Page 32 - The Economist20171214

32 The Americas The Economist December 16th 2017
Sugar in the Caribbean three of its six sugar estates up for sale. Voting in Venezuela
Nearly sweet There may ormay not be bidders. Last man standing
Jamaica has privatised, de-privatised
nothing and re-privatised its failing sugar estates,
selling three to a Chinese company in 2011.
The buyer now complains of low produc- CARACAS
Nicolás Maduro’s newelectoral tricks
tivity and an awkward government, and
TRINIDAD says growing sugar is easier in Africa. In ETus get ready for2018,” boomed
Aftera long, grim history,a once Barbados sugar accounts for only 0.2% of “LNicolás Maduro as he hailed the
lucrative trade faces a stickyend
foreign-exchange revenues (down from “third great victory ofthe Venezuelan
N ITS18th-century heyday cane grown in 55% in 1946), but the government says it people”. The president was gloatingover
Ithe Caribbean and cut by African slaves hopes to revive the industry with a new a vote on December10th, in which his
provided Britain with nearly all its sugar. $270m factory on the site of an old one. United Socialist Party, which has looted
The mastersofthisbrutal trade made enor- The project has now been blocked by an and misgoverned the country into eco-
mous fortunes. But it has seen 200 years of environmental lawsuit. Only in Belize, nomic ruin, bagged more than 90% of
decline, accelerating after slavery ended in where sugar provides a quarter of export the country’s mayoral contests.
1838. Now the region is wondering how it earnings, doesitseem to have a future. Last It was a hollow triumph. The three
will cope aftera policy change by the Euro- year a Guatemalan firm opened a factory main opposition parties fielded no
pean Union which could finally bring there producinghigh-value white sugar. candidates, havingreasonably called the
down the curtain. The region’s wrinkled terrain and vola- votinga sham. (The other“victories”
Today, the English-speaking Caribbean tile weather make it hard to compete were equally flawed: the creation in July
produces under 0.3% of the world’s sugar; against the mechanised sugar operations ofa rubber-stamp “constituent assem-
Brazil growsnearlya quarter. Manyislands of Brazil and Australia; average costs in the bly” to replace an elected legislature, and
have abandoned cane for more profitable Caribbean exceed the world price. Britain a ballot forgovernors in October.)
activities. Trinidad closed its last sugar fac- long offered the industry tariff protection, Dizzy with these dubious successes,
tory in 2007, and a gas-related boom took which was formalised by a Common- MrMaduro’s eye is now on a bigger
up the slack. StKittsshutitslastfactory two wealth Sugar Agreement in 1951. After Brit- contest, next year’s presidential poll. He
years earlier, after the debts of its state- ain joined the European Economic Com- has not formally declared, but Tareck El
owned managers approached a third of munity in 1973, it ensured Caribbean Aissami, the vice-president, says his boss
GDP. A railway that trundled cane now producers had access to the club at high hopes foranothersix-yearterm.
carriestourists. StKitts’snewstaple ispass- guaranteed prices. This mollycoddled out- With that in mind, the regime is now
ports for foreigners, sales of which finance dated practices, like harvestingby hand. determined to knockout rivals. MrMa-
an opaque development agency, the Sugar The EU has been reducing protection duro has declared that the three parties
Industry Diversification Foundation. since 2005; first it cut the guaranteed price, that shunned the mayoral ballot have
Four Caribbean countries retain their then abolished it. In October the EU ended disqualified themselves from all future
taste for the sweet stuff; altogether, the in- quotaswhich had limited the beetits farm- elections. “They will disappearfrom the
dustry employs more than 40,000 people. ers could grow. Output of European sugar political map,” he snapped. The constitu-
But even where it survives, sugar is in trou- is likely to surge, depressingworld prices. ent assembly, which is itselfa one-party
ble. In Guyana 5% ofworkers still cut cane. To avert catastrophe, Jamaica’s growers institution, has backed this punitive act.
But the state-owned sugar company has propose that Caricom, a group of15 mostly It declared, absurdly, that this view
been losing money since 2008, and ex- English-speakingCaribbean countries and reflected its beliefin multi-party politics.
ports are expected to plunge by nearly 40% territories, should slap a tariff of 40% on The ban may be partly superfluous.
this year. Nearly half the people on the sugar from outside. But with many region- Leopoldo López, who leads one opposi-
payroll fail to showup regularly. The ruling al economies either stagnant or wrecked tion party, Voluntad Popular, is under
coalition, which relies on voters ofAfrican by storms, the 7m people affected will balk house arrest. Henrique Capriles, who
origin, has laid off 3,500 workers who are ata policythatwill raise the costof biscuits leads another, Primero Justicia, has been
mostly of Indian descent; this risks inflam- and fizzy drinks, consolations which need barred from seekingoffice for15 years,
ing racial tension. The government has put lots ofimported sugar. 7 supposedly because of“administrative
irregularities” as state governor. He says
he will at least enterthe primaries.
Potential leftist contenders are also
beingtargeted. The highest-profile is
Rafael Ramírez, a long-term rival of the
president, who was sacked as ambassa-
dorto the UN afterhe criticised his coun-
try’s economic policy. On December12th
TarekSaab, the chiefprosecutor, said
corruption charges were beingdrawn up
against MrRamírez.
MrMaduro may yet be surprised by a
darkhorse. One name beingaired is
Lorenzo Mendoza, the boss ofPolar, a big
food-and-drinks firm. When he attended
a baseball game last week, the crowd
chanted “Presidente!”. He denies any
political hopes, but ifhe were to run,
voters might prefera leaderwho fills
plates, ratherthan leavingthem empty.
Why cut cane when you can print passports?