Posted on 03/05/2009 9:43:17 AM PST by MindBender26
CARACAS, March 4 (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges.
Chavez's clash with the food companies, demanding they produce cheaper rice, came less than three weeks after he won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection and marked his first nationalization in seven months.
"I warn you this revolution means business," said Chavez, whose government has struggled with lower oil income and minor food shortages this year.
The anti-U.S. president, who has nationalized swaths of the economy, is popular among the poor for pressuring companies to produce cheap goods and for government programs that provide subsidized food in city slums. Chavez, an ally of communist Cuba, recently seized some rice mills belonging to Polar, Venezuela's largest private business, after accusing the food industry of skirting his price controls and failing to produce enough cheap rice.
"Prepare the decree, we are going to expropriate Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this," Chavez said. It was not clear if Cargill's other Venezuelan food units would be affected. Cargill has approximately 2,000 employees at 22 locations across Venezuela and operates 13 manufacturing plants including oilseed and animal feed processing.
On Wednesday, Chavez also ordered his ministers to inspect companies producing goods ranging from toilet paper to cars, which have been hard to buy at times in Venezuela.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
It's over, folks.
Hugo Chavez = Obamachev hero
The Venezuelans should go ahead and write North Korea to ask for those delicious fresh cut grass recipes.
I thought that was debunked (relationship), but despite that (if not true) a very good post. Thanks MindBender26.
Save your blue dress Obama! So you can prove what he did to you...
Things Venezuela & Zimbabwe have in common:
1. The letter “Z” in their names
2. Everything else
I think we are headed for a war in the future and look who is in charge.
God help us.
There will be NO war. Obama will give them everything they want without any war.
And what do they want?
The death of the US!
fwiw
If Chavez gets away with seizing an American company's assets in Venezuela- where does it stop as the world deteriorates?
Cargill needs to get their money from Sean Penn.
This guy is a moron! Chavez really thinks that nationalizing the food industry will produce more and cheaper rice? Too bad he cannot be held accountable for his blunders as he further destroys the economy of Venezuela.
People better wake up, this is coming and it will not end pretty.
These private companies should cut their losses and burn their buildings to the ground and let that bastard deal with the smoldering ruins of his country.
“The anti-U.S. president, who has nationalized swaths of the economy, is popular among the poor for pressuring companies to produce cheap goods and for government programs that provide subsidized food in city slums.”
Shouldn’t this be plural- presidents - to include our alleged president?
Cargill never met a Lib they didnt like. This move is a direct jab at the Democrats.
So depressing.
Does he even have a daughter? I thought he only has sons.
Chavez is just helping Barry destroy the dirty capitalists.
Check out the article and photo of them:
http://sharksshakes.blogspot.com/2009/02/our-cia-director.html
8 x 10 glossies don’t lie.
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