Chavez Orders Army to Seize Rice Plants

Struggle over nationalization as plants fear bankruptcy
By Amelia Atlas,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2009 6:27 AM CST
Chavez Orders Army to Seize Rice Plants
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez holds a national flag during a farewell ceremony to a sailboat crew at a port near Caracas yesterday.   (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office, Juan Carlos Solorzano)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the army to seize control of the nation's rice processing plants, continuing a trend of industrial nationalization by his government, reports the BBC. Chavez accused the plants of failing to meet government price quotas for grain, intended to ensure cheap food prices. The plants, in turn, claim that they are facing bankruptcy as strict price controls have interfered with their profits.
(More Hugo Chavez stories.)

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