Yes, holidays.... I know,

but I had an interesting exchange over the last few days and it led me to do some digging. I found this, which is a speech by Alberto Acosta, Minister of Energy and Mines (at the time) on the fortieth anniversary of the first oil well in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

This probably should have been posted before, but better late than never. It gives some insight into Acosta's thinking, and how he views his role in the unfolding political drama that is present day Ecuador.

There are some points on which I disagree, and I'll have more to say about that later, but for now just read it and see if you don't come away with more respect for the man than what you might have had previously. Forgive the google translation, but it a long speech and just too much work to translate. Google does a fair enough job of it though. Enough to capture the essential points.

ebear

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Against the paradox of abundance *


Alberto Acosta
The Insignia. Ecuador, May 2007.
http://www.lainsignia.org/2007/junio...

I share with you my excitement to recall forty years of oil activity in the Amazon, one day after March 22, 1967 flowed oil from this well, the Lago Agrio No. 1. Since then, oil has left much of Amazonia.

In this place, in Lago Agrio was for the first time on February 12, 1969. Vine accompanying the president, Dr. Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra. The impression that still keep in my memory is a jungle green with a huge, endless. Hand in hand with green, the number of helicopters flying in this region remained etched in my retina. At that time, in 1969, stated that-per square kilometre-this was the area of the planet who had the second movement of helicopters in the world, was the first Vietnam. I remember well, and is something we will never forget, the swans that adorned the banquet given in honor of President Velasco Ibarra, one of the two Angara that existed in Lago Agrio. Two or three swans floating in a reservoir of water, brought, as all the food, wine and others, from the Hotel Quito. They were swans dry ice that adorned the time and that somehow, it does not present then, auguraban the mirage of oil.

This is the image you keep in my head. An image contradictory, even brutal especially when I see how this is the Amazon region. Their destruction has ido a par with the extraction of oil.

At the moment, besides, I want to remind some people. Some of them are with us now: Gustavo Jarrín Ampudia, the prime minister of Natural Resources and Energy, or at the same Jaime Galarza, who wrote about the "Feast of oil." Complaint that led him to jail. Feast in many cases, unfortunately, has not ended. Here are other people who made history as General Rene Vargas Pazos. And certainly deserves very special mention Admiral Raul Jaramillo del Castillo, who was unable to join us on this day, but to whom I owe many of my knowledge and experience in the oil field. For just mention that fellow from somewhere in the infinite we will be watching, I think especially those who accompanied us over and over again in so many struggles and confrontations in as many as Mauro Davalos, who strenuously prevent the occurrence of the robbery System Pipeline of Transecuatoriano; Arregui as Napoleon, who would have been an undisputed engine in the current Ministry of Energy and Mines, and even in Zonia Palán who, although he was not directly involved in the oil issue, has always been an active supporter of the Large national interests. And in this list, incomplete by the way, should include all victims of the oil industry, because they have been many hundreds of compatriots who suffered and are suffering the effects of harmful practices for Nature and life itself, especially in the era Chevron-Texaco.

Practices that, after a long journey by the U.S. court, are subject to a lawsuit pending in the same Amazon region, which will be fulfilled if only to not forget what ChevronTexaco did in the country. While honored the memory of some of the absent putting his name to some oil wells, as Mauro Davalos, for example, there are other wells to be reminded that two peoples who disappeared in the oil industry, 'Tetetes' and 'Sansahuaris', and they will never again here: men, women and children who were slaughtered by the greed of oil, whose extraction is dominated by the logic of capital. Logic accumulation sustained by robbers known of national wealth, people who not only has profited from oil revenues, but that has prevented the country's development.

At this point ask what happened to both oil extracted from that on March 22, 1967. From that date until the present, Ecuador has produced 4,035 million barrels of oil, valued at historical prices international nominal represent a total of 82 billion dollars. Where is this money? I do not speak of wealth, because the real wealth, one that was destroyed, was not in the basement, but in biodiversity, in the life and cultures.

Do however, where is that money that could have been transformed, via proper seed oil, in a genuine national capital? This is a question we must ask Ecuadorians and Ecuador.

