Ricardo Fernández Barrueco
Encyclopedia
Ricardo Fernández Barrueco (1965 - ) is a Venezuela
n businessman, whose net worth was estimated in 2005 at $1.6bn with "a web of 270 companies in industries as diverse as tuna-fishing and banking". Fernandez' Proarepa Group (nationalised in January 2010) is one of the largest suppliers to the Venezuelan Mercal chain of subsidised state-owned supermarkets.
Barrueco began his career as the owner of a small Venezuelan trucking company. During the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
Barrueco quickly rose to prominence when he aided the government by lending them his vehicles to support the government's attempts to maintain food distribution during the strike. Barrueco received death threats at the time, because, he said, the opposition did no understand that his customer ultimately was not the government but the most excluded part of the population. The distribution network developed during the strike later became the Mercal chain of subsidised state-owned supermarkets.
In mid-2009 Fernandez acquired Digitel GSM from Oswaldo Cisneros for $800m. In September and October 2009 Fernandez led a group of investors in taking over four banks - Canarias, Confederado, Bolívar and BanPro - together accounting for 5.7 percent of Venezuela's banking sector. In late 2009 Fernandez was arrested in Venezuela for a variety of charges, including misappropriation of funds, in connection with the takeover due to liquidity problems of the four banks acquired by Fernandez. He still remains in custody, no trial date has been set. His banks were among several that were taken over by the government during the 2009-2010 Venezuelan banking crisis; several were merged into the new Banco Bicentenario
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Fernandez Barrueco’s Proarepa Group supplied the Venezuelan Mercal chain of subsidized state-owned supermarkets, providing around 10% of the country's maize flour. The company was taken over by the Venezuelan government in January 2010 and placed under the control of the Unidades de Produccion Socialistas (UPS); the government aimed to double production.
Fernandez has an economics degree from Venezuela's Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
.
, 19 September 2010, "Creí en la palabra de Chávez"
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n businessman, whose net worth was estimated in 2005 at $1.6bn with "a web of 270 companies in industries as diverse as tuna-fishing and banking". Fernandez' Proarepa Group (nationalised in January 2010) is one of the largest suppliers to the Venezuelan Mercal chain of subsidised state-owned supermarkets.
Barrueco began his career as the owner of a small Venezuelan trucking company. During the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
The Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003, also known as the oil strike or oil lockout, was an attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to President Hugo Chávez to force a new presidential election. It took place from December 2002 to February 2003, although within this period the effectiveness of the...
Barrueco quickly rose to prominence when he aided the government by lending them his vehicles to support the government's attempts to maintain food distribution during the strike. Barrueco received death threats at the time, because, he said, the opposition did no understand that his customer ultimately was not the government but the most excluded part of the population. The distribution network developed during the strike later became the Mercal chain of subsidised state-owned supermarkets.
In mid-2009 Fernandez acquired Digitel GSM from Oswaldo Cisneros for $800m. In September and October 2009 Fernandez led a group of investors in taking over four banks - Canarias, Confederado, Bolívar and BanPro - together accounting for 5.7 percent of Venezuela's banking sector. In late 2009 Fernandez was arrested in Venezuela for a variety of charges, including misappropriation of funds, in connection with the takeover due to liquidity problems of the four banks acquired by Fernandez. He still remains in custody, no trial date has been set. His banks were among several that were taken over by the government during the 2009-2010 Venezuelan banking crisis; several were merged into the new Banco Bicentenario
Banco Bicentenario
Banco Bicentenario is a bank based in Caracas. It was created in late 2009 through the merger with the existing state-owned bank Banfoandes of three banks and after BaNorte Bank, nationalised as a result of the 2009 banking crisis. The new bank has around 20% of Venezuelan bank deposits....
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Fernandez Barrueco’s Proarepa Group supplied the Venezuelan Mercal chain of subsidized state-owned supermarkets, providing around 10% of the country's maize flour. The company was taken over by the Venezuelan government in January 2010 and placed under the control of the Unidades de Produccion Socialistas (UPS); the government aimed to double production.
Fernandez has an economics degree from Venezuela's Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Universidad Católica Andrés Bello is a private university in Venezuela. One of the biggest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas , Los Teques, Guayana and Coro....
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External links
El UniversalEl Universal (Caracas)
El Universal is a major Venezuelan newspaper, headquartered in Caracas with an average daily circulation of about 150,000. The online version carries news, politics, sports, economy and more....
, 19 September 2010, "Creí en la palabra de Chávez"