CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced plans Monday to nationalize Venezuela’s electrical and telecommunications companies, pledging to create a socialist state in a bold move with echoes of Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution.
“We’re moving toward a socialist republic of Venezuela, and that requires a deep reform of our national constitution,” Chavez said in a televised address after swearing in his Cabinet. “We are in an existential moment of Venezuelan life. We’re heading toward socialism, and nothing and no one can prevent it.”
Chavez, who will be sworn in Wednesday to a third term that runs through 2013, also said he wanted a constitutional amendment to eliminate the autonomy of the Central Bank and would soon ask the National Assembly, solidly controlled by his allies, to give him greater powers to legislate by presidential decree.
The nationalization appeared likely to affect Electricidad de Caracas, owned by Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corp., and C.A. Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, known as CANTV, the country’s largest publicly traded company.
Several years ago when a broad-based group of Venezuelans rebelled against Chavez, the Bush administration turned its back on them. In fact, when the reinstalled Chavez accused the U.S. of siding with the “rebels” who opposed him, the Bush Administration took great pains to say that it in no way opposed Chavez.
Subsequent to the U.S. capitulation, Chavez held a sham-election that was anointed by no less than Jimmy Carter, despite the fact that there was much evidence of manipulation and no way to truly validate its result.
Now, the chickens come home to roost and Chavez explicitly declares himself a Marxist dictator.
The bottom line is: Bush is a democrat, and a Christian fundamentalist democrat at that. Given his twin premises – democracy and fundamentalism – how can he oppose democratically-elected Muslim fundamentalist Ahmadinejad of Iran?
Meanwhile, Iran makes rapid progress toward succesfully developing the nuclear bomb. Given that Bush has done nothing as Chavez consolidates his power, what are the odds that Bush will do something to stop Iran before that country develops the Bomb?
If you need an example of the power of philosophy, look no further than George Bush. Bush is a self-declared Christian, altruist and democrat. He has shown a high level of consistency in his application of those principles, especially in foreign policy.
You know what really frosted me? When this thug came to New York and insulted our President in front of his criminal friends at the UN. Unfortunately, Bush hardly had the balls to even respond. Shameful, IMO.
Venezuela’s nationalization under Hugo Chavez certainly has not begun today. In fact, he has been trying to nationalize the Venezuelan oil industry ever since he ascended to the Presidency. Here is a profile on Hugo Chavez from 2002 detailing his promises on overarching socialist revolutions. Here is an article from April 2006 that describes his recent attempts at nationalizing oil.
Evo Morales of Bolivia has also already nationalized oil and natural gas fields.
For those of you who do not know, when you purchase gas from CITGO, you are doing business with a subsidiary owned entirely by the national oil company Venezuela.
At this point I recommend you watch The Good Sheppard. If the facts are true, I am so shocked, and feel that the world is hopeless. If the facts of the movie are not true, i.e., the climax, then wow, what a thrilling movie.
…Yes, I’ve been to Venezuela many years ago. It is such a beautiful country. It’s a shame that Chavez will destroy it. I hope America one day finds reason to invade it.
The way I see it, at least Chavez has balls. The guy is after raw power and he is getting it.
Anyway, his country is on the road to serfdom now, and while it would be nice if it would die quietly, I doubt it will do so. I think it is only a matter of time before it presents itself as a security threat towards America.
There’s a big front-page article on Chavez in today’s Wall Street Journal. Of course, the fact that the communications and electricity companies are American doesn’t mean anything to this government. If a democratic mob wants to threaten our interests, we rarely seem to muster up an appropriate response.
The Venezuelan National Assembly has voted unanimously to give Hugo Chavez a broad range of new powers.
Some excerpts:
The law also allows Chavez to dictate unspecified measures to transform state institutions; reform banking, tax, insurance and financial regulations; decide on security and defense matters such as gun regulations and military organization; and “adapt” legislation to ensure “the equal distribution of wealth” as part of a new “social and economic model.”
Chavez has said oil companies upgrading heavy oil in the Orinoco River basin – British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA – must submit to state-controlled joint ventures, as companies already have done elsewhere in the country.
The law gives Chavez the authority to intervene and “regulate” the transition to joint ventures if companies do not adapt to the new framework within an unspecified “peremptory period.”
At this point I recommend you watch The Good Sheppard. If the facts are true, I am so shocked, and feel that the world is hopeless. If the facts of the movie are not true, i.e., the climax, then wow, what a thrilling movie.
The Good Shepherd is an excellent movie but I don’t believe that any of its main characters were explicitly based on any one person. Possibly composites. Of course the historical events involving the CIA and its operations are largely true.
“Long live the sovereign people! Long live President Hugo Chavez! Long live socialism!” said National Assembly President Cilia Flores as she proclaimed the law approved. “Fatherland, socialism or death! We will prevail!”
Chavez supporters wearing red — the color of Venezuela’s ruling party — gathered in the plaza, waving signs reading “Socialism is democracy”
“Dictatorship is what there used to be,” Rodriguez said. “We want to impose the dictatorship of a true democracy.”
If I were a Spanish speaking company, I would have had head hunters in there years ago to get some good talent out.
Another thought…since Chavez subsidies gas prices to his people, is he to blame for global warming climate change?
“On Wednesday, Mr. Chavez broke off diplomatic ties with neighbouring Colombia and accused CNN of instigating his assassination, while his foreign minister threatened to expel a U.S. embassy official.”
It’s only a matter of time until Chavez brings up some border dispute with Colombia and declares war. After his next few shipments of Russian made weapons perhaps.
Exxon has been fighting Venezuela by trying to get courts in the U.S. and U.K to seize the assets of Venezuela’s government-owned oil-company. A court in the U.K. has issued an injunction freezing $12 billion in assets. Now, Chavez is threatening to cut off oil to the U.S.
Exxon has been fighting Venezuela by trying to get courts in the U.S. and U.K to seize the assets of Venezuela’s government-owned oil-company. A court in the U.K. has issued an injunction freezing $12 billion in assets. Now, Chavez is threatening to cut off oil to the U.S.
Based on casual conversations, a surprising number of Americans seem to support the move by Chavez against Exxon. It makes me wonder what’s next in the US, as its financial situation continues to crumble and continue down the slippery slope of socialism and fascism. If the government did decide to seize assets, what would some of the early candidates be? Oil companies? Banks? Media? Transportation?