We can see behind. We can identify between inheritance oil to the State Oil Refinery, the same pipeline, some hydroelectric dams, roads, hospitals and some works in the education sector. Perhaps something else that is beyond me at this time. But despite so many revenue, the greatest of all Republican era, Ecuador, has not been developed. Could it be that we are victims of the curse of abundance? Could it be that we are a poor country, because we are a country rich in natural resources?

Countries that have specialized in the extraction and export of natural resources, have failed to develop normally. Especially those countries that have great strength of one or few natural resources are trapped in a perverse logic, known as "the paradox of plenty" by Jürgen Schuldt, one of the most brilliant thinkers latinoamericanos. The "abundance" of natural resources distorts the structure and the allocation of economic resources of the country, Returned redistribute national income and wealth concentrated in few hands while widespread poverty leads to recurring economic crises, while consolidates mentalities "rentiers," deepens the weak and weak institutions, encourages corruption, deteriorating environment, everything that contributes to the weakening of democratic governance while facilitating the establishment of authoritarian governments and clientelares.

Precisely economies dependent on natural resource extraction are not the most that have grown in recent decades. Since the sixties here, underdeveloped economies endowed with abundant natural resources have grown at lower rates per capita than those who do not have them. The latter, despite not possessing natural resources, grew at rates that were between two to three times those of the former.

These economies have failed to establish a development scheme which enables them to overcome the so-called "poverty trap", a situation resulting in the great paradox: there are countries that are rich in natural resources, which may even have significant financial income, but have not succeeded in establishing the foundations for their development, remain poor. And they are poor because they are rich in natural resources, both have opted primarily for the extraction of those resources marginalizing other forms of wealth creation based more on human effort that the generosity of nature.

In addition, these countries do not have been characterized as examples of democracy, quite the contrary. Americas America has extensive experience in this field; well thought could be done in connection with oil-exporting countries located in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf and other regions of the planet. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates can be regarded as very rich countries even in terms of accumulation of deposits with financial and high levels of per capita income, but do not fall within the list of developed countries.

You could find a contrary example in Norway. However, in this case this country began extracting oil when there were strong economic institutions and democratic, that is when Norway was already a developed country.

How can we explain this curious contradiction between the abundant natural wealth and poverty in the vast majority of our countries? What has implicanciones for economies that depend on the extraction of oil and other minerals? Is it possible to overcome the negative effects that exercises an abundance of natural resources? Is it inevitable repeat fiascos that brought the famous oil bonanza?

These questions about this "curse" require urgent responses, especially now that we have a responsible government with its history and its people, determined to overcome this shameful past. In this country, which is becoming all and all, we must be aware of what it means to the availability of oil resources, looking back, and then to correct this, to walk into the future. Definitely we can not repeat what has been lived in Ecuador in the past forty years, but especially in the last two decades of entreguismo and subservience to foreign capital, planned were dropped when the presence and participation of the state in the oil industry.

To begin with, it is urgent to rethink the State's participation in oil revenues. How much was the amount of involvement of the company Chevron Texaco in the oil revenues? At that time, this company was receiving less than 13%. The State over 87%. Same as Chevron Texaco has publicly acknowledged more than once, even sent public. They say that the country won something like 25 billion dollars by the oil industry and they made enough profit to 500 million dollars.

At present the situation has changed. Private companies over the years, manipulating numbers and using lackeys very attentive to their demands, imposed conditions prejudicial to national interest. Not long ago, a government, which offered "change Ecuador or die in the attempt", its chairman received literally written orders of the hydrocarbon industry associations in Ecuador, with orders to copy the International Monetary Fund to facilitate appropriate follow-up to the tasks assigned by capital. That has happened, that's part of the story: as the citizen president Rafael Correa, we are leaving behind "the long night neo-liberal", which bequeathed us a regrettable situation throughout the country and indeed the state oil company , Petroecuador.

This is a company, the biggest and most important country, smothered by a perverse and institutions subject to a growing loss. If the company requires making a purchase of 150 thousand U.S. dollars or more, is forced to seek permission from the Attorney General's Department, which approval can take several months, what oil company can be efficient in these conditions?, We wonder. A Petroecuador charged in their accounts in its budget, with the weight of imports of petroleum products: how decapitalization not going to be a company that has 44% of its budget to meet the imports of oil derivatives country, which often does not cover all those costs, while it cut its investment? Under these circumstances no shortage of scoundrels who say the company is being inefficient state ...

