Just like the drug addict who sells his soul to pay for his addiction

VenEconomy: National sovereignty is one of Hugo Chavez's favorite subjects in his constant diatribes. It has served as a pretext for passing draconian laws, persecuting, and even sending to prison any political adversary he takes a fancy to.

Ironically, because of this revolutionary fixation, the Chavez administration is the one that has most undermined Venezuela's sovereignty; in the first place by handing over sensitive areas such as the country's security and defense, the identification of its citizens and the registration of their property, health, and education to the Castros' communist Cuba.

And even more ironically, the havoc caused by its bad public policies, in particularly as regards the economy, has pushed the loss of sovereignty to critical levels. Just like the drug addict who sells his soul to pay for his addiction, the Chavez administration is mortgaging the country to obtain the funding it needs to sustain its regime.

But Chavez has come across a stumbling block on this path, as the traditional international markets are becoming increasingly reluctant to lend Venezuela money, and if they do it will be in smaller amounts and at high rates of interest. One example is the Bono Global Amortizable 2022, which reached the market with a yield of 16% at maturity, in other words a junk bond that will be an obstacle for future borrowings.

But there is always profit for those willing to fish in troubled waters, and in this case the winner is the communist People's Republic of China, which is now coming to the "rescue" of the Bolivarian revolution, at a high price, of course. This year alone, China has offered to lend the Chavez administration some $20 billion, bringing the total since 2007 to $28 billion, and in exchange it is taking control of vast sectors of the economy.

Some of the areas in which the Chinese are to participate have already been officially announced, such as the investments planned for setting up mixed enterprises with Venezuelan state-owned companies in the Orinoco Oil Belt and under the government's agricultural development plan. Others are still at the discussion stage, such as participation in the areas of gas, electricity, ferrous and nonferrous metals, precious metals, coal, and other raw materials.

The Chinese are also apparently to build at least five new thermoelectric power stations, not to mention their involvement in a new container terminal at Puerto Cabello and the construction of all the roads and bridges that are needed in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

It seems that Chavez was not talking in vain when he stated in Peking in December 2004 that Venezuela's oil and gas resources would be at the service of China's economic development for the coming generations.

Today it is clear that, in order to guarantee his permanence in power, Chavez is prepared to hand Venezuela over to China lock, stock and barrel.