[Webster defines a quintal, a measure used in the following story, as 100 kilograms, i.e., 220.46 pounds. The nationalizations mentioned in the second paragraph were actually purchases by the Chávez government, at very generous prices, of energy and telecommunications firms. As the story indicates, the occupations of the coffee production factories will be temporary. Chávez has great respect for the sanctity of private ownership of the means of production; one can see that from the fact that after ten years of Chávez in power, Venezuelan workers are still exploited by capitalists. So if the coffee industry is nationalized, the owners will undoubtedly get very, very large compensation for their factories, which proves, once again, that chavismo is simply a lot of flatulent rhetoric, nothing more. Where workers have, in fact, recovered owner-abandoned enterprises and restarted those factories under workers' self-management, as in the case of Sanitarios Maracay, the Chávez government refused to nationalize those enterprises. Just last month, workers from the Vivex enterprise, occupied by its workers for 7 months, marched all the way from Barcelona, Venezuela, to Caracas, 300 kilometers in 12 days, hoping to be allowed to talk to Chávez and persuade him to nationalize their enterprise; those workers were apparently never received by the Venezuelan President. For details, see http://venezuela.elmilitante.org/content/view/6533/164/-- YM]
Venezuela : The government occupies coffee production factories
LEMONDE.FR with AFP 03.08.09 17:24 hours
On the morning of Monday, August 3, Venezuela's socialist [sic] govenment ordered the temporary occupation of the factories of two local coffee producers, accused especially of fraudulent and "monopolistic" practices at the root of the shortage of this product in the country.
"The Bolivarian government has occupied all the factories in the country of the company Fama de América and of Café Madrid, to guarantee supplies for the Venezuelan people," the Minister of Agriculture, Elías Jaua, explained to state-run television. These occupations come within the scope of the law on food sovereignty, promulgated at the end of last year by the antiliberal President Hugo Chávez, who is strengthening control over production by food companies, in order to fight against shortages. As part of his socialist revolution [sic], the Venezuelan President has already nationalized several key sectors of the economy, like energy or telecommunications.
Disloyal and monopolistic practices
According to an association, Alianza Agroalimentaria, coffee production went from 1,400,000 quintals in 1998 to 900,000 today. The Minister indicated that the occupation of the factories should last three months, the time to carry out a complete audit of the two enterprises. "If we could show that smuggling, retentions, disloyal and monopolistic practices had taken place, we could consider nationalization of these enterprises," he specified.
In recent months, the Venezuelan government has ordered the occupation and expropriation of several enterprises producing staples, like rice or pasta, in an attempt to put an end to chronic shortages. Since 2003, the biggest Latin American oil exporter has put in place a strict regime of price control for staple foods. Food producers regularly denounce this measure, asserting that prices do not even cover their production costs.
Venezuela : The government occupies coffee production factories
LEMONDE.FR with AFP 03.08.09 17:24 hours
On the morning of Monday, August 3, Venezuela's socialist [sic] govenment ordered the temporary occupation of the factories of two local coffee producers, accused especially of fraudulent and "monopolistic" practices at the root of the shortage of this product in the country.
"The Bolivarian government has occupied all the factories in the country of the company Fama de América and of Café Madrid, to guarantee supplies for the Venezuelan people," the Minister of Agriculture, Elías Jaua, explained to state-run television. These occupations come within the scope of the law on food sovereignty, promulgated at the end of last year by the antiliberal President Hugo Chávez, who is strengthening control over production by food companies, in order to fight against shortages. As part of his socialist revolution [sic], the Venezuelan President has already nationalized several key sectors of the economy, like energy or telecommunications.
Disloyal and monopolistic practices
According to an association, Alianza Agroalimentaria, coffee production went from 1,400,000 quintals in 1998 to 900,000 today. The Minister indicated that the occupation of the factories should last three months, the time to carry out a complete audit of the two enterprises. "If we could show that smuggling, retentions, disloyal and monopolistic practices had taken place, we could consider nationalization of these enterprises," he specified.
In recent months, the Venezuelan government has ordered the occupation and expropriation of several enterprises producing staples, like rice or pasta, in an attempt to put an end to chronic shortages. Since 2003, the biggest Latin American oil exporter has put in place a strict regime of price control for staple foods. Food producers regularly denounce this measure, asserting that prices do not even cover their production costs.
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