Bolivia 1 x 0 Lula
Does anybody out there remember when the United States “dared” to make mandatory the fingerprinting of foreigners entering the country, including on the list Brazilians visiting the US?
Raise your hand who remembers the wrathful reaction of the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva? The objections made by politicians, newspapers, students and Brazilians who took offense in the name of the beloved violated homeland? The prompt reactions and retaliations?
Because I remember. And I remembered it today again when I read on the news that Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, accuses Brazil and Petrobrás of operating against the law, of having practiced illegal contracts and smuggling. I also remembered the picture of the same Lula (I will no longer call him “president”, as he does not deserve the title), taken in the beginning of this week, smiling next to the same Morales, stating that there was no crisis and that Bolivia’s actions, nationalizing the natural gas exploration, were right.
Where is the resentment displayed towards the US, when we see the country and its largest company being called of outlaws by a country which is one of the major cocaine producers? Where are the homeland vindicators who become silent when billions of dollars invested by Petrobrás in Bolivia, for the extraction and transportation of the Bolivian natural gas, are being taken by force, including the invasion of Petrobrás’ facilities in Bolivia by Bolivian soldiers?
To the benefit of the ones who don’t know, some data about Bolivia: Country with a little less than 9 million inhabitants, the poorest in Latin America, mainly due to the high level of corruption and politic instability. However, it has many natural riches such as gas, silver, iron and magnesium, being know as "donkey sitting on a gold mine".
Petrobrás initiated its activities in Bolivia in 1995, through its affiliate Petrobrás Bolívia S.A., due to energy integration agreements between Bolivia and Brazil. Its creation was strategically linked to the exploration of the natural gas reserves to ensure the supply to the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline (GASBOL), completed in December of 1998, with 1,960 miles in length and total investments of US$ 8 billions.
Brazil turned feasible the exploration and sale of Bolivian gas, building the pipeline that takes it to São Paulo, ensuring to Bolivia a price level that by then generated many internal criticisms in Brazil, for being much higher than the market price. Without Petrobrás, the Bolivian gas would probably be still underground, part of it not even discovered yet. The contracts that Evo Morales claims to be illegal determined that Petrobrás Bolivia would perform high-risk prospection in areas where no gas had been found yet: 100% of the costs would be paid by Petrobrás. If it found gas, 50% of the costs would then be absorbed by Petrobrás and 50% by the Bolivian state-owned company YPFB. As result, Petrobrás’ findings amount to almost 40% of Bolivia’s current certified reserves.
Therefore, Brazil helped Bolivia to find and explore the riches that Bolivia was never able to benefit from by itself. Brazil offered it a captive market (the industries in São Paulo), with minimum price and demand guaranteed and, instead of being treated as a preferential partner, it is driven away and treated as a criminal and an exploiter.
Petrobrás would do the right thing if it decides to halt the investments that were being made in Bolivia and direct them towards the utilization of the natural gas generated at the oil rigs on Brazil’s coast (mainly in the Campos Basin), gas that today is burned or injected back into the wells, due to the lack of infrastructure to enable its use. It is not a short term solution, but it is a strategic one.
It is time for lula to wake up and to stop wanting to be like the morales, castros and chavez (all in small letters, for being small indeed). It is time for lula to adopt a statesman attitude, even if it would be just make believe, and not allow the names of the country and of its companies to be humiliated like that.
There is no point in fly in a state-of-the-art plane, issue bravados against the Americans, or apply for a seat at the United Nations Security Council, if we can’t even gain respect in our own backyard. Given that the (un) government lula is incapable of helping Petrobrás, than it should shut up and not make ludicrous statements like the ones of the beginning of last week.
Raise your hand who remembers the wrathful reaction of the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva? The objections made by politicians, newspapers, students and Brazilians who took offense in the name of the beloved violated homeland? The prompt reactions and retaliations?
Because I remember. And I remembered it today again when I read on the news that Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, accuses Brazil and Petrobrás of operating against the law, of having practiced illegal contracts and smuggling. I also remembered the picture of the same Lula (I will no longer call him “president”, as he does not deserve the title), taken in the beginning of this week, smiling next to the same Morales, stating that there was no crisis and that Bolivia’s actions, nationalizing the natural gas exploration, were right.
Where is the resentment displayed towards the US, when we see the country and its largest company being called of outlaws by a country which is one of the major cocaine producers? Where are the homeland vindicators who become silent when billions of dollars invested by Petrobrás in Bolivia, for the extraction and transportation of the Bolivian natural gas, are being taken by force, including the invasion of Petrobrás’ facilities in Bolivia by Bolivian soldiers?
To the benefit of the ones who don’t know, some data about Bolivia: Country with a little less than 9 million inhabitants, the poorest in Latin America, mainly due to the high level of corruption and politic instability. However, it has many natural riches such as gas, silver, iron and magnesium, being know as "donkey sitting on a gold mine".
Petrobrás initiated its activities in Bolivia in 1995, through its affiliate Petrobrás Bolívia S.A., due to energy integration agreements between Bolivia and Brazil. Its creation was strategically linked to the exploration of the natural gas reserves to ensure the supply to the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline (GASBOL), completed in December of 1998, with 1,960 miles in length and total investments of US$ 8 billions.
Brazil turned feasible the exploration and sale of Bolivian gas, building the pipeline that takes it to São Paulo, ensuring to Bolivia a price level that by then generated many internal criticisms in Brazil, for being much higher than the market price. Without Petrobrás, the Bolivian gas would probably be still underground, part of it not even discovered yet. The contracts that Evo Morales claims to be illegal determined that Petrobrás Bolivia would perform high-risk prospection in areas where no gas had been found yet: 100% of the costs would be paid by Petrobrás. If it found gas, 50% of the costs would then be absorbed by Petrobrás and 50% by the Bolivian state-owned company YPFB. As result, Petrobrás’ findings amount to almost 40% of Bolivia’s current certified reserves.
Therefore, Brazil helped Bolivia to find and explore the riches that Bolivia was never able to benefit from by itself. Brazil offered it a captive market (the industries in São Paulo), with minimum price and demand guaranteed and, instead of being treated as a preferential partner, it is driven away and treated as a criminal and an exploiter.
Petrobrás would do the right thing if it decides to halt the investments that were being made in Bolivia and direct them towards the utilization of the natural gas generated at the oil rigs on Brazil’s coast (mainly in the Campos Basin), gas that today is burned or injected back into the wells, due to the lack of infrastructure to enable its use. It is not a short term solution, but it is a strategic one.
It is time for lula to wake up and to stop wanting to be like the morales, castros and chavez (all in small letters, for being small indeed). It is time for lula to adopt a statesman attitude, even if it would be just make believe, and not allow the names of the country and of its companies to be humiliated like that.
There is no point in fly in a state-of-the-art plane, issue bravados against the Americans, or apply for a seat at the United Nations Security Council, if we can’t even gain respect in our own backyard. Given that the (un) government lula is incapable of helping Petrobrás, than it should shut up and not make ludicrous statements like the ones of the beginning of last week.
posted by Marco Malka | 4:46 PM
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