Chavez orders troops to take over rice plants

[The Minx]

Link

(CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered troops to immediately take over rice-processing plants in his country, accusing some businesses of ignoring prices set by the government.

"What are some of the sectors of the agricultural industry doing? They buy rice from producers, and they don't want to produce regulated rice," Chavez said in a televised address Saturday.

"Well, I've ordered the intervention, starting right now, of all those sectors of the agricultural industry."

Chavez did not say how long the takeover will last, but warned that some companies could be nationalized if they tried to interrupt supplies.

U.S.-owned Cargill, with 2,000 employees spread among 22 locations in Venezuela, is among the major rice processors in the country.

Since winning re-election in 2006, Chavez launched a campaign to nationalize strategic segments of Venezuela's economy, including cement companies, a steel mill and oil ventures.

Last month, Venezuelans approved a Chavez-backed constitutional referendum that allows him to run for a third six-year term in 2012.

This is not a good idea.

[Mayabird]

Smells like panic. Chavez was never the brightest or savviest politician and his only trump card was being able to distribute oil profits in a way that made it look like he was helping out the poor. With the demand destruction of oil and prices slumping, he's lost that.

[Rogue 9]

I wonder how blatantly he'll rig the election for his third term now that he's finally gotten the "right" answer out of the term limit referendum. I know it ran at least twice, maybe three times.

[frigidmagi]

Oddly enough Chavez hasn't rigged any elections that I know of. He has intimated, gagged and hobbled his opponents as well has cutting them utterly out of law making by nationalizing their T.V stations, making it a crime to speak ill of government officials and my personal favorite ruling by degree for 18 months.

Chavez for all his clownish behavior is pretty good at playing politics. He knows which lines not to touch to avoid getting hit with the big clubs.

Still this is totally idiotic. It's not going to do a damn thing to help.

[The Minx]

It will mean that it becomes undeniably the government's fault when things will inevitably go wrong. Which means Chavez gets into trouble. So in that sense, it does help.