Welcome to the new gas stations in Venezuela: they have digital fuel pumps and high-end imported spirits. They are freshly painted bright yellow and red. And the strangest thing these days, they have gasoline for sale, but at a price that very few can afford.
Over the past six months, the regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro has been quietly handing over dozens of dilapidated gas stations across the country to local entrepreneurs who have converted them into these flashy commercial stores, rebranding them under the brand name It is the first phase of a desperate plan to rescue the country from what has dealt a knockout blow to Venezuela’s oil business and choked the nation’s fuel supply so hard that gas stations have been forced to close.
Maduro’s idea is that the new companies operate as independent businesses and import fuel free of US sanctions specifically aimed at his Administration and those who help it. It is a fairly simple plan until you look more closely: the agreements with the gas stations that the Maduro government has made so far are not publicly disclosed. Nobody seems to know who ultimately owns them or who manages them. And some are already expressing concern that the government itself may be behind the operations.
The Government is working on a reform that will officially end the PDVSA monopoly
“The changes are a reaction to the collapse of the state, not a well-thought-out plan,” said José Manuel Puente, an economics professor at the Caracas-based business institute IESA. “The new fuel stations are just a decoration to give the appearance of harmony, not part of a structural stabilization plan for the economy.”
The plan’s apparent lack of substance doesn’t end at the new gas stations. The country’s fuel import and distribution network is entirely in the hands of PDVSA, the state oil company subject to US sanctions. The government is working on a reform that will officially end the monopoly and allow Maduro to transfer some of those operations to his allies as well. However, that would be a much larger company, and it seems even more unlikely that they would be able to operate without doing business with PDVSA.
People with knowledge of the plan, including government officials, PDVSA contractors and several gas station owners, spoke about the changes but asked not to be identified because they fear reprisals.
An old PDVSA gas station. Photo: Bloomberg.
There is also the problem of leaving Venezuelans without the subsidized fuel that the government has provided virtually free for decades. A trademark of Maduro’s late mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chavez, which has become a cash drain for the government now that they can no longer meet domestic demand. The result is that . Imported fuel has been paid for with gold bullion and the vaults of the Central Bank are running empty.
At a new Vía service station in eastern Caracas, drivers can go directly to the pump without having to wait in the endless lines of cars that have become commonplace in the city. There, gasoline is better and costs about 40 cents per liter. That may sound cheap by international standards, but a minimum wage in Venezuela is less than a dollar a month, plus subsidized food stamps provided by the government. Customers can also find 18-year-old Scotch whisky, Mexican coffee and premium cuts of steak at the new gas station outlets. Although there is no public figure for new fuel stations, they appear to be more than 50 and the goal is to reach 400.
endless queues
Meanwhile, some 1,500 old service stations across the country sell gasoline for about 5,000 bolívares per liter, so most drivers are still waiting in line for hours every time one has fuel. Over time, the Maduro government hopes to phase out subsidies except for public transport, but the contentious issue has sparked riots in the past and there is no prospect of ending the gross inequality of the current two-tier system anytime soon. term.
Commercial alliances have also been closed in the agri-food and food industry. Under a law passed by the government last year, new contracts with are confidential, supposedly to protect companies from US sanctions. The result has been similar: the shelves of good supermarkets are no longer empty, but the prices of new products are pegged to the US dollar and are too expensive for most Venezuelans, who rely on banks and takeout coupons. food on the table
One benefit of the new service stations for low-income Venezuelans is that the lucky ones who managed to keep their jobs as clerks now earn much better wages. One of them at a Vía station said that he now earns the equivalent of 60 dollars a month, compared to the dollar he earned under the previous administration. “This is much better than before,” he said. “It helps me bring more food to my family.”
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