Browsing by Subject "Venezuela"

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1998 Annual Report - Year One: Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco, Venezuela
(1999) Raney, J. A.
The 1998 Annual Report for the project "Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco" describes the first year of work by the Bureau of Economic Geology (Bureau) at The University of Texas at Austin. The five-year project is funded by the Coordinación Desarrollo Económico de Oriente (DAO) of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). PDVSA/DAO is supporting this work in the Orinoco Delta so that development of hydrocarbon resources and other projects for the benefit of the people of Venezuela can proceed with a minimum of adverse impacts in this ecologically diverse and sensitive area. Key to this effort is establishing an accessible baseline of environmental data and developing an understanding of the physical and biological dynamics of the delta system. This information is essential for anticipating the consequences of natural and human-induced changes in the environment of the Delta. The Bureau's role is to conduct technical studies, support collateral investigations by Venezuelan participants, assist DAO with technical coordination and program development, integrate the results of the various studies for public dissemination, and facilitate other technology transfer and institutional strengthening activities. Much was accomplished during 1998. Working concert with DAO, Bureau personnel assisted in the definition of related environmental studies, met with Venezuelan project participants to share initial results and coordinate planned activities, conducted joint field studies to collect data and observations, and helped DAO obtain international support for the investigations. Many of the issues encountered during 1998, such as many aspects of field logistics, were successfully resolved so that studies in subsequent phases of the project can proceed efficiently.
Analysis of the evolving relationship between NOCs and IOCs : the Venezuelan case
(2005-12) Briceno, Romulo P.; Van Rensburg, W. C. J.
Close to ninety percent of the world's oil reserves are owned by governments and partially privatized National Oil Companies (NOCs), and any investment by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) is bound to involve a close interaction between them. Nowadays, with higher demand for oil, particularly in the United States and China, international oil investment has grown progressively because of the need to balance supply and demand. Therefore, it appears reasonable to expect more balanced agreements in which the contractual conditions are fair to all sides, allowing an increase in petroleum exploration activity. The objective of this thesis is to understand and analyze the evolving relationships between the International Oil Companies and the National Oil companies with a special focus on The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its National Oil Company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
Between social harmony and political dissonance : the institutional intricacies of the Venezuelan System of Children and Youth Orchestras
(2011-08) Mora Brito, Daniel Ignacio; Roberts, Bryan R., 1939-; Dietz, Henry
This study explores the narratives of day-to-day practices of the Venezuelan System of Children and Youth Orchestras, one of the oldest social development strategies in Venezuela, and one of the most successful social inclusion and cultural participation programs in the world. Its main objective is to identify some of the policy-based and organizational factors contributing to the success, autonomy, and longevity of this initiative since its creation in 1975. In order to assess the relative importance of these factors, the study reviews the sociopolitical circumstances surrounding the evolution of the program and examines the perceptions of its main actors and clients about key internal processes and organizational dynamics. More generally, this case is offered as a way of better understanding the insularity of bureaucratic efficiency in Latin America.
Beyond the balance sheet : performance, participation, and regime support in Latin America
(2016-05) Rhodes-Purdy, Matthew Henry; Weyland, Kurt Gerhard; Hunter, Wendy; Madrid, Raul; Elkins, Zachary; Paxton, Pamela
Most studies on regime support focus on performance, or policy outputs, as the principal causal variable. This study challenges this conventional wisdom by focusing on two countries where performance and support do not match. Chile is the economic envy of every country in the region, yet support has been surprisingly anemic since the return of democracy in the early 1990s. By contrast, Venezuela managed to maintain extremely high levels of support during the reign of Hugo Chávez despite severe failures of governance in areas such as economic management, employment, and public security. Resolution of these paradoxes requires turning away from policy decisions and focusing instead on how those decisions are made. Taking inspiration from democratic theory and social psychology, I argue that extensive opportunities for direct participation in the political process engenders in citizens strong feelings of efficacy, a sense of control over the course of politics. Such sentiments increase support both directly and by softening the impact of performance failures. I use a mixed-methods approach to test this theory. Quantitative analysis of survey data confirms the relationships between efficacy, performance, and support. I then show, through both quantitative and qualitative techniques, that participatory programs such as the communal councils in Venezuela have a key role in preserving the legitimacy of that regime, especially in light of the hegemonic and authoritarian practices of chavismo at the national level. Finally, I use experimental data, survey data, and a qualitative analysis of a nascent participatory program in one of Chile’s municipalities to demonstrate that a lack of participatory access lies at the heart of that country’s relatively weak regime support.
