Finally, after a year and a half of chaos at Pemex, Víctor Rodríguez is no longer the director. More of an academic than a politician or oilman, he was never able to take control of an office riddled with disputes and conflicting interests. Six months ago, in this column, we revealed that his relationship with the Secretary of Energy, Luz Elena González, was broken. That the administration under Marcela Villegas ignored him. That the legal department considered him irrelevant, and the final blow came thanks to the Oil Workers’ Union.
A document I obtained, dated April 26 and signed by Ricardo Aldana, the union’s general secretary, reveals the complaints leveled against Víctor Rodríguez as director of Pemex. The first paragraph begins strongly: “During his administration, at least 101 violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement were recorded.”
A second paragraph adds: “The lack of attention to and non-compliance with the terms of our labor agreement has led to a rapid deterioration of the work environment, decreased productivity, and increased risk.”
From the following lines, the union, a historical base for extortion in this country, lists its grievances, some more serious than others, which reveal why accidents at refineries and ecological disasters like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two and a half months ago have increased: lack of attention to the more than 12,400 observations from local safety committees, 42 ambulances out of service out of a total of 106, lack of restrooms, drinking water, and toilet paper for workers, 252 vacant specialist medical positions in the company’s medical units, and lack of skills development training, among others. The four-page document included a copy sent to the Secretary of Energy, Luz Elena González, and the Secretary of Labor, Marath Bolaños.
As a result of these complaints, Rodríguez was summoned to the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration for May 11. The meeting did not take place on that date and was postponed until the 14th, the same day that President Sheinbaum announced that Rodríguez was leaving his post as a result of an agreement reached at the beginning of her administration, in which he committed to working for only a year and a half due to his intentions to return to academia. The pretext was the perfect way to give him a somewhat dignified exit, given the disastrous nature of his tenure. The reality is that even the union was already plotting against him.
Stent: How difficult it must be to demand evidence for 15 days and have that evidence rush to the United States to be handed over in an attempt to save as much of their skin as possible. We mentioned it here: playing at breaking loyalties was going to be extremely costly.
Source: eluniversal
