Holcim wants Venezuela to pay for taking control

'Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim is seeking compensation from Venezuela through international channels after the leftwing government nationalised its operations.

Holcim said the Venezuelan government had failed to live up to its promise to pay $550 million (SFr620 million) according to an agreement signed in August and had stopped all communication.

Holcim's Venezuelan subsidiary was taken over in June along with two other international cement makers. The compulsory nationalisation was part of a campaign by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez to take direct control of key industries.

Holcim signed a memorandum of understanding two months later to sell an 85 per cent stake of its operations for less than market value. No final binding agreement was signed, but the company has finally run out of patience with Venezuela's stalling with no sign of the money being handed over.'

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/Holcim_wants_Venezuela_to_pay_for_taking_control.html?siteSect=105&sid=10488215&cKey=1237826105000&ty=st

should be able to take control of the assets. They did this in Argentina after their default/depression, and they turned the factories into co-ops. The only difference is that they did it after the company had ceased operations.

started up by others. I'm less convinced it's a better development to not get back with people seeking fair compensation; to me it puts the Venezuelan govt into the Capt Jack Sparrow column, if you will; we've just seen so much of that from the corporate 'acquisition' side of western capitalism and it leaves the 'no return' option that is, after all, Venezuela's to trigger, left open to an interpretation of same-ole-same-ole under a different banner.

Viva la Concrete!!

You Chavez defenders make me laugh. The guy is nothing but a tin horn despot and he gets treated like a hero. How much has life improved there, not at all, maybe worse. I'm no defender of the big corporations, but I was in Venezuela in 1960 and things there then were better then now. Where have all the oil revenues gone? they have many other natural resources there, back then they even had good pot. I know our way is not perfect, far from it, but a dictator is a dictator whether left or right philosophy.

considerations upon a people's future interactions due to the intransigence of their govt's dealings

poverty is down by 50% in Venezuela since 2003, and extreme poverty by 75%. Oh, that mofo tin horn despot, feeding and housing people. What an @sshole!

to be allowed to pollute Venezuela, strip mine its resources and mistreat working people. Obviously, that isn't happening here.

I have no idea what's up with this particular situation. Over the weekend, they made a bunch of adjustments in Venezuela and am still trying to understand what they all mean. About the only one I really do get, lol, is that top level government workers are taking a pay cut and a 20% increase in minimum wage has been recommended to the legislature.

the ingenuity of the world beyond to come and be part of the building of what we see before us as Venezuela's infrastructre...in certain & specific cases that took concrete. I'm not referring to any bribes; bribes seem part of every interaction between many parties these days. But I am referring to the need for 'good faith' to go forward in the forms of proper compensation for others coming in, setting up, and otherwise doing business on behalf of Venezuela that's all.

Chavez, in this case, being the head of Venezuela; has been handed a tremendous opportunity to illustrate the fair-handed embodiment of what is Socialism...I would that he would take it and make that example for the world to see

we won't hear about it. It's just part of being Chavez that he's held to a different standard. My pharmacist told me once that it takes him two years to get payment from CA for Medical. The VA, when they were my tenants, were always at least six months in arrears. I'd hate to think what is happening among those entities today. But, we never hear those stories.

There is some reshuffling going on in Venezuela right now and I'm pretty sure they aren't the only ones that are behind on their payments. Didn't Obama have to publicly reassure China last week? And, isn't there is some discussion between China and Russia and who knows who else about going off the dollar?

They've been quietly converting (hedging toward I think they call it) to the Euro for some time now. China & Russia are also knee deep in Venezuela as a term investment. And even the petro dollars that are helping to balance the books down there were made possible by American oil companies not that I agree with that...but there it is.

Sure Obama reassured China as to intent of late; but neither was Chavez called upon to refer to Obama as a "poor ignoramus", and I understand your concern as to interpretations of other tongues; but all these guys have peanut galleries and they are all playing to them and yes: including Obama, but even at that rate Chavez has it well within his power to do the right thing and in this case that would seem to be fair compensation

It can also take two years to get a valid case involving wrongful malfeasance through the system and onto a court docket in California; it's a big state with lots of folks and a vast bureaucracy. In Venezuela, Chavez is as a practical matter the law itself, and with a pocket full of petro dollars he can snap his fingers and his forces flow like rain water.

Here, we are rightly concerned when a light army contingent is sent onto a civilian scene to quell a shooting the cops can't or won't handle. Or when cops taser people...it's very very different here.

