Ethnic-racial conflicts in the Venezuelan oil industry, in the first decade of the 21st century

Abstract

Abstract

This article aims to determine the existence of ethnic-racial conflicts in the Venezuelan oil industry, in the first
decade of the 21st century.

Through the analysis of documentary and oral sources, we approach a complex and little-studied problem; We review the antecedents addressed by various authors and incorporate new data based on more recent events, the case of the 2002 oil strikes and other events.

It is concluded that since there are no official ethno-racial norms regarding the entry, permanence and promotion of personnel in the industry, there could be no conflicts of this type. However, the existence of complaints about these alleged conflicts reveals the persistence of imaginaries based on the experience of the first decades of this sector, when there were indeed quarrels based on skin color, nationality and / or cultural differences.

Keywords: Race, Ethnicity, Oil industry, Worker´s strike, Imaginary