But how serious is not only a lack of resources and the deinstitutionalization of the company, is the worst loss of a strategic vision. This is undoubtedly the core of this challenge: Ecuador has lost the direction of its national interests in strategic management.

This is a country with oil resources, energy resources, including exports, but that does not meet its domestic demand and has to import expensive derivatives, amounting this year, at least 2,300 million dollars. And then these derivatives expensive, sell cheap, subsidized by a value of 2,300 million dollars. To close the circle, even give fuel to neighbouring countries-smuggling route-by some 500 million dollars a year…

This level of wastage shows the degree of irresponsibility that have been handled this non-renewable resource. It is a further demonstration that our Ecuador lost its compass. This neoliberal country lacked historic vocation for the future, did not have a strategic vision… except those imposed by transnational capital and their intermediaries Creole. Overcoming such aberration is our first task: to see where we want to go, what are our capabilities, and of course the obstacles we must overcome. That is one of the biggest challenges we have.

If the oil sector, the situation has been deplorable, the electricity subsector was not left behind. In this "long night neo-liberal" left behind many hydroelectric projects, developed by the late Ecuadorian Institute of Electrification (INECEL). Institutions that did not survive the neoliberal barbarism, which already succumbed ten years ago. But his studies were we now serve as a starting point for new projects. Even more so, we have the political will to rebuild and create institutions that are necessary in order to recover the homeland.

So let's conclude Mazar, in the shortest possible time. We hope that the project is completed and San Francisco, which was delayed by bad installation of a pump lubrication by the construction company itself. We are about to begin construction of the plant Sopladora generation, under the great project Paute, which includes Mazar and the Central Mill. We hope the next place the first stone of the "Coca - Coda - Sinclair", with 1,500 MW, of a project that will transform how deep the energy matrix of Ecuador. We are working on the project Mine-Jubones, between the provinces of Azuay and El Oro, the project Chespi in the province of Pichincha, among others.

But all these projects and even the oil industry, unlike what happened in the past, you'll have to be counting on the backing, support and approval of society. Prior consultations must be a reality in our country. The comprehensive dialogue is a democratic obligation. We can not continue trampling the people, as has happened so far. We can not continue imposing projects on behalf of a development that does not exist. If the community is not important part in the definition and implementation of petroleum activities, the activities of hydroelectric and of course mining activities, there is no room for development.

We also believe that not only communities but the very nature, must be part of this process. If the disrespect, we are attacking life and we are denying the possibility of the survival of all inhabitants of the planet. We must be globally responsible, although we are not the biggest predators in the world.

Therefore, the citizen president Rafael Correa said with absolute clarity, which is his first priority to the development of ITT oil field, (ishpingo - Tambococha - Tiputini): Do not remove it, leaving Dams for the benefit of mankind. We are making a historic effort worldwide to leave oil in the subsoil and prevent further warming of the atmosphere. We do so conscious in respect of biodiversity and uncontacted peoples. We do this because this decision also has connotations economic fundamentals, as is the message that this would signal in terms of attracting tourism to a country where his company prioritizes respect for life, as is the protection of that portion of jungle where they form an important part of the clouds that are then dumped on the Andean region where they built large hydroelectric projects…

Besides this is an ethical issue. A matter of human dignity. It would be unfortunate if by action or omission past few years tell us that people lived here: 'Tagaeri', 'Taromenani', and 'Oñamenani'. I could not explain to my children, my grandchildren that I could not do anything to save… Remember again that in these long years of oil extraction, especially during the management of ChevronTexaco, disappeared 'Tetetes',' Sansahuaris' …

I think with ample reason that this is a moment of reflection to seek proposals for long-term. And it's also a time to build a different Ecuador, precisely here, where the oil began to flow, 40 years ago.

Respondámonos key questions, how about the proposals to build a post-oil economy? Task that does not pass by closing all wells and believe that the matter has been resolved and believe that we will find immediate answers, miraculous.

