Peru: Threat of privatization for Petroperu. Workers call for strike.

[Robbien]

Prensa Latina’s wire service has reported yesterday that oil sector workers have called for a 24 hour strike starting on Wednesday March 30th over plans to privatize Peru’s state oil company, Petroperu. The workers have also demanded that all the fiscal benefits and tax breaks given to the oil multinationals operating in Peru should be indefinitely "suspended", as this amounts to unfair competition for the state company.

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Continental wide implications

The main backbone of South American integration is the creation of Petrosur, or Petroamerica as it is also called. This was an economic integration concept championed by Hugo Chavez to form a multi-state oil company to represent the interests of the South America nations in terms of energy, and hence a constant flow of petrodollars into the region. So far, PDVSA of Venezuela, Petrobras of Brazil and ENARSA of Argentina have signed up, with other state oil companies including Ecopetrol of Colombia, Petroecuador and Petroperu all invited.

If the wholesale privatization of Petroperu goes ahead, this will weaken Petroamerica and therefore the integration of the South American nations.

Suffice it to say, that President Alejandro Toledo of Peru, even though he is the first indigenous person to be elected to the presidency of his country, effectively sold out to US interests, as did his neighbor, Lucio Gutierrez in Ecuador. His approval rating has been as low as 6% and as high as 12% in the last two years.

The chess pieces by the US are once again being moved in an effort to undermine the true liberation of South America by "going after" energy interests as well as trying to sign bilateral trade agreements with Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador now that the FTAA is dead in the water.

The battle for South America continues

After the defeat of gas multinational interests in Bolivia ten days ago, is it just a coincidence that Petroperu is now under threat of being handed over to the global corporate empire? I think not.

more . . .

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_16492.shtml

[bemildred]

1. I think it's over, just mopping up.

What could be more desperate than Dumbsfeldt's lightning
trip through Latin America, strewing incoherent babble behind
him? The Bushites don't know how to cope without a servile
press and hired stooges to front for them.