Venezuelan mines minister called the father of OPEC, who warned that oil was "the devil's excrement"
Born in Caracas, Pérez Alfonzo was a lawyer with a doctorate from the Central University of Venezuela who took part in founding Democratic Action in 1941. As Minister of Development in 1945–1948 he established the "50/50" formula, under which the state took half of the oil companies' profits. Jailed for nine months after the 1948 coup, he lived in exile in the United States and Mexico and studied the Texas Railroad Commission's regulation of production. In 1959 he became Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons under Rómulo Betancourt; at the Cairo congress he met Abdullah Tariki, and he was primarily responsible for creating OPEC in 1960. In 1976 he warned that oil would bring Venezuela ruin: "It is the devil's excrement."
Also known as: Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo · Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso
Activities and affiliations
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1941–
Democratic Action (AD, Venezuela)
Economy, finance and planning -
1945–1948
Venezuela state institutionsMinister of Development
Economy, finance and planning -
1959–
Venezuela state institutionsMinister of Mines and HydrocarbonsMain
Economy, finance and planning
Career Timeline
- 1941Took part in founding Democratic Action
- 1945–1948Minister of Development
- 1948.11.12Fifty-fifty tax rate enacted
- 1949–1958Exile in the United States and Mexico
- 1959Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons
- 1960.09Founding of OPEC