The left-wing populist president has waged a noisy two-month public campaign to pressure the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) to free the funds for his government, which has clashed with the bank in the past over economic policies.
Central bank directors have so far resisted the president's repeated public threats, arguing that the country's laws do not allow them to use international reserves to finance the government's current spending.
"Well, we'll see. If the Central Bank of Venezuela has to be taken over, then it will be," Chavez said at a rally in the western oil state of Maracaibo.
As he spoke, around 100 of his supporters demonstrated outside central bank headquarters in Caracas to back his demand for the $1 billion handout to finance food production.
Chavez said it was "illogical and absurd" that the bank should be holding international reserves of more than $21 billion, while the government was spending millions of dollars to import basic food staples like beans, milk and chicken.***
[Vheadline.com reaction to Reuters report LINKED at article.]
The third problem related to the request is that Chavez obviously needs the money to throw it around in yet another show of paternalistic generosity, in order to buy the votes he will need to continue his systematic efforts of national destruction and his regional political messianic dreams. No matter how we look at this attempt by Chavez to lay his paws on the money (which belongs to all of us, Venezuelans) there is no doubt that he has to be stopped.
The Board of the Venezuelan Central Bank includes several Chavez followers, but even they are shocked at the arrogance of the ultimatum they have been delivered by this insensitive and ignorant man: "Fork over the money or you will be intervened," he has told the Board. All members of the Board with red blood flowing through their veins are probably thinking: "F*** you. Man!"
There is a moment in the life of every person where he has to live up to his creed ... for the members of the Board of the Venezuelan Central Bank that moment seems to have arrived. Personally, I think Hugo Chavez is in for a big surprise ... he does not longer seem to scare anyone ... he is starting to look like the echo of a shadow of a shade, in the words of the great science fiction writer Dan Simmons.***