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| Chavez Announces Nationalization Plans |
| Venezuelan president says: 'The nation should recover its ownership of strategic sectors' |
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Amin George Forji (amingeorge)  |
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Published 2007-01-09 15:42 (KST) |
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President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has prior to his official swearing in ceremony for a third presidential term announced moves which if validated by the country's congress would change the country into a full socialist state.
Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Monday Jan. 8, Chavez said if Venezuela aspires to develop and improve on the standard of living of the citizenry, then it must transfer the ownership and control of lucrative companies that directly affect daily lives of people from foreign hands to state control, through what he described as "a revolutionary enabling law."
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| To that effect, he announced that upon beginning a third crucial mandate, he will seek a parliamentary vote to grant him extra powers to nationalize all major Venezuelan oil refineries, energy and telecom companies. He added that Venezuela was on a journey of no return to become a full socialist state par excellence.
"Venezuela is moving towards a socialist republic and this requires deep reform of our national constitution." Mr. Chavez announced.
"We are in an existential moment of Venezuelan life...We're heading toward socialism, and nothing and no-one can prevent it." He continued.
The move means that all corporations that were privatized under the structural adjustment program (SAP) would eventually escheat to state control and ownership.
"All of that which was privatized, let it be nationalized. The nation should recover its ownership of strategic sectors." Mr Chavez added in an unapologetic tone.
U.S. businesses will be affected. Arlington-owned Electricidad de Caracas and CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, 28.5 percent of which is owned by AES and Verizon communications, are among those companies chalked for nationalization.
Chavez accuses Washington of sponsoring dissidents to destabilize Venezuela and take-over power through a coup, and foster America's "dark" agenda, which he claims is bound to fail for life. Washington on her part accuses Chavez of sowing seeds of discord in Latin America.
In his speech, Chavez also frowned at the autonomy currently enjoyed by the central bank, saying it has been "disastrous" for Venezuela, and so must come to an end.
"The central bank must not be autonomous, that is a neoliberal idea," he said.
According to Swissinfo, Venezuelan bonds fell by over 1 percent in the stock exchange market just hours after Chavez's speech.
In the fiery speech, Chavez also criticized the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, qualifying him as "an idiot" and using a epithet. He said the best advice he could give him at the moment is to resign.
Chavez won a convincing victory of 63 percent in the last presidential ballot on Dec. 3, 2006.
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©2007 OhmyNews
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