Venezuela: oil minister Rafael Ramirez
Venezuela oil workers warned
Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez threatened to oust oil-industry employees who refuse to support President Hugo Chavez, or who do not embrace his socialist plans.
"No single PDVSA institution can do without a socialist [workers'] committee," Ramirez said in a televised speech during a meeting with thousands of oil workers.
The committees are expected to foster a common ideology aligned with Chavez's socialist agenda, a Dow Jones Newswire said.
"Whoever doesn't have a socialist committee will be considered a suspect of conspiring against the revolution," said Ramirez.
"Not a single counter-revolutionary can remain within our company, within our industry," he said, referring to state oil giant PDVSA.
The minister's political speech was televised live by state TV channel Venezolana de Television, and was similar to controversial remarks he made years ago insisting that all workers should align themselves with Chavez's ideas.
In November 2006, shortly before Chavez ran for re-election, Ramirez gave a private speech to top PDVSA managers pressuring them to support Chavez, or lose their jobs.
The speech was secretly taped and later made public.
Back then, Chavez critics seized on Ramirez's remarks as an indication of intimidation of state employees under his government.
Ramirez, a trusted Chavez hand, told workers today that they have a duty to make PDVSA an efficient company and accept any and all tasks assigned by the president and his top lieutenants, regardless if these are related to oil production or other businesses.
In line with Chavez's socialism, Ramirez added, media outlets should remain under the state's control and heavily regulated by the government so they can carry out a crucial ideological task.