Posted on 03/05/2002 9:16:52 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Guaicaipuro Lameda made sure everyone knew who was in charge during his tenure as president of Venezuela's state-owned oil monopoly.
"Calling oneself the boss without being a boss is the worst sort of misery," reads a plaque on his desk. "I am not miserable."
The former general would point to the plaque whenever government officials pressured him to conform to state policy during his 15 months as president of Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
He paid the price for his quiet defiance when President Hugo Chavez sacked him last month.
"I did everything I could to get fired," Lameda told The Associated Press late Monday in his first interview with foreign news media since his dismissal.
Lameda said PDVSA managers won't back down in their open revolt against Chavez's appointment of a new company president and board.
New company president Gaston Parra said Tuesday he was confident the dispute would be resolved. "We have opened a frank and open dialogue with top executives," he said.
Executives and thousands of white-collar workers have staged almost daily street protests against the Feb. 25 appointments, which they fear will tighten the Chavez administration's control over PDVSA. Lameda had built up corporate morale by insisting that promotions be based on merit, not politics.
Chavez's appointments have shaken a multinational giant that is one of the top suppliers of crude to the United States. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, and it depends on oil for more than 80 percent of export revenue.
The president refuses to reconsider his appointment of Parra, a leftist economist, and of five government loyalists to the seven-member board of directors. The new board is faithful to government policy, including strict adherence to production quotas imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
"Chavez offended the workers. He didn't measure the consequences," said Lameda, 47. "It's a very dangerous situation, especially for Chavez himself."
PDVSA executives, including directors of its gas, petrochemical and production units, are reluctant to stage a strike that could cut exports if backed by anti-government oil unions. PDVSA usually sends management to fill in for workers during a strike -- a plan designed to guarantee exports for at least a week.
Under Chavez, Lameda said, PDVSA sacrificed profit and efficiency to conform to OPEC production quotas. Chavez has assumed a leading role among OPEC leaders in demanding compliance with quotas to support global oil prices.
To meet Venezuela's quota, Lameda said PDVSA stored about $300 million worth of crude last year. The move generated about $50 million in royalty payments, which are made the moment a barrel is extracted. But the oil lost value after prices plunged and created extra storage costs, Lameda said.
After he was fired, Lameda retired as an army general to be free to criticize the government, a decision welcomed by a growing but disorganized opposition in need of a leader. Lameda said he isn't immediately interested in that role.
"I'm not going to make a fool of myself and do something for which I'm not prepared," he said. "But when I'm ready, I'll go for whatever it is I'm prepared for."
Chavez ordered them not to stop pumping but to store it so he could continue to collect royalties.
Oil and communism don't mix: Venezuela faces energy standoff at petroleum company [Excerpt] Lameda and many employees fear that Chavez's philosophies run the risk of bleeding the company of the cash it needs to develop this country's rich reserves.
Lameda locked horns with the Energy Ministry on numerous issues, including the new hydrocarbons law that raises royalties and mandates that PDVSA be the controlling partner in any joint venture. Critics said these rules would stifle international investment.
Other bones of contention were the central government's demand that the company hand over $4.4 billion in dividends last year, forcing PDVSA to borrow $500 million to pay the bill; and the oil sales to Cuba, whose leader, Fidel Castro, is Chavez's longtime mentor. · Chavez has insisted that oil sales continue to Cuba, despite an unpaid $97 million bill for past sales.
One of the major disagreements centered on the Ministry's insistence on adhering to OPEC production cuts, but forcing PDVSA to continue producing surplus oil that has now filled every available storage facility. Although PDVSA cannot sell the oil, the catch is that it still must pay royalties for producing it to the central government, Lameda revealed after his departure.
"I started warehousing" when prices were $26 per barrel, he told El Universal newspaper. "They're now $16. The barrels are worth less every day. I told the minister that I have to go out and ask for $500 million in loans while I have $300 million in the warehouse."
Energy Vice Minister Bernardo Alvarez said a new leader was brought in because "Gen. Lameda did not fulfill expectations."
The confrontations with the ministry earned Lameda, whose initial appointment was greeted with skepticism, the respect and affection of employees who resented the meddling.
Parra, is known for radical nationalist views on the oil industry.
"He believes that the oil industry should be completely and fully controlled by the state, with no participation by private companies," said a former PDVSA top executive who requested anonymity. [End Excerpt]
He has to ask permission from his Mom?
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