Entre la siembra petrolera y la crítica del extractivismo

Visiones contrapuestas del petróleo en Venezuela

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, Venezuela established itself as an oil-exporting nation, a crucial trait not only in economic terms but also politically and culturally. The discourses associated with its status as a “nación petrolera” linked future projects to the appropriation and distribution of oil rents, encapsulated in the expression “sowing the oil”. In recent decades, various political projects have given substance to this slogan, aiming to transform oil wealth into a permanent, self-sustaining source that benefits all Venezuelans. In this article, we discuss the strength of this metaphor, engaging particularly with the work of Fernando Coronil. We reflect on how the effects of oil are naturalized, even though its distribution is related to the purchasing power in the external market derived from its export. We analyze, in contrast, the perspective of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, who in the 1960s and 1970s criticized oil dependency using the metaphor of the “devil's excrement”. For him, the abundance of foreign exchange associated with oil led to wastefulness. Pérez Alfonzo proposed limiting oil exploitation to avoid the negative effects of excessive foreign currency influx and to promote sustainable economic development. The text connects this critical perspective with contemporary debates on extractivism in Latin America. We highlight how authors like Eduardo Gudynas criticize the extractivist model, pointing out that reliance on the export of natural resources weakens internal productive links and causes adverse social and environmental impacts. Finally, we reflect on the promises of oil nationalism and the current critique of extractivism as key factors for understanding the recent history of Venezuela and other countries in the region.