Posted on 05/03/2007 4:56:10 PM PDT by Jean S
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened Thursday to nationalize the country's largest steel company and private banks unless they make national interests a priority.
In a nationally televised speech, the leftist president said he would nationalize steel maker Sidor if it continued to sell its products abroad instead of selling them to domestic industries, particularly in the oil sector.
He also announced plans for a law to force the private banking sector to give top priority to the financing of domestic companies.
If the banks flout the law, he warned, "they should leave."
The outspoken champion of "21st century socialism" and leader of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter holds the power to rule by decree for 18 months, granted in January by parliament.
Chavez said that Sidor -- a multinational steel maker that makes 60,000 tons of tubes for the oil industry -- "had created a monopoly through its relationships with other companies and they only supply the raw material to these companies, leaving us to import these tubes from China."
"That is unacceptable. If Sidor, which was privatized, does not accept from now on to change this way of operating, then they will force me to nationalize it the same way we did with CANTV," the state telecommunications firm.
Sidor was privatized in 1997 and acquired by the Latin American consortium Orinoquia, which groups Siderar of Argentina, Mexican firms Tenaris Tamsa and Hylsamex, Usiminas of Brazil and Venezuelan firm Sivensa. The Venezuelan state owns 10 percent of its shares.
The leftist governments of Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil are driving an integration process in South America, guided by their shared principles.
"A number of time we have talked about the Sidor case; some urged me to nationalize it, I said that it was Latin American investments, let's talk. There is Argentine, Brazilian capital, let's see if they can behave differently from transnationals," Chavez said.
Chavez said he had instructed his industrial and mining minister, Jose Khan, to come back with a recommendation on the steel sector within 24 hours.
The president dismissed any potential counter-proposals from the companies: "It must be done immediately."
Sidor not only must assure steel supply to Venezuela, it also must do it at "a low price," not the international price, he said.
Chavez's latest nationalization threats came two days after the government finalized control of privately run installations in the Orinoco River basin, possibly the world's richest oil fields.
The key oil move was authorized by a law that obliges transnational companies operating in the vast region to hand over 60 percent of their assets to the Venezuelan state.
After his landslide re-election in December for another six-year term, Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, has stepped up state control of strategic sectors such as oil exploration, electricity and telecommunications.
On Monday Chavez announced he was withdrawing Venezuela from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, calling them "tools of imperialism" to exploit poor countries.
Chavez warned banks Thursday they were expected to support his program.
"I invite the private banking sector to join in this effort. In any case, we are preparing a law to oblige them to do it, in case they refuse," Chavez said.
"If private banks don't want to be involved, then they should leave."
>>This monkey boy will be sitting on a Cuban like economy in about 10 years.
Do you think it will take that long? He seems to be moving at quite a clip.
On further reflection, I guess all the oil revenue will keep it afloat longer, so 10 years is probably about right.
There...that looks better.
Every once in a blue moon I think that maybe it would be better for this country if the government did the same thing to our OIL companies, in the name of national survival. Those companies don't see themselves as entities of the USA, but rather corporate entities of the world. I need to remember this example and many others in history.
He’s not really threatening to... he’s decided to. Just laying out his “reasons”. He’ll do it within a month.
The Clintonistas and Demo-Socialists have learned absolutely nothing from the collapse of the USSR. They still think government is the answer, when we all know government is the problem.
“If private banks don’t want to be involved, then they should leave.”
Oh, don’t worry, they will.
....A Kuwaiti bank faxed its assets ....
Doubtful.......
Telexed its assets........ probably. Banks live by the tested telex.
Sound familiar?
It’s communism. Communism hates private property and enterprise. Communism seizes the work of others. Communism creates 2 classes of people: those favored by the government and who have everything, and everyone else who is poor and miserable.
The American left loves communism. They have the same goals as communism!
Yup.
The famines will be televised, and show trials will have blogs.
I work in Houston in the oil and gas industry. Educated Venezuelans are leaving that country in droves. That country will collapse within a decade.
Is Chavez fashioning himslef the next Chairman Mao? Why not just have every citizen build a micro steel mill in their backyard, like the Chinese did?
I would say that I’ll be interested to see how this ends for Chavez, but like I said, I already read the book.
They don’t have enouh time to strip the plants.
My recommendation was to hire mercenaries to blow up their own facilities - after getting everyone out first.
I had heard the oil companies lost $30billion on May 1 after Hugo ‘nationalized’ the industry. Does that explain the gas price increase?
I agree with you on your proposal!!
Hillary’s taking notes...
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