by Petardo de Petare
As soon as I heard of our government’s latest plan to ration electricity, I thought of the 1970s classic by American country music legend Willie Nelson. Yes, believe it or not, we too listen to Willie here in Venezuela, or at least I do anyways. The government’s latest rationing plan is proof positive that, when it comes to addressing our country’s power needs, the party’s over. The Chávez government has tacitly admitted that they have failed miserably in addressing the power needs of our country. The government’s incompetence in addressing any of the basic needs of our people has become more than a great inconvenience but a great disservice to Venezuelans, who on a daily basis face many challenges in achieving their dreams – from living in a safe neighborhood to having a remunerative job. To add insult to injury, the Chavistas do nothing but lay blame on others for their failures. When it comes to the power issue, they are now blaming us Venezuelans, chastising us for wasting too much energy. Energy Minister Alí Rodríguez Araque scolded us saying, “Demand is excessive.” Not to be left behind, Vice President Elías Jauá announced that “We need to take extraordinary measures to regulate the demand and stabilize the grid.” But, no one here in Petare is buying the government’s excuses.
It is worth asking how a country blessed with some of the largest oil reserves in the world is constantly subjected to power rationing and blackouts. Only under the leadership – or lack thereof – of the Chávez government can such travesty take place. First, the government blamed the Guri dam, the third largest hydroelectric power station in the world. The Guri supplies over 70% of the power consumed by Venezuelans. Last year, the Guri had very low water levels due to a severe drought. Tired of blaming Mother Nature, the government moved on to a more worthy enemy – private enterprise. On Phase II of their attacks, Chavistas accused large private businesses, such as shopping malls, of “wasting too much power.” As a result, the Sambil mall in Caracas was forced to close its doors early. Never mind two important economic indicators such as consumer spending and job creation. Who needs those? Phase III of the Chávez strategy was unabashedly political in nature. Our president and his posse accused the opposition of sabotaging our electricity for political gain – a perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black. Last but not least, in Phase IV, the blame has caught on to the rest of us – the Venezuelan people. According to the government, we are obsessed with “Yankee consumerism.”
They are running out of time and excuses. Today, the Guri is bursting with water, shopping malls are operating under a normal schedule, the opposition is gaining momentum and us, evil consumers, are going about our business as best as we can. And, the power outages continue. Why? Well, there are various reasons, all pointing to the government’s unwillingness to take serious steps to address this issue. For starters, our population has grown, and with it our energy needs. Despite that reality, the government has failed to make the power investments needed to keep up with the consumption growth in Venezuela. According to Gustavo Marcano, a member of our Chamber of Deputies, the government announced in 2005 the construction of 12 new power generation plants by 2008. Here we are, in 2011, and all remain unfinished.
Another important point to consider in the electricity crisis is the subsidies provided by the government. Experts argue that these subsidies actually backfire by encouraging increased consumption. Lastly, the specter of expropriation is also a factor in this crisis. In 2007, the government expropriated Electricidad de Caracas, owned by a U.S. company, AES. As everything else that falls into this government’s hands, the new CORPOELEC is a mismanaged and inefficient enterprise, which has been unable to make the necessary investments in the power transmission lines, for example, needed to transfer the power from the Guri to my home so that I can keep my lights on.
But what really makes us red with anger here in Petare is the fact that, while we are inconvenienced with power outages, our government, in its eternal need to seek approval abroad, is spending millions of bolívares in other countries to provide them power. In Nicaragua, Mr. Chávez spent $52 million to build the Nagarote power plant, and in Bolivia, $72 million were allocated for the Entre Rios thermoelectric plant. Last but not least, to please Mr. Chávez’s hero, Fidel Castro, our government spent $170 million to build a power plant in Holguín. It makes absolutely no sense!
By themselves, the power outages are a problem the government could very well overcome – at least, politically speaking. But when one combines the outages with the myriad of other major problems facing Venezuelans every day, it becomes increasingly harder to “spin” the government’s incompetence. In other words, the power crisis is not an isolated incident; it is a real life example of the government’s inability to manage any of the most basic needs of the Venezuelan people. That is why I believe that for this government, the party may soon be over. Sing it, Willie!
