News of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’ death struck yesterday and reaction from around the world was fierce and immediate. In Jamaica, it was front page news. It has been interesting to see the different reactions from the Northern and Southern hemispheres, from ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries.

What is not disputable is the polarizing effect Chavez had. By some accounts, he propped up a struggling population with universal health care and education and free housing. However, crime rates are soaring, infrastructure is rusting, the fiscal deficit is at 20 per cent, inflation at 18 per cent is the highest in Latin America and at 165th, Venezuela has an abysmal scoring on Transparency International’s corruption index. (Information sourced from this article.)

In Jamaica, the reaction seems to center around the PetroCaribe deal.

This 2005 deal saw Venezuela provide oil to Latin American and Caribbean countries at deeply discounted rates. Venezuela apparently sits on the largest oil supply in the world at 296 billion barrels. Under the PetroCaribe deal, Jamaica can purchase up to 185,000 barrels of oil per day at market value. Countries are required to pay 40 per cent of the bill within 90 days and repay the remainder over a 25-year period at a one per cent interest rate. In an interview yesterday, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade A.J. Nicholson stated that he hopes the deal will continue under a new administration. (For the period of 2006-2011, Jamaica racked up a J$164 billion bill to Venezuela.)

The PetroCaribe deal endeared Chavez to many nations, including Jamaica. For a leader in a global regime shifting away from the unipolar power of the U.S., it was an ideologically savvy move that chipped away at U.S. hegemony. It also encourages South-South co-operation while respecting sovereignty.

Yesterday, I heard a few conversations among Jamaicans about Chavez’ death. People are concerned about how secure the PetroCaribe deal is, and if it is not renewed, how oil prices will spike.

To conclude, here is JA’s Minister Nicholson on the country’s relationship with Chavez in the Gleaner:

“Jamaica has lost a friend (and) the Caribbean has lost a friend.

“What he did under the PetroCaribe fund … when we had oil prices spike in mid 2007-2008, that period before the recession, when it went down in 2008-2009, I can tell you, in my opinion, it saved the Jamaican economy, that initiative,” Robertson asserted.

He said he met Chávez on two occasions and concluded that he had “a special place in his heart for Jamaica and saw us as his brothers”.