Boletín mensual
(1999) Banco Central De Venezuela
Monthly bulletin of the Central Bank of Venezuela
Chronology of Cenozoic tectonic events in western Venezuela and the Dutch Antilles Islands based on integration of offshore seismic reflection data and onland geology
(2005) Gorney, David Luke; Mann, Paul, 1956-
Newly acquired BOLIVAR seismic reflection data from offshore western Venezuela and the Dutch Antilles are combined with existing geologic and geophysical data sets to examine the complex chronology of tectonic events affecting the onshore Falcon basin and the adjacent offshore basins. This study also describes the seismic acquisition, processing, and interpretation methods applied to the BOLIVAR seismic reflection data and used in this study. Three tectonic phases are constrained using these data: 1) Paleogene back-arc opening of the 3 to 6 km thick Falcon-Bonaire basin is the initial tectonic phase that occurred along east-west striking normal fault systems that have locally been inverted by later tectonic phases. These normal faults control the oldest depositional sequences and parallel the trend of the Bonaire basin. 2) northwest-striking normal faults crosscut these older normal faults and form deep submarine rifts that contain up to 4 km of sedimentary fill, forming deep water channels between the Dutch Antilles islands. Offshore well data and the age of onshore sediments in the Falcon basin indicate that this second phase rifting occurred in the late Oligocene through the early Miocene. 3) inversion of the Falcon basin commenced during the middle Miocene; this inversion phase is reflected in the present-day pattern of east-northeast-trending fold belt that can be traced over 200 km in the Falcon basin; a second fold-thrust belt (La Vela) can be traced over a distance of 175 km parallel to the Falcon coast; restoration of imbricate thrusts seen on seismic lines perpendicular to the Falcon coast indicates a minimum of 7 km of northeast-southwest directed thin-skinned shortening
Covert commerce : a social history of contraband trade in Venezuela, 1701-1789
(2012-05) Cromwell, Jesse Levis; Twinam, Ann, 1946-; Canizares-Esguerra, Jorge; Deans-Smith, Susan; Olwell, Robert; Rahn Phillips, Carla
This project explores how conditions of material scarcity and the potential for profit thrust both foreign and Spanish coastal inhabitants into vast networks of illegal, yet essential, commerce. Based on extensive archival investigations in Venezuela and Spain as well as shorter research trips to archives in England, Colombia, and the United States, I probe the specific dynamics of the largest portion of eighteenth-century Atlantic trade, illicit commerce, as a series of practices imbued with moral economy concerns, political meanings, and legal consequences. The first half of my manuscript uses a prosopographical, collective biography approach to profile the largely unexplored actors in the Spanish Empire’s underground economy off the Venezuelan coast: non-Spanish contrabandists, Spanish American merchants, and corrupt Spanish officials. These ordinary folk participated in quotidian transnational trade in basic goods that violated mercantile Spanish law. The second half examines the social impact that smuggling wrought on Venezuela. I focus specifically on the illicit slave trade and Afro-Caribbean contrabandists, the material culture of smuggled goods in Venezuelan daily life, and violent colonial opposition to anti-contraband strictures through several mid-eighteenth century trade uprisings. Smugglers’ shadowy existence between empires revises our understanding of interimperial contact, local identity formation, commercial autonomy, and popular protest in the early modern world. In its complicated and criminal nature, covert commerce also connects large structural shifts in the burgeoning eighteenth-century global economy to local petty traders.
