Venezuela to Take Land from Four Private Farms

Reuters ^ | 03/13/05 | Patrick Markey

[nypokerface]

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela plans this week to take land from four private farms, including a British-owned cattle ranch and an eco-tourism reserve, as part of President Hugo Chavez's agrarian reforms for the poor, authorities said on Sunday.

National Land Institute director Eliezer Otaiza told Reuters the government would take parts of El Charcote farm, run by British meat producer Vestey, and the Hato Pinero reserve to develop state-sponsored agriculture projects.

"The land is going to pass over to us now," Otaiza said in an interview. "Tomorrow starts the rescue process."

Chavez says the agrarian reform campaign will respect private property rights, but his aggressive call for land redistribution has stirred fears that authorities will ignore due process and carry out illegal land grabs.

Otaiza said the state would take control of the land, because the four farms had failed to prove ownership, but they had 60 days to appeal to the courts.

Agroflora, the local Vestey representatives, were unavailable for comment, and the owners of Hato Pinero could not be contacted.

The 2001 land law allows the government to take land ruled as belonging to the state and expropriate private farmland judged idle or unproductive.

The land law was one of several reforms that triggered three years of conflict between the populist Chavez and his opponents, who say he wants to copy Cuba's Communist model.

The decision on the four farms follows weeks of land inspections, begun at the start of this year when Chavez ordered regional authorities to speed up the agrarian reform after he won an August referendum.

Otaiza said the state would take around 12,350 acres of the 32,000-acre (13,000-hectare) El Charcote farm and "80 to 90 percent" of the 198,123-acre (80,212-hectare) Hato Pinero farm reserve.

But he said the measures were not expropriations because the land was public. The government must pay compensation at market price for any land it expropriates, but not if the land is judged to belong to the state.

Chavez, a former army officer elected in 1998 promising to use the country's oil revenues to fight poverty, has said he wants to redistribute hundreds of acres of idle farmland nationwide to farm cooperatives.

[Atchafalaya]

"Our" Cizneros?

[Travis McGee]

But he said the measures were not expropriations because the land was public. The government must pay compensation at market price for any land it expropriates, but not if the land is judged to belong to the state.

This type of "land reform" is a key part of my second novel, only it takes place in New Mexico instead of Venezuela.

DOMESTICENEMIES

[Squantos]

The Zimbabwe Virus spreads......comming to a CONUS near you soon......

[Travis McGee]

It seems to be working in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Venezuela. It's bound to spread.

[Squantos]

Chavez needs to be bunking with Noreiga or sleeping with the fishes !

[Disambiguator]

Venezimbabwe.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

***state-sponsored agriculture projects. ***


Castro's successor.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thanks for the ping.

Jimmy is enjoying the fruits of his labor.

He's not a useful fool, he's an anti-American, like-minded communist.

[MadIvan]

This is an incident which makes one nostalgic for the 19th century - in those days, we would have sent a gunboat.

Regards, Ivan

[FormerACLUmember]

Jimmuh was only the worst president in the latter half of the 20th century. He wasn't the worst person to be president, either; that dishonor goes to Clinton. But, without a doubt, Carter is the worst ex-president of all times.

I like your analysis.

[marron]

The Cisneros family is probably the leading family of Venezuela, they are billionaires, they own a media empire. They were leading the opposition to Chavez, but have recently (with Carter's help) made their peace with Chavez.

They own too much to run, so if they can't beat him, they have to join him.

Quoting:

http://www.cisneros.com/en/default.htm?

The Cisneros Group’s holdings include majority and minority interests and may be held, directly or indirectly, through partnerships, joint ventures or alliances. Some of the Group’s holdings include interests in: Venevisión, the leading broadcast television channel in Venezuela; Venevision International, a Spanish-language entertainment company with specialization in TV programming; Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE: UVN), the number one provider of Spanish-language content to the U.S. Hispanic audience; Claxson Interactive Group Inc. (XSON), an integrated Ibero-American media and entertainment company; AOL Latin America Inc. (NASDAQ: AOLA), one of the leading Internet and interactive service providers in Latin America; DIRECTV Latin America, a direct-to-home satellite TV provider with operations across the region; Cervecería Regional, the second-largest brewery and beer distributor in Venezuela; Backus & Johnston, the largest brewer in Peru and the sixth-largest in Latin America; and Pueblo, one of the leading supermarket chains in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

[international american]

""Tomorrow starts the rescue process."'

Oh, is THAT what you call it??

[international american]

Jimmuh will be causing people to suffer long after he is dead!

[stevio]

While I disagree strongly with the use of ED to seize property at least in the Conn case they purport to hand it over to the private sector for what they claim is a productive use of the property they seize, unlike here where the State will engage in 'Agricultural projects' AKA Collectivization.

That's a lame attempt at justification.

[drt1]

Who is justifying anything?

[stevio]

I know you qualify it by saying "I disagree strongly with the use of ED to seize property". You wind up saying it's better to give it to private people than to state people.

[drt1]

No, I was saying that, in the case of Conn, the outcome might be better from a Societal perspective and with compensation to the victims but still a bad action. Let's just say it is the better of two very bad actions on the part of a Gov't - Which, IMO, it is. No justification just a comparison.

[stevio]

Agreed.