Tillerson's Exxon Mobil Faces Eviction From Bolivia

[DaveColorado]

http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/02/exxonmobil-tillerson-bolivia-cx_po_0502autofacescan02.html

Tillerson's Exxon Mobil Faces Eviction From Bolivia
Parmy Olson, 05.02.06, 7:51 AM ET

London -

The famed mauve and blue striped jersey had gone out the window yesterday. Bolivia's President Evo Morales instead donned a hard hat, rugged beige jacket and bull horn to announce the nationalization of his country's oil and gas industry. Soldiers were to immediately occupy Bolivia's natural gas fields, and foreign companies who didn't hand over majority control of operations to the state within six months would be evicted.

The move is expected to affect some 20 foreign energy companies that have interests in Bolivia, including Spain's Repsol YPF, Petrobras of Brazil, the U.K.'s BP (nyse: BP - news - people ), France's Total and Exxon Mobilof the U.S.

Exxon Mobil, led by Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, has a stake of 34% in Bolivia's Itau natural-gas reserves, according to The Associated Press, with a non-producing field operated by Total in which the U.K.'s BG Group (nyse: BRG - news - people ) is also a partner. A spokesman for Exxon Mobil told AP that the company was now "monitoring the situation very closely."

[DaveColorado]

1. Less money for this guy

[acmavm]

2. This is just so mean to say, but that guy makes me gag.

What does that say about me? Or my gag threshold?

[clixtox]

4. Share the Love!!!

He appears to be the very picture of health and vitality. He surely must be an inspiration to his minions and share holders.

Greed and gluttony have worked their magic on him.

Talk about stewing in your own juices...

It would be instructive to have a "before" picture to compare.

[Javaman]

9. Greed perhaps, but the gluttony is the American publics need for oil...

Greed put this prick where he is, however it was our gluttony that fueled his greed.

However, if you wish to really blame anyone, it should be at the auto industries systematic dismantling of the rail and trolley system in the U.S. And the U.S. gov't folly antitrust lawsuit which only fined them $1 dollar.

This jackass provided the fuel, but without cars, gasoline would be useless to us.

Personally, I think we are all feeling a sense of being cheated. But by what? That we were foolish enough to follow along in a mass hypnosis type of way?

That we were spoon fed the American dream and we ate it up in big mouthfuls?

That we all wanted that "american dream" that was forced upon us so we could keep up with the jones?

When history looks back upon this era, it will be with amused disdain for our gluttonous activities.

Amused by our stupidity at screaming and fighting over a finite resource and disdain for our destruction of the planet.

Our period in time is so completely unique in the history of the world. Never has one society benefited so much from one resource and not be thankful for it's being available yet at the same time, be so ungrateful that it's coming to an end.

Like most humans, our society never prepared for the future and we are now collectively pissed over our own stupidity, yet we will never admit to that.

We are the gluttons at the banquet at the end of the world. We ate it all and demand to know why there isn't more.

[phylny]

21. What makes you think his "minions" are being rewarded?

Hah! If you only knew.

[Ecumenist]

3. Umm, is that his real face?

He has enough chins to supply China. Looks like Jabba the Hut... I swear, he looks something from Star Wars.

[clixtox]

5. What a Rug!

Ol Rex, born in 1952, has the cheapest looking wig on in that picture.

I wouldn't trust him with my lunch money, what a fraud and a puppet.

I can't imagine that anyone who spends any time here on DU would ever spend a penny at an eXXon/Mobil station.

[DaveColorado]

6. I began boycotting exxonmobil years ago

Yeah that's what he raelly looks like.

Bill Maher had that same pic up on REal Time the other night, and said he looks like "Fat Bastard" from Austin Powers.

Hehe.

[Ecumenist]

7. Well neither my I nor my my husband buy from Exxon

Mobil. We always try to stick to independents, Citgo, Tesoro, Valero or BP.

[phylny]

22. It doesn't really matter where you buy from. Really. Where do you

think the independents get their gasoline from? When Citgo runs low, where do you think they get their gas from?

[Ecumenist]

23. It may be symbolic but

for now, it's the best we can do. We will b e changing over to biodiesel as soon as buy our new diesel vehicle. We live in northern california and are looking at changes we can make to further cut our dependency on oil.

[TomInTib]

8. That is Lee Raymond, past Chairman of ExxonMobil

not Tillerson

[paul_fromatlanta]

10. It sounds like everybody is happy about this

I find that hard to understand.

[movonne]

11. Why?

[paul_fromatlanta]

12. Because these sorts or things almost always lead to less rights, less free

less freedoms, dictatorship and more poverty.

Not to mention its wrong.

[manic expression]

27. No, it's right

and you're wrong.

These "sorts of things" almost always lead to more parity, equality and political participation. Resources are put toward the people, which improves the lives of countless people. It takes from the ridiculously rich and gives to everyone. That is more than justified.