Cretaceous to Neogene tectonic control on sedimentation : Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela
(1991) Lugo Lobo, Jairo Miguel, 1955-; Salvador, Amos
The Maracaibo basin records a complex tectonic and depositional history. Compilation of seismic and well data allows me to distinguish six tectonostratigraphic episodes. The first episode is characterized by Jurassic rifting along north-northeast-trending half-grabens filled with continental red beds and volcanics rocks. The second episode is characterized by the deposition of shallow to deep marine carbonates and clastic rocks in which subsidence rates increase away from the northwest-trending Mérida arch, a mid-Late Paleozoic northwest-trending range anchored to the Guayana Shield. The third episode is distinguished by oblique collision of south-southwest-verging Caribbean terranes toward the continental platform. As collision evolved, the tectonically carried crustal flexure and associated turbiditic basin migrated south-southeastward. Evidences from geohistory analysis shows the shift of the axis of subsidence in that direction. During this episode six unconformity-bounded deltaic wedges marked an equal number of regressive stages caused by thrust propagation above the flysch basin. Seismic clinoform orientations and sandstone composition document the regional northern provenance for such paralic wedges in the northeastern portion of the basin. The fourth episode developed from Late Eocene to Middle Miocene in which transpressive tectonism reactivated the structural weaknesses developed in the earlier rift. Left-lateral north-northeast-trending strike-slip faults and related en echelon secondary structures were built in two main active phases: one during Late Eocene and the other in Middle Miocene time. The reactivation of the main Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults influenced the distribution of intrabasinal restraining bends, pull-apart basins, and associated sediment infill. The fifth episode is characterized by diachronous orogeny that began with Oligocene uplift along the Sierra de Perijá and continued southeastward toward the Mérida Andes. These uplifts created a closed depositional basin and converted the depositional environment from marine to continental. The six episode is characterized by compression evidenced by north-striking east-vergent reverse fault in the Sierra de Perijá
Defining the northeastern boundary of the supergiant Maracaibo foreland basin, Venezuela
(2008) Contreras, David Rafael; Mann, Paul, 1956-
Differences in styles of structure and sedimentation and the distribution of hydrocarbons across the 140-km-long and 1-km-wide Burro Negro fault zone (BNFZ) constrain its origin as a deeply-rooted, right-lateral strike-slip fault that formed a major Paleogene tectonic and paleogeographic boundary along the northeastern edge of the supergiant Maracaibo basin. Complex subsurface structures and the lack of high quality seismic data and deep wells have made it difficult for previous workers to determine whether the BNFZ truncates the northeastern extension of the giant Eocene oil reservoirs in the Lake Maracaibo area or whether these reservoirs extend northeast of the BNFZ. In Chapter 2, I integrate 2848 km of two dimensional (2D) seismic reflection data, 29 wells, gravity and magnetic data, and maps of outcrop geology to provide an improved structural interpretation of the BNFZ that can be used to assist future exploration programs in the region. Across the 1-km-wide BNFZ, the structural style seen on seismic lines changes abruptly from Eocene transtensional deformation in the Outer Maracaibo foreland basin to convergent deformation of the deepwater Inner Maracaibo foreland basin northeast of the BNFZ. I determined a right-lateral strike-slip fault character for the BNFZ that formed as a result of at least 7.2 km of Eocene right-lateral offset. Stratigraphic correlations using wells and seismic data spanning the BNFZ support the idea that giant Eocene oil reservoirs of the Lake Maracaibo area may continue towards the northeast into a complexly deformed Inner Maracaibo foreland basin consisting of Eocene deep-water sedimentary rocks. Late Eocene growth strata composed of deepmarine clastic rocks of the Agua Negra Group were deposited in piggyback basins in the Inner basin and accompanied Eocene thrusting and folding of the Lara nappes to the southeast In Chapter 3, I present a subsurface geological interpretation of the subsurface of the northern edge of the Maracaibo foreland basin using 988 km of seismic data, 17 wells and 14,700 km² of gravity and aeromagnetic data in the North Ambrosio area. Mapping of key surfaces in the basin that include the Eocene unconformity show that the primary structures in the subsurface are five, north to northeast-striking, right-lateral strike-slip faults of Eocene age (Icotea, East Urdaneta, West Urdaneta, San Ramón and La Concepción). On seismic data, these faults exhibit profiles typical of "positive flower zones", where the strike-slip fault converges from a 2 to 4-km-wide fault zone at the surface to a narrow zone at the top of basement. The higher levels of the faults are composed of en echelon anticlines that form excellent structural traps for oil and gas. The 180 km² Santa Rita pull-apart basin of Eocene age was identified at a left-step between the Icotea and East Urdaneta faults. Well logs show that Eocene sand bars were deposited in a tide-dominated deltaic system similar to that described by previous workers in areas to the south. I used temperature measurements from one well to calculate the depth of the oil window in the North Ambrosio area from 2.0 to 3.5 km and the gas window from 3.5 to 4.5 km. I also estimated the depth range of the "Golden Zone", or depth interval where oil and gas is most likely to be preserved. The predicted Golden Zone corresponds well with reported depths of production and shows in the North Ambrosio area. Gas potential for the North Ambrosio area could be determined form seismic and well data within a small area ~1800 km² representing about 3.6% of the area of the Maracaibo foreland basin. The interaction of northeast-striking faults, such as the Icotea, East Urdaneta, West Urdaneta, and La Concepción fault zones controlled sedimentation during the Eocene foreland phase of the Maracaibo basin. Elongate Eocene sand bodies deposited in a tide-dominated deltaic system represent the main target for further exploration in the North Ambrosio area. The petroleum system is characterized by a strong foreland subsidence during Paleocene-Eocene times that buried Late Cretaceous source rocks of the La Luna Formation to depths of 4000 m below the surface. The source rocks reached gas generation window during two separate periods: middle-late Eocene and Miocene-Pliocene
