On Oct. 12, workers at Industrias Venoco rallied in support of the company’s nationalization. The day before, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that the state would take over Venoco, Venezuela’s largest chemical and lubricant company, as well as FertiNitro, a company that makes fertilizer.
The nationalizations are part of a massive effort to increase food access and lower inflation. Venoco had been purchasing raw and auxiliary materials at state-regulated prices, then marking up prices for the finished goods by as much as 50 percent. The two companies have also engaged in price speculation, a parasitic practice that weakens the bolívar and hurts the domestic economy.
Workers were jubilant upon hearing the news. Nearly 300 of the plant’s 700 workers are contract laborers, meaning they perform the same work as other workers without receiving any benefits.
Hundreds of workers from other nationalized companies rallied in a nearby city in solidarity with Venoco workers.
