollution is being done. The Docks are rotting, broken, sunken tugs and cargo ships lie on top of each other. The mooring is a single garbage dump, because there is no maintenance. PDVSA is on the ground. That is the downfall.”
the Oil industry is a shadow of its former self
The PDVSA workers, reports of corruption, incompetence, sloppiness and a lie: to be Officially promoted to the Maracaibo lake every day more than 200,000 barrels of Oil. There is a maximum of 50,000, but the men are sure. For flowering time, and one of PDVSA’s most successful Oil companies in the world, there were 900,000 barrels a day.
Rotting plants of the oil Company PDVSA.
Today only about 10 of the past 250 boats for Transport and supply are on the lake, and would not have technical problems: radio and navigation systems worked, batteries and accessories, walls, dinghies for natural gas tanker would have no fire extinguishing systems, even though with highly explosive Gas.
PDVSA’m practically come to a standstill, says Francisco. “We, the workers could not strike, because PDVSA is already laid lame, and produces nothing more.” His colleague, José, told con of a break-down of the production.
“in the past, we had about 16 drilling platforms for the development of new sources. Today, no longer works. But the workers continue to be paid on the spot. I haven’t been working on it for a year and a half and still receive my pay, even if the rather symbolic.”
From the gold-ass to the self-service
download the Hyperinflation his monthly wage is equivalent to about 10 US dollars. That’s enough for three kilos of flour. This is also why there is a lot of theft in the case of PDVSA, to tell the workers. Before at least 10 years, the cash cow, PDVSA was charging for self-service of the government, degenerated, writes the former head of the oil workers Union, Fedepetrol, Rafael Zambrano.
The Ex-Union leader Rafael Zambrano.
After the nationalisation of oil production would be siphoned off by the ruling socialists only in order to Finance their social programs, but not more invested.
“Without the investment function and production can be maintained. In order for this industry to win your profitability, you must discard a lot of Ballast. The goal of an oil company is to extract oil and export it. This government is not able to bring the petroleum industry back on track, also because of the huge debt with China, Russia and Turkey.”
loans pays Venezuela with oil Supplies. Rafael Zambrano shaking his head over the destruction of PDVSA. The government denies about 90 percent of its foreign currency from oil sales.
It seemed like a never-ending story, because Venezuela occur in the country with the largest petroleum in the world. But today, the coffers are empty, PDVSA heavily in debt. In Maracaibo, the city on the shores of the lake, is the economic crash to see.
Maracaibo as extinct because there is no power there.
Hardly any electricity and no tap water
Because they have been for months, no tap water and electricity, only the hour is coming, block, inhabitants of a highway. This is just one of about 30 protests, which are held in Maracaibo daily. On the other side of the road a mile-long car queue at a gas station that still has gasoline. Is wasted for non-measurable Euro cents still.
all the shops and Restaurants are closed. Hundreds had to abandon, after having been plundered in the case of a multi-day power outage in early March. Maracaibo was, at the end of the 19th century. Century of the first cities on the continent with electricity. Today, the modern high-rise buildings are in the black nights of power outages invisible. The many fishermen who live by the lake, lose their catch because their refrigerators don’t work anymore.
a Lot of frustration, with little hope
In your district, you are not on the street because they can’t stand the heat in your house. As the ARD-see the microphone, you begin to scold excited.
“We suffer Hunger”, a woman calls. “Take these pictures and show the world what we go through – without electricity, for months without water.”
Fischer, Joan Manuel Soto cut his fish, and puts them in salt.
The Fischer Joan Manuel Soto cut his fish, and puts them in salt.
“out of necessity we have discovered this method again. We salt the fish and place it in the sun to Dry. So he is durable. Electricity for the refrigerators, there is not. Or we eat the fish immediately. Can we sell anything. This is nothing new for us, but a bitter reality in which we live. We are sitting more often in the dark, as that we have light. We are practically without power. The current is here exposed to long ratio, but in the end, he comes only rarely. 14 hours without electricity and then maybe four hours.”
Maracaibo – a city in free fall
Maracaibo – once a Boomtown: a city in free fall. Rodrigo Cabeza, Ex-Minister of Finance of the socialist government, lives in Maracaibo, and wonder daily about the rapid collapse of the local economy and oil industry:
“As an Economist, I see the severity of the recession. But I must admit that we were not prepared to this extent, the devastating economic and social destruction and the break-in of the revenue. Still less could we imagine that the national oil production of three million barrels every day would fall on a Million.”
