Free Republic

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that he signed an order to immediately expropriate the assets of Venepal, a bankrupt paper company that halted operations last month. Chavez met with former Venepal employees to sign the expropriation order. The workers vowed to rebuild the company with the help of the government and manufacture books and notebooks the government could use in public schools and other education-related social projects. Chavez, a self-described "revolutionary" and critic of unbridled capitalism, said Venepal's expropriation is a step in Venezuela's new economic self-development model. "We're at war against poverty and against misery in Venezuela," he...