The president of the Venezuelan Confederation of Industrial Entrepreneurs (Conindustria), Lope Mendoza, along with several businessmen, proposed a strategic alliance with the government in order to generate jobs and recover the country’s economy.

Conindustria, whose leaders played a prominent role both in the coup d’état and in the entrepreneurial and oil strike of 2002(aimed at ousting president Chávez), seems to be another one of the entrepreneurial chambers that prefer to face reality. Mendoza told the reporters that the only way to overcome difficulties is to “look ahead, towards the future”. "We have to recover the jobs, the businesses, we have to get into the globalized market and seek the mechanisms to become more efficient.”

Mendoza indicated that his organization, in order to promote the strategic alliance, intends to draw up a series of documents with specific topics to discuss with the different ministries related to the industrial sector, such as the ministries of Production and Commerce, Finance, Labor, Science and Technology, Health, Pdvsa (the Venezuelan state owned oil company), and the CVG (Venezuelan state owned Corporation of Guayana), with the purpose of recovering employment and having a productive sector.

The proposal, which was presented before vice-president José Vicente Rangel, addresses four fundamental areas: labor, taxes, integration and competitiveness. Mendoza referred to the meeting as “cordial”, and said he was pleased with the vice-president’s willingness to accept the suggestions from the industrial sector. Therefore, they will turn in, within the next few days, the agenda of topics which the businessmen request that the government discuss with them.

They will also propose in a document “the measures that Conindustria suggests be taken in order to rescue businesses, improve employment, and above all, give the medium and small businesses a very firm support”, said Mendoza.

He also explained that although his organization is part of the Federation of Commerce Chambers (the main entrepreneurial organization in Venezuela), “each one must assume his responsibility in trying to discuss with the National government and the National Assembly the different topics that are necessary to address in pursuit of increasing employment”.

Mendoza also pointed out that a discussion agenda with the different ministries, which will be elaborated under the coordination of vice-president Rangel, is key to the success of the proposal. He confirmed that Conidustria is willing to participate as an advisor in the endogenous development centers (a program that promotes Venezuelan self-reliant production, with the incorporation of the long excluded sectors of the population) and in all those plans aimed at improving productive employment figures.

Published in Quantum N.38