View of the Monómeros industrial complex in Barranquilla, Colombia. Photo: Monómeros.
The Colombian Superintendency of Companies, Supersociedades, announced that, given the alleged sale of the company Monómeros Colombo Venezolanos, Colombia will subject the company to administrative “control” in view of “the possible sale of its shares.” The decision was issued in a statement released this Monday, November 18.
Monomeros is a Venezuelan publicly owned asset that was recovered after the arrival of Gustavo Petro’s to the Colombian presidency. For several years, Monomeros was under Colombian and far-right Venezuelan opposition control, which brought it to the blink of bankruptcy. This was the result of the failed US regime-change operation now know as the “Guaidó project.”
The Colombian agency clarified that “the degree of supervision named ‘control’ is not taking of possession nor does it authorize the Superintendency of Companies to co-manage the Company, which retains its autonomy with the limitations and for the purposes indicated in the Constitution and the law, with full guarantee of its rights.”
“Our mission is to contribute to the growth and preservation of companies, the achievement of which benefits stakeholders, through preventive actions, support, and supervision. In this sense, in the face of possible risks that affect the general interest, our duty is to act promptly, aware of the importance of companies for the national economy and, in the particular case of Monómeros, due to its relevance for agriculture, food sovereignty, and Colombian farmers,” reads the statement issued by the Colombian agency.
Me opongo integralmente a una privatización de la empresa Monómeros localizada en Barranquilla.
Ya lo intentó insanamente el Dapre de Duque, ahora repite el ministro Saab.
La agricultura en Colombia y Venezuela es piedra angular para transitar de un sistema de economía… pic.twitter.com/K58omY8AWk
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) November 9, 2024
Since early November, Colombian news outlets have reported that Monómeros is being sold to private investors. Venezuelan authorities have not yet commented on these reports.
For his part, last week, Colombian President Gustavo Petro published a letter to President Maduro, dated November 8, in which Petro expressed his opposition to the alleged sale of Monómeros and directly held the newly appointed Venezuelan minister for industries, Alex Saab, responsible for the sale.
In the letter, he pointed out that for more than five decades, the company has benefited farmers in both countries with the production and sale of agricultural inputs at a “fair price” and, currently, guarantees the productivity of their lands for “millions of families;” thus, privatizing Monómeros “will imply an increase in the price of products.”
Venezuela Officially Regains Control of Monómeros in Colombia
It would also force producers to “depend on foreign products and the price of agricultural inputs on the international market,” according to the Colombian president. Petro did not mention the role of the Colombian state in the temporary robbery of this important asset that belongs to all Venezuelans. During the time of the failed Guaidó project, this otherwise lucrative corporation was brought to the blink of collapse due to the mismanagement and corruption at the hands of Venezuela’s far-right opposition in collusion with the administration of Colombia at that time under president Iván Duque.
In Colombia, public opinion has lauded the manner in which Colombia, under Petro, cooperated with besieged Venezuela to recover this important and strategic asset that produces urea for the agricultural market.
On the other hand, Colombia failed to initiate legal actions within the Colombian justice system to recover billions of US dollars stolen by the “executives” appointed during the administration of Iván Duque to bring them to justice.
(Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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