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VENEZUELA - Ali Rodriguez Araque.

Article Excerpt
The Minister of Foreign Affairs since March 2004, Rodriguez until then was president and CEO of PDVSA from July 2002. Still involved in the decision making process for petroleum, Rodriguez in his new position acts as a special adviser to President Chavez. This is because the president is directly involved in the petroleum business, personally marketing Venezuela as a reliable source of energy to countries like China and the Latin American states (see background in DT and in gmt21VenzTransNov21-05). Rodriguez accompanies the president on his frequent travels. But is no longer as powerful as he used to be in recent years.

In his position as head of PDVSA, Rodriguez in mid-2002 succeeded Gaston Parra Luzardo, an academic loyal to President Chavez who was made head of PDVSA in April 2002 after having fired the entire PDVSA board. Parra was a strong supporter of the controversial Hydrocarbon Law that was issued in November 2001 and which was criticised by the then PDVSA head, Army Brig. Gen. Guaicaipuro Lameda, who had taken up the top post at the state company in mid-October 2000. Rodriguez was the fifth PDVSA president in the Chavez regime, in power since early 1999 (see Vol. 57, No. 25).

Before becoming head of PDVSA, Rodriguez had served as OPEC secretary-general since Jan. 1, 2001. He was minister of energy and mines from February 1999. On Nov. 12, 2000 he was chosen for to take the top OPEC job for a three-year term. A lawyer aged 64, he is from the radical leftist Petria Para Todos (PPT) party.

(Chavez in September 2000 had dismissed Hector Ciavaldini as PDVSA...

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