Latin America's national oil companies, created at various times during the twentieth century, have each evolved in a different way. The two main companies – Petroleos de Mexico (Pemex) and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) – provide excellent illustrations of the rich diversity of organizational and industrial development. Many factors – such as the importance of earth quakes – explain the diversity. Nevertheless, the role of governments during the period of nationalizations is key. It was then that the relationships between the owners of natural resources, public operators, regulators, the finance ministries, and international operators were defined. This process shaped the companies' institutional structures (path dependency) and set the parameters for future entrepreneurial dynamism. The path by which each of these enterprises developed continues to affect their culture as evidenced by the recent reforms which attempted to restructure Pemex and PDVSA.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Political Economy, and Multinational Corporations
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Venezuela, and Mexico
Mathilde Arrigoni, Cecilia Baeza, Ernesto Zadillo Ponce de Léon, Doris Buu-Sao, Maya Colombo, Olivier Dabène, Marie Doucey, Guillaume Fontaine, Marie-Laure Geoffray, Erica Guevara, Marie-Esther Lacuisse, Thierry Noël, Kevin Parthenay, Gustavo Pastor, Camila Minerva Rodriguez Tavárez, and Adriana Urrutia
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Le Political Outlook 2011 de l’Amérique latine est une publication de l’Observatoire politique de
l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes (Opalc) du CERI-Sciences Po. Il prolonge la démarche du site www.
opalc.org en offrant des clefs de compréhension d’un continent en proie à des transformations
profondes. Des informations complémentaires à cette publication sont disponibles sur le site.
Topic:
Markets, Political Economy, Politics, History, Governance, and Finance
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Haiti, and Chile