Let me break this down for you:

Cuba before (the revolution): death squads were rampant, a dictator ruled with little public participation.
Cuba after: http://members.allstream.net/~dchris/CubaFAQDemocracy.html

El Salvador before: death squads, plutocracy, a handful owned the land, police state, priests murdered in broad daylight for speaking against system, people gunned down during funerals for those same priests, no open political participation, people oppressed without medicare and land.
El Salavador after: multi-party elections, hospitals available to all (quality ones, too), land redistributed, little political violence (mostly done by RWers).

Need I continue? I can.

There are MORE rights, MORE political participation, MORE equality, MORE equity...

JUSTICE.

That is beyond right.

[clixtox]

13. Bolivian Resources

I am pretty excited about this situation as it will give the Bolivians the opportunity to re-negotiate all of the "agreements" and "contracts" that were, I have no doubt, structured to screw the Bolivian people and unjustly enrich greedy "Multi-National" corporations.


These energy corporations don't have consciences, only public relations. They don't care about anyone or anything except ripping off more resources. Their only goal is more money, absolutely nothing else, and they will do what it takes, including murder, and even genocide, to maintain their supplies and increase their quarterly profits.

Look what is happening in Iraq for an obvious example. There too many other examples to start listing them here...

[paul_fromatlanta]

14. It doesn't sound like renoegotion but armed takeover

Looking at history that doesn't really empower the people but tends to set up a new type of dictatorship with less avenues for change.

[puerco-bellies]

15. What is wrong with a country asserting control over it's own resources?

I would think that a democratically elected government would be more likely to benefit it's own people then your choice, the multi-national oil companies...

[paul_fromatlanta]

16. I understand those feelings..but I've observed what happened the last 100

times. Those countries don't wind up free and the people don't prosper. Look at the difference between North and South Korea. Look at Taiwan versus China before China adopted capitalism.

Now, these socialism based dictatorships don't appear in place of prosperous free democracies - they occur when the people are oppressed. They come about when the people are poor and they think they cannot be well off through legitimate means. So socialism appears to be attractive. Sharing is good.

But it doesn't work out that way.

[puerco-bellies]

17. Yes, Capitalist Dictatorships have SO benefited South Americans

SNARF!

[paul_fromatlanta]

18. I didn't say that - its natural for the people to want change - this

just isnt the sort of change I can cheer. Change can be for the worse.

[mitchtv]

20. maybe it will be different as Evo is not a dictator

and I'm not sure nationalizing a resource is socialism. It is socialistic, but there is the society to consider before applying that label. Good on 'm. Private control of our resources leads to what we have now. subsidized profiteering.

[manic expression]

25. Evo, or Chavez, or

Bachelet, or Obrador, or...

on edit: seriously, why do we have to point this out?

[manic expression]

24. Oh, but it does

"Look at the difference between North and South Korea. Look at Taiwan versus China before China adopted capitalism."

OK. Now look at Mexico, Haiti, your nearest inner city. Look at all of the capitalist countries which have experienced nothing but poverty and oppression for the many, while the very few reap the benefits and rape the rest.

Oh, and look at Cuba before/after the revolution. Look at El Salvador before/after. Look at Venezuela (poverty is dropping rapidly).

"Now, these socialism based dictatorships don't appear in place of prosperous free democracies - they occur when the people are oppressed."

First of all, many socialist states are not dictatorships. Some may be one party (not all), but that is how different from the US? Furthermore, socialism is an economic model, while democracy is a purely governmental model, so the two are not seperate entities; actually, socialism is most compatible with democracy. Anyway, they do occur when people are oppressed. However, they do work out, as wealth is distributed with greater parity and resources go to the people instead of the greedy elite. If you want to tell a farmer in El Salvador who was practically enslaved before FMLN, and who now owns enough land to get by and who now has a hospital to go to when he or his family is sick, and who can now vote without fear (to mention a few improvements) that socialism isn't "working out", that is pathetic.

It does work out that way. It just needs to work well.

[Zynx]

19. Considering what share of Bolivia's economy is dependent on Brazil

this is not a smart move. Petrobras yanking investment would put Bolivia into a depression.

[manic expression]

26. Justified takeover

which will put resources toward the common welfare instead of the welfare of the wealthy.

Looking at history, it does tend to empower the people. Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and other countries (Venezuela among them) have redistributed land and nationalized industries, which led to NOT ONLY improved equality and justice but also empowerment of the people.

It most assuredly closes no avenues for changes, and actually opens many.

Interestingly enough, Uncle Sam and his goons toppled many of such movements that occured through the ballot box (translation: no "new type of dictatorship"), Chile by murdering Allende and Guatemala by running Fuentes out of the country (both elected leaders). Other movements that were done through revolution and opened up the political process (Cuba, contrary to popular US belief, has a very open political process; El Salvador's socialist rebels forced multi-party elections that continue today; Nicaragua with the Sandinistas had open political arenas, and even tolerated the Contra-owned and run propaganda rag for a very, very long time...need I continue? The translation: no "new type of dictatorship") have both succeeded and failed, but the justice they accomplished can never be destroyed.

[manic expression]

28. This really is great

What happens after this is almost as important, but this is an AMAZING first step towards parity and justice.

This truly is a great sign of progress and equality.