The discourse of Hugo Chávez in “Aló Presidente” : establishing the Bolivarian Revolution through television performance
(2012-08) Gualda, Ricardo José Rosa; Koike, Dale April; Hensey, Frederick; Domínguez-Rubalcava, Hector; Arens, Katherine; Calderón de Bolívar, Adriana
This dissertation analyzes the discourse of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in his weekly television show Aló Presidente. It focuses on the discursive practices in this genre by Chávez as an essential element in the Bolivarian Revolution; an exercise of power in itself, and a means to establish a direct relationship with the Venezuelan public. The analysis shows that Aló Presidente employs unique discursive strategies to engage in a national dialogue, including: the use of repetition, lists, and fragmentation through the alternation of discursive genres, as well as deictic shift; the establishment of an ideology, the presentation of selected themes and stories; the construction of relationships with established social categories (middle-aged women, high-ranking military personnel, militant youth, etc.) through dialogue with interlocutors during the show; and a strict hierarchy in which Chávez appears as the ultimate leader, through deixis, turn-taking, and the use of targeted speech acts. This study uses the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, drawing mainly from Fairclough (2003) and van Dijk (1998, 2010). It also draws from theories of: (a) discourse genre, as in Charaudeau (2004) and Smith (2003); (b) deixis, as in Agha (2007); (c) dialogue, defined by Weigand (2009) and Tannen (2007); (d) political discourse, discussed in Chilton (2004); and (e) media discourse, as in Bourdieu (1991). The corpus is drawn from broadcasts ending with the digit 8 randomly selected between 2005 and 2007 (shows 218, 248, 278, 288, 298). The conclusion is that the show serves as the main communication strategy of the Revolution, establishing a direct relationship with viewers, in which several conventional procedures of television discourse are flaunted. The discourse, which is anchored in the category of space, is well established as a new genre in political media discourse. It is directed to Chávez’s followers, divided into specific target groups, in a hierarchical fashion in which he occupies the power position. The strategies adopted allow for a high level of involvement with the audience. The discursive practices developed are a key element in the advancement of the Revolution and are in line with its beliefs and attitudes.
Formação da agenda governamental brasileira e venezuelana
(2008-02-09) Costa, Marcelo
From Marxist-Leninism to market liberalism? : the varied adaptation of Latin America's leftist parties
(2013-05) Nogueira-Budny, Daniel; Weyland, Kurt Gerhard; Hunter, Wendy; Weyland, Kurt Gerhard; Hunter, Wendy
There has been tremendous variation in the development trajectories of Latin America's leftist parties. Whereas some have successfully entrenched roots in society, built their party organization, and become relevant national parties, other leftist parties have languished organizationally, suffered debilitating internecine rivalries, and witnessed a mass defection of followers, at times despite substantial initial electoral success. For instance, Brazil's Workers' Party (PT) abandoned socialism, moderated its program, and built itself up into one of Brazil's two main parties. Venezuela's Radical Cause (LCR) and Peru's United Left (IU), however, did not. While they had similar origins to the PT, both failed to adapt: LCR and IU fractured and became electorally irrelevant, having been unable to adapt to external challenges. What accounts for this puzzling empirical variation in otherwise similar parties in relatively similar contexts? More broadly, this dissertation seeks to answer under what conditions do leftist parties in Latin American democracies transform from undemocratic, radical, weakly institutionalized parties into democratic, moderate, professional parties? Conversely, under what conditions do they fail to adapt, experience organizational stagnation, and succumb to irrelevance? It argues that the political context in which each of these leftist parties emerged had an indelible effect on the parties' later ability to adapt institutionally and ideologically to future endogenous and exogenous shocks. First, where authoritarian repression dismantled preexisting leftist parties, a political vacuum on the left emerged that created the incentive for the rise of a new type of leftist party that intrinsically valued democracy. Second, the implementation of legal requirements by outgoing authoritarian regimes during a party's formative years encouraged parties to institutionalize, ensuring the development of a disciplined, majoritarian party organization. Finally, obstinance on the part of the military's move to extricate itself from politics encouraged leftist parties to participate in democratization and, thus, widen their electoral appeals. Those leftist parties that were formed under such regimes were induced to take certain actions and adopt certain institutions that made them adaptable in the long run. Those that formed afterwards or never experienced life under authoritarian rule had little incentive to change and, thus, proved unable to respond to external challenges down the line that demanded institutional professionalization and ideological moderation.
