Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- In a message dated 04/08/01 23:25:29 Eastern Daylight Time, Lahuelga writes: > Private property not sacred - Venezuela's Chavez > By Daniel Flynn > > CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said > on Saturday that private property was not sacred in the oil-rich South > American nation and that individual investments must take second place to > national interests. > > Referring to government plans for an abandoned private shipyard in the > western state of Falcon, Chavez said "those who believe that private property > is sacred have to get that out of their head because it is not." > > "We have to respect private property as the constitution states ... but the > will of the people is sacred," the populist former paratrooper said during a > three-hour edition of his weekly radio show. > > Chavez said he would consult with the attorney-general on a legal mechanism > to enable the government to reactivate the shipyard "and put it at the > service of Venezuela." > > "The voice of the people is the voice of God; the market is not God. That is > what they tried to convince us of here," said Chavez, who is a critic of U.S. > political intervention in Latin America and an admirer of Cuban President > Fidel Castro. > > Since taking office in 1999 with a overwhelming popular mandate to tackle > widespread poverty and entrenched corruption, Chavez has alarmed many > investors and Venezuela's wealthy elite with his diatribes against "savage > neoliberalism." > > His repeated promises to confiscate fallow lands and unproductive property > under a forthcoming Land Law have raised an outcry from industrial and > agricultural groups. > > "We have to put an end to the great landed estates," he said to rapturous > applause on Saturday. > > The nation of 24 million is experiencing its biggest oil bonanza since the > early 1980s, but economic growth has remained sluggish as local businessmen, > mistrustful of Chavez's agenda, have limited their investment. > > Recalling the collapse of the privatized state airline Viasa, Chavez said > that privatization had brought misery to Venezuela, the world's No. 3 oil > exporter, under previous governments. > > "We do not rule out the possibility of privatizations, but it is not God. It > depends on how it is done, with whom it is done, when it is done, and why it > is done," he said. > > 16:43 08-04-01 ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
Private property not sacred - Venezuela's Chavez By Daniel Flynn CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday that private property was not sacred in the oil-rich South American nation and that individual investments must take second place to national interests. Referring to government plans for an abandoned private shipyard in the western state of Falcon, Chavez said "those who believe that private property is sacred have to get that out of their head because it is not." "We have to respect private property as the constitution states ... but the will of the people is sacred," the populist former paratrooper said during a three-hour edition of his weekly radio show. Chavez said he would consult with the attorney-general on a legal mechanism to enable the government to reactivate the shipyard "and put it at the service of Venezuela." "The voice of the people is the voice of God; the market is not God. That is what they tried to convince us of here," said Chavez, who is a critic of U.S. political intervention in Latin America and an admirer of Cuban President Fidel Castro. Since taking office in 1999 with a overwhelming popular mandate to tackle widespread poverty and entrenched corruption, Chavez has alarmed many investors and Venezuela's wealthy elite with his diatribes against "savage neoliberalism." His repeated promises to confiscate fallow lands and unproductive property under a forthcoming Land Law have raised an outcry from industrial and agricultural groups. "We have to put an end to the great landed estates," he said to rapturous applause on Saturday. The nation of 24 million is experiencing its biggest oil bonanza since the early 1980s, but economic growth has remained sluggish as local businessmen, mistrustful of Chavez's agenda, have limited their investment. Recalling the collapse of the privatized state airline Viasa, Chavez said that privatization had brought misery to Venezuela, the world's No. 3 oil exporter, under previous governments. "We do not rule out the possibility of privatizations, but it is not God. It depends on how it is done, with whom it is done, when it is done, and why it is done," he said. 16:43 08-04-01
