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Leftist economist, banana baron facing off in Ecuador presidential election
Associated Press via International Herald Tribune
QUITO, Ecuador: A leftist friend of Venezuela’s anti-U.S. President Hugo Chavez and a Bible-toting banana baron who rubs shoulders with America’s rich and powerful were battling Sunday to became Ecuador’s next president.
Voters were choosing between Rafael Correa, 43, a tall, charismatic U.S.-trained economist who has pledged radical reforms to clean up corruption, and Alvaro Noboa, 56, Ecuador’s wealthiest man, whose campaign speeches were peppered with references to God.
The winner of the tight race will face the tough task of ruling this poor, politically unstable Andean nation that has had seven presidents since 1996, including three who were driven from office by street protests.
…Ecuador is an oil-exporting country, but three-quarters of its 13.4 million inhabitants live in poverty, and Noboa has directed his campaign to them.
(25 Nov 2006)
Another close election in an oil-exporting country. Related story at the Washington Post.
Divided Venezuelans United on Costly Policy of Cheap Gas
Juan Forero, Washington Post
…Operating his four-door Malibu across Caracas, day and night, costs less than $4, thanks to gasoline that, at 17 cents a gallon, is considered the cheapest in the world. “Gasoline prices here in Venezuela are very good,” said Vivas, 25, in the kind of characteristically understated comments Venezuelans make about fuel costs. “We cabbies circulate all over. Here in Caracas it’s cheap, and you can go the whole day.”
The credit, as every Venezuelan knows, goes to government subsidies and price controls — part of a policy that dates back decades and has infused people here with a sense of entitlement to Venezuela’s vast oil deposits. In this famously polarized country, where President Hugo Chávez’s government and a strident opposition never have anything good to say about each other, there is agreement about at least one thing: gas. The country’s policy is unalterable, a hip-hip-hurrah for cheap fuel that is seconded by truckers, industrialists and suburban soccer moms in their SUVs.
“As an oil country, the state has the responsibility to guarantee energy and preserve the price of gasoline as it is,” said Gabriela Ramírez, a pro-Chávez lawmaker in the National Assembly. “You raise the price one bolivar and you affect the economy because the price of bus tickets goes up, everything becomes more expensive.”
Everyone in Venezuela also remembers what happened when prices were dramatically increased in 1989 — an uprising that left hundreds dead.
(23 Nov 2006)
PDVSA says IEA publishing erroneous Venezuela oil production figures
AP via The International Herald Tribune
Venezuela’s state oil company said the International Energy Agency is publishing erroneous Venezuelan oil production figures and is declining invitations to visit and verify supply from the South American country.
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said in a statement late Sunday that it wanted to “alert public opinion about figures from secondary sources, like the International Energy Agency, whose figures are clearly incorrect.”
Venezuela says it produces about 3.3 million barrels a day, but many outside sources – including the IEA, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the U.S. Energy Information Agency – put actual production closer to about 2.5 million barrels a day.
(21 Nov 2006)
And then: IEA dismisses claims it incorrectly calculated Venezuela’s oil output