Heritage tourism in Latin America : cultural routes and the legacy of Simón Bolívar in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
(2011-05) McQueen, George Genung; Sletto, Bjørn; Holleran, Michael
Heritage tourism is one of the fastest growing sub-categories of the tourism industry, which is arguably the largest industry in the world. When communities and regions compete for a greater share of the heritage tourism market, the authenticity and integrity of a heritage can be compromised by the way it is represented. One way to represent heritage is a “cultural route,” which has recently been added to definition of “cultural heritage” in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The interpretation of a “cultural route,” however, continues to evolve, especially in Latin America. In anticipation of the bicentennial celebration of independence from Spain, two cultural routes were separately inaugurated in 2009: the Ruta del Libertador in Ecuador and Venezuela, and the Ruta Libertadora in Colombia. After providing an overview of the historical, political and cultural contexts that surround these routes, this paper draws upon a website content analysis to explores how national identity, cultural heritage and the legacy of Simón Bolívar are represented by the governments of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. These observations and analyses show that while both routes represent a shared heritage, the differences in their representations straddle the definitions of “authenticity” and “cultural heritage,” as the Ruta Libertadora in Colombia is a “cultural route” and the Ruta del Libertador in Ecuador and Venezuela is a “cultural tourism route.” However, when considered together, the Ruta del Libertador and Ruta Libertadora are a cultural route that more accurately represents a crucial moment in Latin American history: the liberation of South America from Spain, led by Simón Bolívar, “El Libertador.”
Hoping to return home : the face of Venezuelan migrants crossing the border to Colombia
(2018-05) Ruiz Mirabal, Yenibel; Rivas-Rodriguez, Maggie; Alves, Rosental
In 2017, a record number of Venezuelans crossed that country’s border to Colombia, fleeing the economic crisis, the shortage of food and medicine, the violence, and, in some cases, government political persecution. For Venezuelans, the adjustment has been uniquely difficult: at one time, their country was one of the richest countries in Latin America – a magnet for immigrants who wanted a better life. Their grief of leaving is accompanied by a hope to return home. The recent Venezuelan migration is also notable in the region’s history because of its magnitude: in 2017 there were an estimated 1,000,000 Venezuelans crossing. For the least privileged of Venezuelan migrants, Colombia is the most natural destination: these countries not only share 1,378 miles of border, but they also have a common cultural and migratory history. Many of the Venezuelans who have recently made this journey have settled in Santa Marta, Colombia, a coastal city 155 miles from the border, after crossing the border via illegal trails in the north, an area called La Guajira. Their stories represent the human faces of this unique migration process.
The hyper Americans! : Modern architecture in Venezuela during the 1950s
(2014-05) Villota Peña, Jorge; Lara, Fernando Luiz; Cleary, Richard Louis
During the 1950s, Venezuela embarked in an architectural venture marked by aesthetic, programmatic, and technological explorations. Politically framed by the international tension of the Cold War, this period was distinguished by multiple commercial exchanges between Venezuela and the United States, specially based on the oil industry. Many cultural aspects of the Venezuelan life, including its urban and architectural production, changed because of this interrelationship. Yet the conventional view is that architecture in Venezuela was torn between the repetition of U.S. models and the purest creativity of its local designers. Based on periodical publications of that time, and methodologically framed by the contemporary notion of transculturation and Gianni Vattimo’s weak though, this research demonstrates that modern architecture in Venezuela, produced by both locals and Americans, went beyond a unilateral center-periphery influence, and ended up being the hyperrealization (intensified version) of U.S. ideals. In this sense, the research analyzes an aspect not studied yet in depth: the connection between the long-term geographical profile of Venezuela and a unique geopolitical situation, as the basis for an outstanding architecture. The dissertation examines how the Edificio Creole in Caracas, designed by American architect Lathrop Douglass for Standard Oil, and completed in 1955, was not the subsequent version but the advanced prototype of the Esso office buildings both in Louisiana and New Jersey. It shows as well how the Electricity Building in Caracas (1955), also designed by Douglass, and whose authorship has remained unknown until now, represented a unique opportunity both to explore the insertion of an “horizontal skyscraper” in downtown, and to reveal a complex network of professional and political relations. By examining Higuerote Beach Resort, a vacation and residential complex located near Caracas, the dissertation also demonstrates how American magazines were used by Venezuelans as the basis for an architecture that became original without the inspiration of a genius designer. Finally, this research analyzes the production of a supernatural architecture through the Helicoid Shopping Center in Caracas (designed by Arquitectura y Urbanismo C.A. in 1955), one of the most paradigmatic examples of modern Venezuelan creativity, and probably the utmost realization of the American Utopia.
