Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo
| Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Development of Venezuela | |
|
In office 20 October 1945 – 24 November 1948 | |
| President |
Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Gallegos |
| Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Venezuela | |
|
In office 13 February 1959 – 23 January 1963 | |
| President | Rómulo Betancourt |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Hernández Grisanti |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 December 1903 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Died |
3 September 1979 (aged 75) Washington D.C., USA |
| Spouse(s) | Alicia Castillo |
| Profession | diplomat, politician, lawyer |
| Signature |
 |
Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo[upper-alpha 1] (13 December 1903 – 3 September 1979), was a prominent Venezuelan diplomat, politician and lawyer primarily responsible for the inception and creation of OPEC.
Life and career
Early career
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Pérez Alfonzo helped found the political party Democratic Action (AD; Acción Democrática). As Minister of Development during the first democratic government of Venezuela, the short-lived administration of Rómulo Betancourt (1947–1948), was responsible for increasing oil revenues for the country by raising taxes through what later became known worldwide as the 50/50 formula.
With the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Rómulo Gallegos by the military in November 1948, Perez Alfonzo obtained political asylum in the United States after spending 9 months in jail. He moved to Mexico for financial reasons, where he resided until the return of democracy in 1958, when the democratically elected President Rómulo Betancourt called him back to government service to finish the job he had begun under the presidency of Gallegos, this time as Minister of Energy. During the years he spent in Washington he studied the activities of the oil industry worldwide and, in particular, the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC), which served to reinforce his ideas about creating OPEC, further developing his thoughts about conservation and stabilization of petroleum production and the defense of oil prices.
Service under Betancourt government
As Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons during the second democratic government of Venezuela of president Rómulo Betancourt (1959–1964), he was responsible for the creation of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) for the purpose of rationalizing and thereby increasing oil prices in the world market. Triggered by a 1960 law instituted by US President Dwight Eisenhower that forced quotas for Venezuelan oil and favored Canada and Mexico's oil industries, Perez Alfonzo (also known as the Father of OPEC) reacted seeking an alliance with oil producing Arab nations to protect the continuous autonomy and profitability of Venezuela's oil (among other reasons), establishing a strong link between the South American nation and the Middle East region that survives to this day. His extensive notes of the TRC methods for regulation of production to maximize recovery served him well both in Venezuela and later when he took them translated into Arabic to the Cairo meeting that served as launching platform for OPEC, where Wanda Jablonski introduced him to then minister of petroleum of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Tariki, co-founder of OPEC.[1]
Death and legacy
Pérez Alfonzo died in Washington, D.C. at the Georgetown University Hospital on 3 September 1979, having succumbed to pancreatic cancer. He was 75 years old.
Venezuela's Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo Airport[upper-alpha 1] was named in his honor in 1991.
Since 1998, the Orden Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo (Order of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo) is the Venezuelan award of state given to those who contribute to works related to mining, petroleum and energy.[2]
Famous quote
In 1976, Pérez Alfonzo gave an intuitive warning about what economists now call the "natural resource curse":
| “ | Ten years from now, twenty years from now, you will see: oil will bring us ruin… Oil is the Devil's excrement.[3] | ” |
Books
- Petróleo: jugo de la tierra. Caracas: Editorial Arte, 1961.
- La Dinámica del petróleo en el progreso de Venezuela. Caracas: Central University of Venezuela, 1965.
- Petróleo de vida o muerte (debate with Arturo Uslar Pietri). Caracas: Editorial Arte, 1966.
- El pentágono petrolero: la política nacionalista de defensa y conservación del petroleo. Caracas: Revista Política, 1967.
- ¿Hasta cuándo los abusos de La Electricidad?: informe sobre el caso Guarenas. Guarenas: Municipal Council, 1969.
- Petróleo y dependencia. Caracas: Síntesis Dos Mil, 1971.
- Hundiéndonos en el excremento del diablo. Caracas: Editorial Lisbona, 1976.
- El desastre (with Domingo Alberto Rangel and Pedro Duno). Valencia: Vadell Hermanos, 1976.
- Alternativas (with Iván Loscher). Caracas: Garbizu & Todtmann Editores, 1976.
- Venezuela y el petróleo. Caracas: Centro Gumilla, 1976.
Notes
References
- ↑ Marius Vassiliou (2 March 2009). Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry. Scarecrow Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-8108-6288-3. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ↑ "Ley que crea la Condecoración 'Orden Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo'". Gaceta Oficial de la República de Venezuela. 7 April 1998. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ↑ Useem, Jerry (3 February 2003). "'The Devil's Excrement'". Fortune. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ↑ "Colección: Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo". Gobierno Bolivariana de Venezuela (gob.ve). Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ "IUTEPAL Extensión Maracaibo". Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo (IUTEPAL). Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ "Escuela Privada Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo". Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (CANTV). Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ "En 1979 falleció el padre de la OPEP: Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo". Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV). Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ "The launch of the book 'The Petroleum Pentagon'". Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Retrieved 23 February 2016.