Venezuela's Most Prominent and Reactionary Business Association Ready to Ask US to Revoke Sanctions

This Monday, February 1, a Fedecámaras spokesperson said that the most important and reactionary business association in Venezuela is willing to accompany the Bolivarian government if it petitions the US Treasury Department for revocation of sanctions against Venezuela, according to Eduardo Garmendia, treasurer and representative for the oil sector in Fedecámaras.

Fedecámaras is a business association formed by chambers of commerce from fourteen sectors of Venezuela’s economy including banks, media, construction, energy, mining, manufacturing, real estate, telecommunications, and others. The association was formed with the objective of protecting free enterprise, and has consistently been at odds with Chavismo.

In statements during the Business and Marketing radio show, hosted by Nelín Escalante on Radio Rumbos, Garmendia affirmed that the business sector is a collateral victim of the punitive measures adopted unilaterally by the US government.

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“There are measures of a general nature and others that are more precise. We can request the revocation of the former, but the latter must be answered individually,” he said, replicating the narrative of right-wing media.

Garmendia was asked whether the association would ask the US Government to allow the exchange of oil for diesel, which is vital for the generation of electricity and public transport in Venezuela. The spokesperson said that Fedecámaras has always expressed its disagreement with sanctions, and therefore is in a position to request the elimination of sanctions.

The Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) has been holding conversations and dialogues with all business sectors within Venezuela and in international forums, pushing for the recovery of the Venezuelan national economy, heavily affected by US sanctions and blockade.

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Last week a delegation of the AN headed by its President, Jorge Rodriguez, met with the leadership of Fedecámaras. Local media, including the most reactionary, praised the meeting as a positive step towards reconciliation and economic recovery. The most extreme-left political sectors, led by the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV), criticized these developments as a capitulation to capitalist groups, while many Chavista analysts see this as a tactic aiming for the economic recovery of the country.

Featured image: Fedecámaras participated actively in the 2002 coup d’état against then-President Hugo Chávez. File photo.

(Ultimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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