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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Chavez: cement takeovers could be next |
| 2007-04-13 |
| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday said his nationalization drive could be expanded to cement-makers if they were found to be worsening a housing shortfall by favoring exports over domestic sales. Buoyed by a landslide reelection in December, Chavez has forged ahead with the construction a socialist republic, taking over sectors of the economy he calls strategic, such as power utilities, oil projects and the country's No. 1 media company. "We need to investigate the cement factories. I want reports ... because what is going on is that they still prefer to export at a higher price than issue supplies in the interest of the Venezuelan people," the anti-U.S. leftist said in a speech. "If the cement-makers do not want to, then very well, we will take them over," he said in a speech recalling a 2002 coup attempt against him, adding that Venezuelan cement-makers had been privatized too cheaply "at the price of a scrawny hen." |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 This is good. If he messes with exports too much, the Chinese might whack him. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-04-13 20:49 |
| #2 Exports are more profitable because of the government's artificial foreign exchange rates and because of government imposed domestic price controls. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2007-04-13 12:13 |
| #1 If he starts messing with Mafia owned businesses hes gonna end up with some overshoes. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-04-13 09:23 |