Chavez: "You are a devil, you smell like sulfur, you are a drunk, you are the demon, you are a dictator, you are an assassin Mr. Devil, you are..."
Bush: "YEAH, Yeah, yeah, WHATever... just fill'er up MonkeyBoy!"
Posted on 05/03/2007 4:52:54 PM PDT by kellynla
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday threatened to nationalize the country's banks and largest steel producer, accusing them of unscrupulous practices.
“Private banks have to give priority to financing the industrial sectors of Venezuela at low cost,” Mr. Chavez said. “If banks don't agree with this, it's better that they go, that they turn over the banks to me, that we nationalize them and get all the banks to work for the development of the country and not to speculate and produce huge profits.”
It was not clear if Mr. Chavez was only referring to Venezuelan banks like Mercantil Servicios Financieros CA and others, or if he was aiming the threat at major international banks that do business in the country, such as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and Citigroup Inc.
Mr. Chavez also warned the government could take over steel producer Sidor, which is majority controlled by Luxembourg-based Ternium SA.
Sidor “has created a monopoly” and sold the bulk of its production overseas, forcing local producers to import tubes and other products from China and elsewhere, Mr. Chavez said.
“If the company Sidor ... does not immediately agree to change this process, they will oblige me to nationalize it,” Mr. Chavez said.
“I prefer not to,” Mr. Chavez added, as he ordered Mining Minister Jose Khan to depart immediately for the company's headquarters and return with a recommendation within 24 hours.
“Sidor has to produce and give priority to our national industries ... and at low cost,” he said.
Mr. Chavez's government has already begun nationalizing the country's largest telecommunications company and the electricity sector.
It also took control of Venezuela's most promising oil fields and refineries from foreign oil companies processing crude in the Orinoco River basin on Tuesday.
U.S.-traded shares of Ternium fell $1.31, or 4.8 percent, to $25.89.
Will the last person to leave Venezuela please turn out the lights.
With a few word changes, this could have been quoted from She Who Must Not Be Named a few years ago...
wow... it’s like the man is holding a gun to the head of the economy there and telling it to hang itself or else he’ll shoot...
To all you Venezuelaians,
buy gold and silver.
Give this man all the rope he wants.
“We’re gonna take those profits...”
It’s like watching a trainwreck in slow motion.
Banks have 0 purpose in communist countries. It all ends up being one bank. The government who controls everything.
Bush: "YEAH, Yeah, yeah, WHATever... just fill'er up MonkeyBoy!"
If he nationalizes the banks, that could easily be the thing that brings him down.
When’s he gonna run out of things to confiscate?
“wow... it’s like the man is holding a gun to the head of the economy there and telling it to hang itself or else he’ll shoot...”
After the banks have seen what happened to the oil companies, I thing the next sound will be of electronic wire transfers sucking the reserves out of international banks in Venezuela.
Hugo may be moving too fast to avoid lead poisoning.
“If he nationalizes the banks, that could easily be the thing that brings him down.”
I’m sure you are more informed on what’s going on down there better than I, but it seems to me that as long as that black gold is bubbling out of the ground; this POS has nothing to worry about.
It’s money that makes the black gold bubble out of the ground, though. If he chases the oil companies out of the country, they aren’t going to do business with him except COD. That means he’s gotta get the oil out of the ground himself, and without someone who’s willing to put up the capital to do so, he’s SOL.
Isn’t CITGO in a postion to fund their own drilling?
Your oil/energy expertise is needed here. :-]
Right now, I guess. But I often wonder how long CITGO can keep these balls in the air. They’ve got a lot of property in the US, and if Chavez is seizing American assets... Well, two can play that game.
I’ve heard that Chavez has given orders for CITGO to sell its assets in the US. That may not be the best business decision, but I doubt that he cares about niceties like that. I wonder how long before Chavez runs CITGO into the ground?
Sheesh...
Next week he’s gonna nationalize the Army!
Oh wait...
Well, he’ll nationalize SOMETHING.
Are any foreign company’s still doing business there? This guy is going to end up being as bad as Mugabe.
That was my first thought, if I ran a bank down there (international or not) the money would be offshore by the end of the day.
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