Enron is famous (infamous?) for many things. One of them is its faith in
free markets. Not anymore. An Enron-led consortium in Bolivia called
Transredes has applied for a $125 million loan from the U.S.-backed
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Transredes, which is 25% owned by
Enron, wants the money to build a pipeline to improve the transport of
natural gas into Brazil. The bank, which is 30% owned by the U.S.
government, could approve the loan this fall.
Such snuffling at the public trough isn’t new for Enron, despite its
antigovernment reputation. According to the D.C.-based Institute for Policy
Studies, Enron-related projects have received more than $4 billion in U.S.
financing since 1992. Two other government-supported agencies, the World
Bank and the European Investment Bank, forked over $3 billion. And now,
says researcher Nadia Martinez, “Enron wants more.”
The fact that Enron is reorganizing under bankruptcy court protection is a
“concern,” says IDB spokesman Daniel Drosdoff. But, he adds, “we don’t
think at this point that that should be a poison pill.” Plus, as Enron
spokesman John Ambler points out, most of the legendary free-marketers “are no longer with the company.
