CITGO

I decided to monitor oil company Citgo for several reasons. First, Citgo is Venezuelan, just like I am. Second, I expected to find an intensive media battle between Citgo, its customers and US and Venezuelan government officials. Thirdly, I expected to see a creative use of the groundswell by all sides in a dispute generated by the use of Citgo as a political tool. In some cases I found what I expected, in others I was surprised.

Citgo is a formerly American company headquartered in Houston. It is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. It has been wholly owned by PDV America, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) since 1990. PDVSA is Venezuela’s state-owned petroleum company.

Venezuela is located in the northern tip of South America. For many years before Chavez it had been a dependable provider of crude oil to the US and many other countries. Politically it has drifted away from the US and neighboring Colombia, its two most important business partners, and forged close ties with Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua and even Northern Korea.

Since 2006 the buzz about Citgo has steadily declined,
as reported by the search engine Icerocket.

Most of the controversy surrounding Citgo began six years ago, and the buzz about it has been declining every year. The crisis began in 2006 when, during a speech in the United Nations, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez insulted then US President George W. Bush by calling him the devil and alcoholic. `Listen to me, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger,'' Chavez said when he threatened to cut Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S, a threat that has been repeated many times during the last decade. Venezuela is the US fourth-biggest supplier of foreign crude. 

Venezuela's President Chavez calls US President George W. Bush "The Devil"

Chavez has always been an effusive anti-American. He began using Citgo as a political tool since he became Venezuela’s president in 1999. Chavez has achieved absolute power all over state institutions that might check his power. He controls the legislature, the Supreme Court, the institution that monitors electoral rules and the armed forces. 

Venezuela’s government attempted to scare people away from denouncing through social media corruption and political activism in Citgo. Chavez’s government enacted media laws allowing the government to supervise media content. Also, a revised criminal court permit the government to imprison any citizen for showing “disrespect” toward government officials in public media. There is also political retaliation. For example, because I signed a referendum to ask for the early removal of Chavez from office, I cannot work for any public institution nor receive credit from any public bank.

When people continued to blog and tweet inviting customers to boycott Citgo, Venezuelan government compiled and posted on the internet lists of voters and political tendencies (including whether they comment negatively on Citgo, Chavez or any state official or institution. In this way, Venezuela’s government achieved reverse accountability: the government is watching and punishing citizens and companies for political actions it disapproves of rather than the other way around.

But these measures did not affect the groundswell, especially in the US. Many American and Venezuelan citizens started to ask people and business to boycott Citgo and inspired anti-Citgo proposals. For example, a Boston politician wanted to tear down a Citgo sign that’s a prominent landmark on the city’s skyline. Citgo’s service stations were kicked off Florida's Turnpike, where Citgo had operated since 1994. For similar reasons, 7-Eleven dropped Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years, as the company feared anti-American comments made by Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere. A 7-Eleven spokesperson said. "Certainly Chavez's position and statements over the past year or so didn't tempt us to stay with Citgo.

Anti-Citgo sentiment

The anti-Citgo reaction was so intense that the company launched a campaign to counteract its effects. Citgo began investing millions of dollars to buy full-page advertisements in major newspapers and TV commercials touting its U.S. employees, its program to provide discounted heating oil to needy Americans, and work on behalf of charitable causes such as disaster relief and fighting muscular dystrophy.

Citgo has failed to create a positive buzz.

In October 2006 Citgo began a campaign called “Fueling Good.”  The program delivers free or cheap heating oil to low-income Americans. It attempted to create a word-of-mouth effect to offset the critical tweets and blogs. The intentions of the partnership are unclear. While the controversial program does offer much-needed relief to poor American families, Venezuela’s president Chavez has been accused of using the program for political grandstanding, attempting to discredit capitalism while building his own power and prestige.

In Masachusetts  Citgo has provided funds for Joe Kennedy, a former US representative. Kennedy has used the proceeds of Chávez’s donated oil to fund millions in advertising for the heating oil charity. Those ads, in turn, prominently feature Mr. Kennedy, often personally delivering Chávez-funded oil to needy recipients in several New England communities. Although the campaign has not created a buzz in favor of Citgo, as we can see by the few "likes" in its Facebook page, it has significantly diminished the negative comments.

There are are many questions on whether Citgo's Free Heating Oil Program is an admirable charity or just political posturing. The program, which delivers free or cheap heating oil to low-income Americans, has been hailed by some as an important humanitarian enterprise. Others call it a ploy by Venezuela’s socialist leader, Hugo Chavez, to discredit America and the capitalist system. 

Analysis of Joe Kennedy's Citgo commercial

Connie Mack, a Florida Republican and U.S. Representative pounded President Barack Obama for his handling of Venezuelan affairs. He also criticized the US President because supposedly he is in negociations with Venezuela's President to dump cheap gas before elections.  I will be listening to what the ground will say.