I was quite glad to find that El Universal had already transcribed its interview with Venezuelan Chamber of Business and Manufacturing Associations (Fedecámaras) President Noel Álvarez into English but then dismayed to see that they actually didn't conduct a full translation. So, below I first am reposting El Universal's English portion of the interview, followed by my translation of the parts that were included in the Spanish interview here but for some reason not included in the English link here. Within the next few days I will be coming back to this to further discuss the implications of all this.[Photo: Vheadline]
From El Universal's English site:
EL UNIVERSAL: What do businessmen recommend to energize the economy?
ÁLVAREZ: In the face of falling oil revenues and savings, the government needs to encourage businesses to invest in Venezuela. There is one magic word only, which is confidence. We must instill confidence and such confidence should be mirrored in a number of clear economic and social policies which enable businesses to develop their activity, which basically includes investment and wealth generation.
Businessmen usually invest, but in many cases, short-term investments started to be made. A large amount of oil revenues stretched demand and we were not developing the productive apparatus. This was a serious mistake by the government. We did not seize the opportunity to diversify the economy through building, tourism and many other projects in order not to depend so much on oil.
EL UNIVERSAL: What is the specific weight of a difficult access to foreign currency among the hindrances faced by the productive sector?
ÁLVAREZ: Exchange control has always been a dire scheme in all the countries around the world, where it has been implemented. In Venezuela, it is also a failed scheme. To my way of thinking, except for some conditions which should be gradually removed for lack of confidence in economic policies, the government should phase it out. Rather than an economic mechanism to safeguard the economy, it is a tool for political control.
EL UNIVERSAL: What would be the less traumatic way to remove exchange control?
ÁLVAREZ: It is very difficult to say. Firstly, there is the need to instill confidence into economic policies; otherwise it will be very difficult. Removing it all of a sudden with hardly reliable policies would cause other things I do not want to think about. We must start by common understanding, to instill confidence, and economic agents should be certain that any policies to be developed from that moment on will be the correct ones. We should be able to invest and at also, a given time, be free to stop investment by means of ready access to the market. We are going nowhere with a coercive policy. We must dismantle it (exchange control) in a concerted effort for it to be as less traumatic as possible for the country.
Now we have my translation of the rest of the article from El Universal's Spanish site:
EL UNIVERSAL: At the moment it looks as though some suppliers will be replaced with others while medium- and long-term domestic production is being planned, what is your assessment of that process?
ÁLVAREZ: I have not seen any incentives or security measures of any kind in the short, medium or long term that can be done. More than 13,000 businesses have not recovered, and private ownership of livestock farms and productive agricultural lands is being attacked. We are replacing Colombia with Argentina and then we will go to Brazil. The production system is collapsing. What little still exists is working at current capacity, but there is no ability to expand. We are committed to the country, but there must be commitment from other sectors also.
EL UNIVERSAL: How can private sector activity be integrated within the concept of progressive socialism and in a leftist environment?
ÁLVAREZ: I do not think left-wing or right-wing inclinations are relevant when discussing the possibilities of understanding between the government and the private sector. A chamber president of ours said that all socialism is bad. Nevertheless, the fact is that a socialist state is not the same as a socialist government. When I've pointed out that socialism can coexist with a progressive form of socialism, like that of Chile, Spain, England or Norway, it's because I'm thinking of a socialist government, but not a socialist state because that means that all citizens must be socialists. I think we can all coexist under a government of any stripe, provided the government does not paint all citizens the same color.
EL UNIVERSAL: Following that premise, what specific objectives is Fedecamaras confronting during these two years?
ÁLVAREZ: It is a period that seems very long but is relatively short. When you sit here, you begin to see many situations to resolve. I said that I would develop a series of internal and external objectives. Among the internal ones was a restructuring of Fedecámaras, and we are working to that end, acquiring staff to support us, to adapt to the managers who implement the policies to come.
EL UNIVERSAL: What are the external targets you aim to achieve?
ÁLVAREZ: Identify the microentrepreneurs who are not associated with the business sector and who are unaffiliated with any organization. To go where they are, try to reach them through every network and give them support of any kind. There are many national and international organizations willing to collaborate.
EL UNIVERSAL: Do you aspire to change the perception of Fedecámaras?
ÁLVAREZ: Is thought to be an organization of big business and it is not just the government that sees us this way. Fedecámaras is an organization of small businesses, with more than 90% of its members considering themselves small- and medium-sized enterprises. In Venezuela there are only 700 large companies, and in total are one million companies. This is not only in Venezuela but throughout the world, production lines, micro entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Italy, Spain and elsewhere produce a value-added chain of small businesses that are complementary.
EL UNIVERSAL: Apart from the structural theme, what are the fundamental principles for the business sector in the country?
ÁLVAREZ: They are the same: respect for private property, freedom of Enterprise, free initiative, these are all common principles of business owners around the world.
EL UNIVERSAL: How do you perceive the theme of corporate social responsibility right now?
ÁLVAREZ: We must first comply with our employees, with the terms of their contracts. Check if they are properly managing their quality of life and that it is consonant with their aspirations. We can not turn on the street light but have darkness in the house, we have to solve labor disputes out in the open.
Then we communicate this to the community, especially the environment where the company operates, to give added value to the community where the company operates. What will help the community, fix the common spaces, paint the streets, that's part of integrating corporate citizenship. Problems in the street are our problems too.
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