But you're completely right when you say that when it is resolved we may never hear about unless the resolution itself is somehow found wanting. There sometimes being two sides to every story of course my hope is that the outcome will be a balanced one

Obama made in public. It was embarrassing, actually. Lula of Brazil doesn't seem to be overjoyed by his meeting with the president, either. He's a centrist and much more moderate in every way than Chavez but his remarks over the weekend were a call for the United States to partner, not interfere, in Latin America. That's pretty pointed language coming from him.

I hope Obama manages to hold on to the vast support he had going into his election -- even from Chavez, who went out of his way to be quiet for once except to criticize McCain.

I read today that China is going to partner Venezuela on a new rail line. And, with the track record Venezuela has, I'm not very worried about the cement company. It looks like some bills piled up but there is no history of the Chavez government stiffing companies in nationalizations. We'll see, I guess.

As far as the police go, another DUer in Venezuela was telling me that the police forces are too much in check there. Chavez and his government have always tried to avoid violence. So, it is different here. Police are more violent here and violent crime is too high in Venezuela.

are done so to provide a way to manage any uprising against leaders? The people of America can be more violent. My husband was CHP, shot in the line of duty and eventually died after a simple traffic stop somewhere between the, "May I see your license, registration" and the proof of insurance. Oakland just took out some cops the other day. Some will doubtless applaud that as justice. But the existence of violence isn't always from top to bottom; it isn't always bottom to the top; it is sometimes lateral side-to-side...and I deplore it all

There is however little doubt that America has played most every hand in both these hemispheres to not just our detriment but to the detriment of others and I do I blame oligarchs and Big Oil

being made and that's worrisome for a lot of reasons.

They're going to have a public memorial for those officers in an arena on Friday and, I think that's a terrible idea. It's too damn tense around here right now. I feel as though trouble is being invited into the door. There are a lot of grieving people and the black community seems to be expecting retribution. The OPD chief stepped down, which is a good thing, he didn't seem to be much of a leader at all. But, that means there's a new acting chief on top of everything else. Too much going on and not enough care being taken, imho. If nobody else gets hurt this week, I'll be very surprised. :(

There's no flat-line in sight, no bottom. Just turbulence, dire straits and people running to ground just trying to get by. There will, however, be a memorial for the fallen; and persons within communities able to express empathy will be seen as peacemakers. Peacemakers are in a better position to mitigate tensions imo...as to whether people listen always seems another matter

Driving through downtown Oakland the other day, three weeks ago long before the shooting; but on our way to a client there was a guy on a bike some nearly two feet outside the bike lane and into traffic just lolly-gagging along riding without hands. My husband has managed bike shops in bike towns: Davis, university towns and so is not not aware of bike peeps well...

So he goes around this guy giving him plenty of room to do his thing and is flipped off most extravagantly and cursed at for his concern for another person now what is that? Oh and that was after some woman in a huge-ass shiny black Caddy SUV flipped *us* off when she nearly crashed *into us* after running *her* stop sign - didn't even stop, not even a California stop which we all understand - now again...what is that?

Is 'the man' going crazy, crazier? Are people crazy? Have we been crazy the whole time and just didn't know it till now? Or has America been a failed concept funded by filthy old money since Jamestown?

I'm trying really hard to find some work that can be done at home because the thought of commuting or even, of going back and forth downtown is just something I don't want to deal with in this climate. Maybe I can put together 1-800-DIAL AN AFFIRMATION because we sure seem to need some. :)

Get Beth's AFFIRMATION at this low-low price of $19.95 a value of $39.95 for a limited special late night $19.95 offer - only the next 20 minutes so call now - make your commitment change your life and I'll throw in *ABSOLUTION* and five assorted colors Made In China pencil sharpeners completely free for the asking!" ;)

Which reminds me, this will be me shortly, peace on'ya Hon :hi:

:hi:

“Fortunately we have lots of maneuvering room,” Mr. Chávez said in a two-and-a-half-hour address on national television, during which he browbeat senior officials about their high salaries and jokingly floated the idea of tapping the expanding ranks of the American unemployed by hiring English teachers from California for public schools here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/world/americas/22venez.html?em

lol

of South America, hm...I could head his Dept of Tourism :7

Venezuela’s Bolivar Gains After Chavez Rules Out Devaluation
By Matthew Walter and Lester Pimentel

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s bolivar gained in unregulated trading after President Hugo Chavez said he didn’t have any plans to devalue the official exchange rate.

