On December 7th, of this year will be celebrated, the 11th anniversary of the inauguration of the “Efrén Cuenca” skate processing plant located in Miramar, Capatárida, Buchivacoa Municipality of Falcón State. The first “company of social production” created by Hugo Chávez’s regime in his time and surrendered to “popular power” in Venezuela. Only the promises remained of this communal enterprise where supposedly the fishermen would have a better future and the town a company with a view to export markets.
Correspondent lapatilla.com
According to the people of Miramar, the company only processed the first shipment, which, according to a press release from the Regional Information Office, was 7.8 tons of skate, produced by local artisanal fishermen. At that time it was said that the nascent social organization had a storage capacity of 29 tons.
The company was inaugurated on December 7th, 2012. The Minister for Agriculture and Land at the time, Juan Carlos Loyo, and the former governor of Falcón, Stella Lugo, were present at the event, who said that 10,000,000 bolívares were invested to build the 16th fish processing company in the country.
The processing plant consisted of a washing area, cutting area, cooking area, shredding area, terminal washing and packaging area, it was supposed to generate more than 50 direct jobs and an indeterminate number of indirect jobs. In addition, fish waste would be delivered to sheep farmers to supplement the animals’ feed.
Miramar is a fishing area and producer of ray for generations, and without a doubt this company would have been the main driver of the economy of the Capatárida Municipality, because it would not only sell ray mojito to all the inhabitants and their neighboring towns, but it would also handle part of the distribution through popular markets throughout the country. By increasing production they would also be exporters of the product.
What happened to the company?
The plant was a request from the community to the regional government and they named it ‘Efrén Cuenca’, in honor of a fisherman from the town who invented a special net to capture adult size rays so this would not affect the reproduction of the species. This net is completely handmade and made to fish just a few meters from the seashore.
A year and a half after its inauguration, Daniel Villa, regional political director of “UNT-Falcón” (opposition political party) and current mayor of the Dabajuro Municipality (neighboring Capatárida), denounced that the plant had not processed more than what was done at its inauguration.
At the time, he was accompanied by Toni Durán, a member of the EPS Training Unit, Víctor Colina, a member of the communal enterprise’s Comptroller’s Unit, and Jonnys Quintero, representative and member of the fishermen’s council, who explained the causes for the delay in the processing of legal registration. That was the only response they received from Insopesca and Fondemi.
After its inauguration, the company underwent a three-month test run that would allow the results of its operation to be measured, a situation that, despite its positive results, still did not guarantee its opening.
“Insopesca granted us a loan of 20,000 bolivars, with which we began our work, and thanks to everyone’s commitment, we were able to meet the loan payments, pay the salaries of direct employees and also managed to create a profit fund of 29,000 bolivars which we have in our possession today. Ths increases our puzzlement about the delay in formalizing the permit,” said Jhonnys Quintero.
Pure bull and drivel
All the areas were ready to operate, as was shown at the inauguration live on the VTV channel. For his part, Daniel Villa regretted that the investments in infrastructure were deteriorating due to the neglect of those who should ensure the operation of the company.
At this moment, he did not dismiss the fact that it all was a “theater” set up by Chavismo, to favor his cause in the proximity of the regional elections, and that is why he called to reflect on the importance of the project for the fishermen and the people of Miramar that with so much longing awaited its materialization.
Almost 13 years after the inauguration, the ray processing plant was ransacked in its entirety, they even took the doors and bathroom fixtures, in addition to the fact that parts of the roof fell due to the strong winds characteristic of the area. Only the block walls of the building remain in the area full of garbage and excrement and, of course, the memory of what would be a great enterprise for the community.
Leobaldo Calleja, current municipal councilor for Buchivacoa, denounced that there was never a statement in favor of the community which was looking forward to the company start its operation.
Now what used to happen when the processor was created continues to happen: the fishermen lose all their work delivering the merchandise to the “caveros” (middle men) who pay it at whatever the price that suits them and whenever they want, while they transport tons of skate from Miramar to mainly Zulia State to sell it at even triple the price paid to marine workers.
“The fisherman is the one who spends the whole night in the water, risking all. He needs well-maintained boats to fish and they have families to support. It is hard work and a lot of effort that is not being valued. With the processing plant there was hope, because their catch would go directly to it at a fair price,” lamented Calleja.
It is impossible for the company to recover, because there was nothing left. Even the chainlink of the perimeter fence was stolen, and with it they also stole the hope of dignifying the work of the fishermen of Miramar.
“The plant was not a mistake, but a result of government neglect, because they built the plant with all its accessories, it began to work, they made “mojito”, but everything was lost in the under watch of the government,” said Anuncis Marconi, a fisherman with 30 years of experience.