“Top to bottom reorganization” --State oil company in the eye of the political storm

<a href=www.lapress.org>Latinoamericapress.org-Indymedia Andrés Cañizález.  Apr 29, 2003

State oil company enters new era.

President Hugo Chávez has confirmed what everyone already expected: the overhaul of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Latin America’s biggest oil company. Chávez has no small task on his hands. He is dealing with Venezuela’s economic motor. "Black gold" accounts for 40 percent of the state income and 75 percent of exports.

The "top to bottom reorganization" announced by Chávez is the highest profile consequence of the Dec. 2002-Jan. 2003 "civic strike" declared by the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV), the country’s largest union, and the Federation of Chambers and Associations of Commerce and Production (FEDECAMARAS), as well as by opposition political parties and civil society organizations calling themselves the Democratic Coordinating Group (LP, Jan. 15, 2003).