Venezuela’s currency rose for a second day, increasing 1 percent to 6.04 per dollar at 11:30 a.m. New York time in the parallel currency market, traders said. It extended its rebound from a 16-month low last week. The bolivar plunged as much as 5 percent to 6.63 per dollar on March 20 on speculation the president would announce the first currency devaluation since 2005 in a speech on the economy over the weekend.

Today’s rebound in the currency may not last should the government decide to reduce dollar sales at the official rate, forcing importers to turn to the parallel market, said Nelson Corrie, head trader at Interacciones Casa de Bolsa. Planning and Development Minister Jorge Giordani said yesterday that the government might reduce dollar sales at the official exchange rate for luxury items, in an interview broadcast by the Televen network.

“There wasn’t a devaluation, so the bolivar has corrected a bit,” Corrie said. “But on the other side, the government is going to restrict dollar sales, so that has implications. I’m not sure how much more it can strengthen.”

Venezuela’s bonds were unchanged. The yield on the benchmark 9.25 percent bonds maturing in 2027 is 16.9 percent, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bond’s price is 57 cents on the dollar, down from 75 cents six months ago.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=aOKTQ1lYc1jU

I don't understand it all but it looks like the government is trying to put together a plan that works with the lower price of oil.

that's also part of being cash-up with petro dollars and a portfolio of what are hopefully contiguous Chinese futures & commodities heading their way. Those deals are already cut; Venezuela's future is so bright they gotta wear shades B-)

deserve a break. They've been ripped off for so damn long. One of the most moving parts of that film about the coup is when a blue collar worker takes his constitution out of his back pocket and shakes it right at the camera, and says, "I can read this now and my CONSTITUTION says THIS IS ILLEGAL". He was doing a Senator Byrd impression! For those people, I hope things go well.

:kick:

It was reported (and iirc, mentioned in the article in the OP) that Chavez "ordered" Coca-Cola off a parcel of land because he wanted to build a commune there.

This is the outcome. There is going to be low-income housing integrated with a worker's co-op, etc. The government is going to swap this parcel for a different one, and Coca-Cola has a few months to find their new location.



March 22nd 2009, by Tamara Pearson – Venezuelanalysis.com
The local mayor, Jorge Rodriguez, with the Coca-Cola representative (ABN).

Mérida, March 21st 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) -- On Wednesday, the mayor of the municipality of Libertador in Caracas, Jorge Rodriguez, from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), signed an agreement with Coca-Cola to take over its land located in the lower-class suburb of Catia, and use it for public housing.

After ten days of negotiations with the mayoralty of Libertador, Coca-Cola agreed to relocate a distribution center which is next to the Nucleus of Endogenous Development Fabricio Ojeda (NUDEFO), one of many new types of "socialist" community development enterprises that the government in supporting.

Coca-Cola will hand over the 1 hectare piece of land to the mayoralty of Libertador, which will use the land to construct 450 housing units "in order to solve the housing problem and the high risk suffered by those living nearby," Rodriguez said, adding that other land further away had already been acquired to construct refuges for disaster victims.

The project is part of the "Socialist Caracas" plan which is being propelled by the local government in coordination with the national government and will benefit 40,000 local families. The plan includes the NUDEFO, an area of worker run collectives, a subsidized food market known as Mercal , an 85% subsidized medicine pharmacy, sports courts, communal councils, land and water committees, cultural workshops and social missions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x13055

But it is true as well and we know it, that 1) corporations and not just America's need to be far more responsive to the peoples they've left in their dust, and 2 - no-less than two) that there is far more cache involved for a socialistic, people-based governmental model to be seen running oligarchs of 'the 400 families' and corporate overlords down the road...maybe cheaper too than laying out the resources to develop areas or clean them up.

I'd be making clean-up and restitution a very big part of any such negotiations you bet!

There's a new, efficient village under construction AND Coca-Cola's (reasonable) needs were also met.

And I'm less comfortable with being a Cassandra; but we know that if some of these corporate types aren't compensated in ways they are able to accept...and again I ain't saying or suggesting they should but they will, they'll become more inclined to reenter the area and *unwind* all the progress made on behalf of the people.

I love that term these days 'unwind', unwind this bank that asset, that mutual fund, unwind that whatever...I say we *unwind* the Reagan revolution, debunk the myth of his kindly Irish joking telling Bonzo feeding philosopher ding-bat and reboot the system ;)