sedan
08-30-2006, 10:06 PM
Venezuelan government opposes golf course grab
Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:04 PM BST177
CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has promised a socialist revolution for the poor, on Wednesday criticized an ally's move to seize two golf courses to build affordable housing.
Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the "national government does not agree with" the move by Caracas Mayor Juan Barreto, a Chavez loyalist, to take over the golf courses and two plots of land for the low-income housing plan.
Chavez, a former paratrooper who has promised a revolution to end poverty in the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has harshly criticized wealthy Venezuelans for their lavish lifestyles.
But despite his revolutionary vitriol causing jitters over possible Cuba-style expropriations, and a high-profile land reform initiative, Chavez has also promised to respect private property to draw investment.
"The national government respects and ensures the respect for legal structures and rejects any attempt to stifle the rule of law," Rangel said in a harshly worded statement.
Rangel is the highest-ranking government official currently in Venezuela, as Chavez is visiting Syria as part of a tour of Asia and Africa. The government rarely admonishes allies through public statements.
Barreto had issued decrees calling for the "forced acquisition" of two golf courses in neighborhoods of Caracas, Venezuela's capital.
Critics said Barreto had not adequately demonstrated the city's intentions for the land as legally required in expropriation cases.
Caracas suffers from an acute housing shortage which has been one of the principal complaints about the Chavez government -- even among his supporters.
Chavez last year launched a high profile land reform campaign in which the government took over vast tracts of land in Venezuela's provinces that the government said was idle or lacked proper deeds. Critics said the measure violated landowners' rights.
The government has not launched a similar campaign for urban land, though the Caracas City Council has discussed proposals to expropriate apartment buildings or second homes.
Chavez's government has gone through three housing ministers in around two years. The city's real estate chamber says only 100,000 houses have been built in the last seven years despite demand of 1.75 million.
link (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=golfNews&storyID=2006-08-30T200408Z_01_N30202423_RTRIDST_0_VENEZUELA-POLITICS-GOLF.XML&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2)
Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:04 PM BST177
CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has promised a socialist revolution for the poor, on Wednesday criticized an ally's move to seize two golf courses to build affordable housing.
Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the "national government does not agree with" the move by Caracas Mayor Juan Barreto, a Chavez loyalist, to take over the golf courses and two plots of land for the low-income housing plan.
Chavez, a former paratrooper who has promised a revolution to end poverty in the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has harshly criticized wealthy Venezuelans for their lavish lifestyles.
But despite his revolutionary vitriol causing jitters over possible Cuba-style expropriations, and a high-profile land reform initiative, Chavez has also promised to respect private property to draw investment.
"The national government respects and ensures the respect for legal structures and rejects any attempt to stifle the rule of law," Rangel said in a harshly worded statement.
Rangel is the highest-ranking government official currently in Venezuela, as Chavez is visiting Syria as part of a tour of Asia and Africa. The government rarely admonishes allies through public statements.
Barreto had issued decrees calling for the "forced acquisition" of two golf courses in neighborhoods of Caracas, Venezuela's capital.
Critics said Barreto had not adequately demonstrated the city's intentions for the land as legally required in expropriation cases.
Caracas suffers from an acute housing shortage which has been one of the principal complaints about the Chavez government -- even among his supporters.
Chavez last year launched a high profile land reform campaign in which the government took over vast tracts of land in Venezuela's provinces that the government said was idle or lacked proper deeds. Critics said the measure violated landowners' rights.
The government has not launched a similar campaign for urban land, though the Caracas City Council has discussed proposals to expropriate apartment buildings or second homes.
Chavez's government has gone through three housing ministers in around two years. The city's real estate chamber says only 100,000 houses have been built in the last seven years despite demand of 1.75 million.
link (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=golfNews&storyID=2006-08-30T200408Z_01_N30202423_RTRIDST_0_VENEZUELA-POLITICS-GOLF.XML&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2)