The action does not mean extending the uncontrolled exploitation of oil. We must optimize their removal without causing more environmental and social damage, particularly in the Amazon. We must obtain the greatest possible benefit for the country in each barrel extracted, refined, transported and sold, rather than maximize the extraction volume, but must be done while respecting the nature and communities. This task, shall we say in passing, leads us to revise oil contracts that undermine the interest of society…

If we talk about economy postpetrolera we are not thinking about the emergence of a new primary product that allows us to survive in the international market. We are not opening the door for a miner in Ecuador extreme, no, none of that. We must learn that being producing and exporting countries of natural resources, has not led us to development. Where is the development of the banana? Where is the development of cocoa? Where is the development produced by the shrimp? Where is the development produced by oil, by logging?

We need to start thinking that development is possible only to the extent that we take advantage of a sustainable way-in terms of environmental, social, business, economic and even political-our natural resources. Are Based on what?, In exploiting the main factor of production and development, its very purpose, man. The effort of the human being must be the basis for our development. We can not live always in mind that the natural resources in a way isolated, spontaneous and almost magical, will solve our problems. From the utilization of these resources, on grounds of equity and social and productive linkages, we have to design the development strategy.

To achieve this we need to definitively turn the page and change the correlation of forces in the political, economic and social development. Structural adjustment policies and liberalization extreme, which had as its main objective the sale of state enterprises and have pretendedlo organize the economy through market (oligopolistic or monopolistic openly), have failed. From the foregoing it is clear that we must make an enormous and sustained effort to maximize the positive effects that can be obtained from oil extraction, without losing sight of that oil is running out and that development is not simply based on extraction of natural resources. It must generate wealth, we can not live on incomes of natural resources but the effort of human beings, that is the great task. If this is not achieved, we must bear in mind that will remain the curse of abundance.

Today we can change. It's time for our country proud, sovereign, as raised by the citizen president Rafael Correa. That haughty and sovereign homeland us together to discuss and debate, the construction of a new option of life. Our work is complemented by what will be, which actually is already the 'National Constituent Assembly'. Assembly already started the fifteenth day of April this year, when most inhabitants of this land said 'yes' to the future and' no 'to the past.

Buried with the positive vote and purpose to all those who have predators history, homeland, including our natural resources. Buried with that vote who they want to keep us tied to the logic of capital. Buried with the vote to all those who do not want democracy. And from that perspective democratic, I invite you to join an ongoing discussion in these coming months. All and all are assembly. This means more to participate, be responsible in selecting the appropriate list of those who will go to the House. Active participation rather than simply having a new constitution. Neither so it is good, because who determines that the Constitution is good? The Constitution must be ours. We need a constitution, understood as a project of living together, which we feel identified. Here we define our duties and rights, because as well as demand, we must give. Just as we are asking for respect, we must respect, as well as we have a homeland that will enable us to live in dignity, we want that Homeland let all the inhabitants live in dignity. And if we talk about dignity, is what exists in the Amazon least…

A final observation. Has the State National missing. How the State appears to the inhabitants of the Amazon after 40 years? Simply uniformed law enforcement. These institutions so dignified and strong, as should be the Armed Forces and National Police are responsible for repressing the people who say: "Give me a mendrugo bread that oil is enriching, not Ecuadorians, but to transnational groups. "

Let's start working now. Not only will think about how our Constitution, but even be more practical, develop the organic laws that allow us to salvage the oil, electricity, alternative energy sources. In this effort we must be all, thinking that the Constitution is not merely an libraco with a few laws and few legal texts, often difficult to understand and even difficult to read.

The Constitution is a social pact is an agreement to define what we are and where we want to go? If you want, it is also a letter navigation, where you have to enrumbarse the ship of state. This task, then, compels us to regain sovereignty spaces. Without sovereignty there is nothing, there is no possibility of action for the National State. We must regain sovereignty, but with a different perspective to that which existed for many years, not looking inward, but outward looking, thinking that we must regain our sovereignty with the other countries of the region to build a sovereignty shared with the fraternal peoples of South americas, with the fraternal peoples of Latin americas. That's going to build a homeland freer, more sovereign, fairer, more democratic.


(*) Speech by Alberto Acosta, an economist and minister Ejergía and Mines of Ecuador, on the fortieth anniversary of the first oil well in the Ecuadorian Amazon.