Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Today in Venezuela : Blackouts and Expropriation

Yesterday there were blackouts throughout Venezuela. Blackouts aren't uncommon nationwide, but they are rare in the capital of Caracas, which was also impacted.
``The problem is being resolved, and there's no emergency,'' Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin said in comments broadcast by state television.
Today's outage was caused by a technical failure in a transmission line in the state of Aragua because of nearby forest fires, Izquierdo said in comments broadcast by state television. Caracas and the states of Zulia, Merida, Tachira, Trujillo, Lara, Falcon and Aragua were most affected, he said.
Blackouts couldn't stop lawmakers in Venezuela from declaring Sidor — Venezuela's largest steel maker — a "public utility" on Tuesday, a legal prerequisite to expropriation. The Luxembourg-based company has had problems with the Chavez government, that claims that the company was demanding excessive payment.
Chavez says that state control over key industries is essential in steering this South American country toward what he calls "21st-century socialism."


Sources : Bloomberg, AP

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