Petro-populism in Venezuela: The end of the road?

A conference on Venezuela’s petro-populism with:

– Diego MOYA-OCAMPOS, Senior Political Risk Analyst for Latin America at IHS

– Carlos BELLORIN, Lecturer at PSIA-Sciences Po and Senior Petroleum Analyst at IHS

Introduced by Giacomo LUCIANI, Scientific Advisor for the Master in International Energy, PSIA-Sciences Po

 

 

Petro-populism under stress. University student groups and civil society groups are likely to continue staging anti-government protests in Venezuela despite the government’s security crackdown. Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro claims the protests constitute a “coup in motion” though protestors argue their struggle is about freedom and democracy against a repressive and corrupt administration. At least 35 people have been killed during the protests -most of them protestors- hundreds wounded and arrested amid excessive use of force by the police and the military as the risks of political instability in the Latin American country continue to escalate.

Presented by Diego Moya-Ocampos, Senior Political Risk Analyst for Latin America at IHS. He has served as Chief Secretary of the Attorney General’s Office in Venezuela and as legal advisor for government agencies and private corporations on constitutional, administrative and environmental issues.

Venezuela Oil Blues. Venezuela is the country with the largest petroleum reserves in the world with 316 billion barrels of proven reserves, the 8th natural gas reserves holder in the world and Latin America’s top oil exporter. However the country’s production has been declining and it is currently importing natural gas and petroleum products to supply a highly subsidized domestic market. 95% of Venezuela’s export revenues come from oil, and PDVSA is the largest employer in the country outside the public sector. 

Presented by Carlos Bellorin, Senior Petroleum Analyst at IHS and lecturer at PSIA, teaching a course on “International and Comparative Petroleum Law & Contracts.”