Why is Chávez being singled out again!
«Oil Boom and Nationalization of oil Industry (1973-1998)
With the Middle East oil embargo of 1973, world oil prices and, along with it, Venezuelan government revenues, quadrupled from 1972 to 1974. This sudden and sizable increase in government income was historically unique in Venezuela (and would be to most other countries in the world). It allowed the newly elected president, Carlos Andrés Perez, to promise Venezuelans that Venezuela would become a developed country within a few years. His project was known as “La Gran Venezuela” and was supposed to “sow the oil” though a combination of fighting poverty, via price controls and income increases, and the diversification of the country’s economy, via import substitution. Part of this plan was also the nationalization of Venezuela’s oil industry, which became fully nationalized in 1976, with the creation of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). While the oil boom appeared to be a tremendous blessing to Venezuela, it did have some negative consequences, such as chronic inflation and, paradoxically, an increasing indebtedness. These problems were exacerbated when, in the mid-80’s the price of oil began to plummet, due to OPEC members’ breaking of their production quotas. By 1998, the price of oil had reached a new historical low of $3.19 per barrel (in 1973 prices).<3> This decline in oil prices had a significant impact on Venezuela’s economy, particularly on per capita income, which had been in a steady decline between the mid-80’s and the present.»
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1000Note: I lived there since and I can tell you from first hand experience that US oil workers practically own the oil fields along Coro, Estado Falcón, Venezuela. This just shows how world "leaders" get together to concoct a story that is beneficial to the crooks. Obviously the nationalization was not even worth the paper it was printed on if Chávez feels the need to let Venezuela take over the oil fields. But the USA??? Was it just looking for an excuse to jack up the oil prices with this "nationalization"? It seems, if anything, it all stayed the same.