MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez moves ahead with his “agrarian reform”

The Venezuelan government expropriated this week a corn silos plant belonging to the country's main agro-business corporation as part of its campaign to take over “idle” companies and farmland and hand them to workers and peasants.

The decision was announced following President Hugo Chavez re-launching of his proclaimed "agrarian reform" following the splitting among peasants of an 8,500 hectares farm which immediately triggered protests from opposition members of Congress and marches in Caracas and other cities.

The governor of the southern state of Barinas, Hugo de los Reyes Chavez, father of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, signed the expropriation decree claiming that the silos were not being used and such a situation is contemplated in the country's constitution when "public use" or "social interest" are at stake.

"The forcible acquisition of the assets presumably belonging to the Venezuelan Corn Refining Company (Polar group) is hereby decreed", states the resolution arguing that the plant has been out of production since 2002.

This inactivity besides "debilitating the industrial texture and the country's economic sovereignty has had a negative impact in the trading and adequate processing of the growing corn production of Barinas".

Therefore it's the Barinas state government responsibility "the promotion of corn and vegetable oil production at fair and reasonable prices, as well as contributing to the economic sovereignty of the country".

The expropriation decree follows the occupation a month ago of the silos plant by the Army following the Agriculture and Lands ministry instructions with the support from workers of the company claiming the inactivity of the whole complex.

However the Polar group insisted that the silos had corn sown in Barina stored and other food and beverages produced by the company.

President Chavez has repeatedly announced he will "rescue" idle land and closed or half paralyzed companies to "guarantee food security" and to reactivate the economy.

In the last three weeks the Venezuelan government has taken over a tomato processing plant belonging to US giant Heinz and four allegedly unproductive landholdings totalling 68.000 hectares.

Fedecámaras, the country's main businesses organization called on the government "to talk and to dialogue" before embarking in a lands and companies "takeover conflict". "We call upon and demand government to open spaces to talk, but when mistakes are committed they must be acknowledged and the procedures of the past few weeks have not been according to the rule of law", said Fedecamaras.