The Venezuelan Series (Part 3): Escaping the Legacy of Colonial Development

[This is a series of posts based upon my experiences during an August tour of Venezuela. Each post is a stand alone commentary, but, if you are interested, here are Part 1 and Part 2. Comments can be e-mailed to me at restes60@earthlink.net.]

People familiar with the intense conflicts associated with the neoliberal globalization process may find this lengthy post tiresome, but it is not possible to properly understand the economic ambitions of the Bolivarian Revolution without recognizing the alternatives that it has rejected. Much has been written about the economic collapse of Venezuela since the oil boom of the 1970s, and the emergence of Chavez as conditions worsened. But it is also important to understand why the preservation of state control over the aluminum and oil industries, though CVG Alcasa, CVG Venalum and PDVSA, is a marked departure from the discredited form of global economic development implemented around the world by the United States, Japan and Western Europe.