Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
with Mexico and trade defi cits with Chile and Peru, and from Brazilian
joint ventures in China to direct competition with Mexico for the U.S.
market (Barbosa 2008; Jenkins, Peters, and Moreira 2008).
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Arguably,
joint ventures and direct competition point to the economic muscle and
political will of some Latin American nations, while restrictions on
China's operations indicate the power of labor groups.
Latin America's labor organizations are particularly noteworthy. For
instance, Argentina's metalworkers' union was pivotal in pushing for
safety measures and certifi cates of origin in agreements with China
(Barbosa 2008), while Brazilian unions have clamored for oil sovereignty.
In Brazil, the National Committee against Oil and Gas Privatization,
supported by the oil workers' union, Federacao Única dos Petroleiros,
launched an “oil must be ours” campaign and even occupied the head-
quarters of Petrobras in 2008. Their demands included the cancellation
of bids to international companies, the end of crude oil exports, an
increase in the export of manufactured oil products, and 100 percent
national ownership of Petrobras.
12
In addition, the Brazilian national
union, Central Única dos Trabalhadores, demanded national indepen-
dence in the country's energy policy, including policies on new oil dis-
coveries, and for biodiesel and ethanol to be produced on family farms.
13
Though these campaigns targeted the state to stop its privatization
efforts, Chinese companies were targeted like any non-Brazilian multi-
national. Brazil's agreement in 2009 to supply oil to China in exchange
for a loan signifi es this balance as well: Petrobras supplies the crude, not
a Chinese company.
14
As a newcomer to Latin America, China is aware of the region's
determination to regulate foreign fi rms. In Ecuador, the state expelled
California-based Occidental Petroleum in 2006 for irregular practices,
which led the Chinese venture Andes Petroleum to experience fi eld losses
in its 40 percent interest in one of Occidental's oil blocks. Ecuador also
froze the assets of Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in 2008
for inferior practices on a hydroelectric project, putting foreign fi rms on
further alert.
15
In addition to the role of the state in setting expectations for China's
operations, Northern multinationals have also established protocol when
operating fi rst or in adjacent fi elds. In Ecuador, for example, there are
indications that when the Chinese oil consortium Andes Petroleum
obtained an existing oil block from Canadian EnCana Corporation,
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it initially adopted EnCana's community and environmental standards.
A consultant who had worked for both North American and Chinese oil
