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BobLoblaw_BirdLaw t1_j8hflkc wrote

Reply to comment by Questjon in [OC] New Mexico Now Produces More Oil Than Mexico & Venezuela by latinometrics

Why didn’t they just tax them more and make them pay higher share of the oil. Rather than get greedy and want 100%. Orrrr slowly build your expertise over decades times. And then diversify like saudis

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be_more_constructive t1_j8hikvv wrote

>slowly build your expertise over decades times

Very few countries have the foresight or the political systems in place to do so. When you're an authoritarian populist like Chavez your tomorrow is not guaranteed and you need to take actions that have immediate effect. Tbh, that's true of most leaders.

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Questjon t1_j8hrsrq wrote

There's no good answer, they thought the job was easier than it was and they'd be freeing up a few hundred billion dollars a year that they believed rightly belonged to their country. I'm sure in hindsight they'd do things differently.

The Saudis as you say did things the smart way, they started out with a 50/50 profit split with American companies and over time used their profits to take more control and increase taxes and eventually own the entire industry and diversify profits. That process did take 50 years though and Venezuela's government wanted fast results because they weren't an authoritarian regime like the Saudis and needed to win the next election.

Although Maduro fucked the economy so badly that he ended up turning Venezuela into a sham democracy and seizing authoritarian power because there was no chance of him winning a fair election. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

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