economy
BBC: La esperanza de Maracaibo que clama "¡ojalá regresen las petroleras de EEUU!"
José Rodas aún conserva con orgullo un Dodge Dart edición especial que compró durante el auge petrolero de Venezuela en la década […]
TL;DR
- Residential oil pump jacks are a common sight in Venezuelan neighborhoods.
- José Rodas, a 93-year-old retired oil worker, owns a 1970s Dodge Dart, a memento from Venezuela's oil boom.
- The oil fields on the eastern coast of Lake Maracaibo in Zulia state were the birthplace of Venezuela's oil industry, bringing wealth but now reflecting the country's crisis.
- American-inspired urban planning is evident in the oil worker neighborhoods, with some houses large and others modest.
- The history of Maracaibo is tied to American oil companies since the discovery of commercial deposits in 1914.
- Multinational companies like Standard Oil, Chevron, and Shell built residential oil fields based on the American garden city model.
- The development of the oil industry positively impacted living conditions, employment, commerce, health, and education.