Hyperinflation in Venezuela: How to Address the Problem
(2020) Reilly, Sean Gregory; Roberts, Brian
Massive amounts of hyperinflation have been ravaging Venezuela for years. Forbes reported that the annual inflation rate for Venezuela in 2018 was 80,000%. To put this in perspective, an inflation rate this high doubles prices nearly every two weeks. Inflation rates this high haven’t been seen since Zimbabwe in the 2000s and Germany in the 1920s. Venezuela’s high inflation levels are due to the sum total effect of relying too heavily on imports for basic goods, depending on oil as its main export, inefficient government industries, and governmental corruption. While this would have been enough to warrent a thesis on its own, there is more to the story of hyperinflation in Venezuela. Beneath the current economic crisis is a political power struggle. On one side is the current President Nicolas Maduro, head of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Challenging him is the interim President of the National Assembly Juan Guaido, from the Popular Will party. To complicate matters further, the United States officially recognized Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The intersectionality of econoimcs and politics is what intrigued me about Venezuela’s situation. As I started research, I learned that the easiest method for fighting hyperinflation, dollarization, is politically unavailable to President Maduro. Doing so would be seen as a sign of defeat for the leader who has spent so much time denouncing the United States. From here, I started to expand my search for other ways in which Venezuela might be able to fix its economy. In my thesis, I aim to detail what hyperinflation is, where it has occurred in the past, and the solutions those countries employed to get their economies back on track. I will then explore how Venezuela got to the point it is today in regards to their inflation rate and how the solutions previously examined might be successful or unsuccessful. With increasing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, it will be interesting to examine how the unique political situation of Venezuela affects the options for remedying the hyperinflation of the country. I will analyze both the economic as well as the political viability of any and all proposed solutions to the Venezuelan situation.
Institutional constraints on economic nationalism in Latin America
(2015-08) Koivumaeki, Riitta-Ilona; Weyland, Kurt Gerhard; Chapman, Terrence; Elkins, Zachary; Lin, Tse-Min; McDonald, Patrick
Economic nationalism has made an unexpected comeback in Latin America. This return is particularly surprising when one considers the institutional safeguards that the countries in the region adopted in the neoliberal 1980s and 1990s with the goal of protecting the property rights of private investors and preventing nationalization of multinational corporations in the future. My dissertation analyzes what role these safeguards, bilateral investment treaties (BITs), have - or have not - played in expropriation of foreign firms. A quantitative analysis of state takeovers in the region in 1985-2012 shows that the treaties have proven to be surprisingly toothless: they have not constrained nationalistic executives from attacking multinational investors. The second part of the dissertation explores the causal mechanisms behind the treaties' weak deterrent power. Case studies of Venezuelan and Bolivian hydrocarbon nationalization under Presidents Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales, respectively, show that the treaties are the weakest precisely when investors most need them. When a commodity boom increases profits in the sector, the host government is motivated to expropriate multinationals. Ironically, the price increase also enables governments to bear the treaties’ costs by accepting international arbitration and paying any resulting compensation. While previous research argues that leaders' leftist ideology has driven oil and gas expropriation in Latin America, my research shows that the politicians’ strategic calculations, not their commitments to leftism, better explain the causes and the timing of the nationalization processes, and the way the presidents pursued their nationalistic plans.
Leftist Government in Latin America: A Comparison of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela
(Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, 2008) Madrid, Raúl
Letter to Gilberto Rodriguez from H.B. Stenzel on 1963-10-22
(1963-10-22) Stenzel, Henryk B.
Letter to H.B. Stenzel from Bill Sharp on 1951-10-21
(1951-10-21) Sharp, Bill