Industry sources have told LPO that Carlos Slim is not ruling out an incursion into the South American country through Cementos Fortaleza, a firm belonging to Elementia, which in turn is part of Grupo Carso. According to whispers in the cement sector, Slim was very upset with América Móvil's exit from Venezuela in 2009, at the height of chavismo, and so his return would rather be a gesture of support for Donald Trump's policy, which seeks to boost the oil business. "It's a smart move, Slim's oil company cannot compete with the sector players that are going to operate in Venezuela and the bank Inbursa is still too small to carry out aggressive operations outside of Mexico, cement is one of his best cards to be on good terms with Washington," explains an executive. Slim had a difficult start in Trump's second term. He traveled to Washington in January of last year to seek a photo with the Republican and returned without a photo and with the accusation from Elon Musk, an entrepreneur close to the White House, that his fortune would have unforgivable origins. In any case, Elementia has a strong presence in various countries in the region and oil is crucial for the oil industry, both in the early stages of exploration and in the final remediation of wells. In parallel, the manufacture of specialized and resistant cement to extreme temperatures or pressure conditions becomes essential. The fate of the business will be tied to the future of the oil industry. This Monday, the Bloomberg agency reported that Argos, Colombia's largest cement company, could resume its operations in Venezuela in the face of the incipient reactivation of the oil business. An opportunity that also circulates among Mexican cement companies. The first exchanges with the envoys of Delcy Rodríguez in the United States draw an inescapable conclusion: Venezuela is not Cuba, it is not that its laws are too problematic for the private investor, the problem is the enforcement authorities, excessively linked to the chavist ideology. For this reason, in the oil sector, there is persistent talk of the launch of special contracts tied to a jurisdiction external to Venezuela and with some kind of backing from the Treasury Department. This change would be present in a new Hydrocarbons Law that Venezuela is heading to modify in the coming months.
