London's Mayor Ken Livingstone has signed a deal with Venezuela's state oil company which will, according to the mayor, mean a 20 per cent reduction in the price of fuel for London's bus fleet.
According to this press release:
Greater London Authority - Press Release
After discussion between Petr?leos de Venezuela Europa and the Mayor this benefit will be targeted on Londoners receiving income support who will be able to receive a 50 per cent discount on bus and tram travel ? up to 250,000 Londoners will be eligible. London will provide specialist technical assistance to Venezuelan cities in areas such transport, protection of the environment, development of tourism, and town planning.
Minister of the Popular Power [!] for Foreign Affairs Nicolas Maduro said:
Quote:
?This agreement will strengthen relationships between the peoples of London and Venezuela. It is a win-win strategy that fits within the policy of integration and the character of the Bolivarian Government of President Hugo Chavez.?
Alejandro Granado, PDVSA?s Vice-President of refining and PSDV Europa?s Chairman of the Management Board said:
?Venezuela is very rich in energetic resources while London has great expertise in successfully managing the infrastructure services that characterise a modern city. It is, therefore, very fitting that this co-operative initiative, proposed by President Chavez, focuses on these two areas of complementarity. This agreement, I am sure, will promote solidarity and bring forward mutual benefits for both the people of Venezuela and London.?
|
Now, what troubles me is this - Venezuela's GDP per head is $6,000 and London's is $50,000. London could comfrotably afford to subsidize cheaper public transport for it's inhabitants (in fact prices have risen steadily since Livingstone came to power), but instead, we are taking subsidized oil from a less developed country. I don't know if I'm missing something here, but it seems to me that Chavez is treating Venezuela's resources as his own and giving away this potential source of great wealth for his people in order to enjoy political support from abroad and expand his profile and power base - ie exactly what he accused his predecessors of doing. I just can't see anything socialist or even left-wing about London getting cheap oil from Venezuela, it seems like outright exploitation. So who on the left will protest against this? For once Ia gree with the words of Venezuela's election loser Manuel rosales, someone I usually don't have that much time for:
Quote:
?That is political corruption,? [Rosales], the opposition candidate, told foreign journalists. ?I ask the (London) mayor not to commit that injustice to Venezuela, because he is taking a part of our wealth and doing grave harm to the country.
?It is not just the person that commits the crime, but the accomplice ends up becoming a part of the crime."
|
Linear Mode
