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Bye, Bye, Petro-Czars

The power of petro-czars has slumped as oil prices have fallen

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 15, 2009 6:02 PM CST

(Newser) – There is one silver lining to the global recession: The economic and political fortunes of America’s oil-rich antagonists have been tarnished, Rana Foroohar writes in Newsweek. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez have all been humbled by the falling price of oil, which has plummeted to $37 a barrel from from $147 last summer.

“High oil prices and oil wealth reshaped geopolitics,” said one expert. “Now we’re seeing the reversal of all that,” including diplomatic openness to “imperial” America and the possible sacking of Ahmadinejad and Chávez. Concludes Foroohar: Recession presents “the opportunity to exploit the even more glaring weaknesses of one’s rivals, to talk to enemies whose problems at home open them to compromise.”

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, are seen during their meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pose for photographers during the Caspian Sea leaders summit in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, right, talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during closing ceremony of third OPEC Summit in Riyadh in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, waves to the media next to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as they stand for a group photo during Caspian Sea leaders summit in Tehran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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It's easy to shrug off the effect of sanctions or corruption or bad financial decisions when oil is in the triple digits.
That's much harder when the revenue is no longer pouring in.
- Vali Nasr, US envoy

Rising unemployment and deteriorating finances are leading to a political backlash. In Iran, factories are closing en masse. In Venezuela, antigovernment protests are intensifying. In Russia, street protests have broken out. - Rana Foroohar, Newsweek

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Bye, Bye, Petro-Czars