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Chavez moves to nationalize power, telecoms firms (update 2)
PW
New ministers are sworn in by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, unseen, in Caracas, Monday, Jan. 8
AFP
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 01 09 06Leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Monday he would ask the legislature to approve the "mother of all revolutionary laws" giving him the power to nationalize the power and telephone sectors.
The proposed legislation would also allow Chavez to end foreign control of refineries of heavy crude from the Orinoco region in the east, he said.
"In the Orinoco region ... international companies control and dominate the refining processes of heavy crude," Chavez said at the swearing in of the cabinet for his new government's six-year term.
"That has to be passed on to Venezuelan," he added without giving further details of the reform he intends for Venezela's chief revenue-making sector.
Venezuela, which produces mostly heavy crude, relies on foreign companies, mainly from the United States, to refine much of its oil.
Chavez also announced a "deep reform" of the constitution in order to create the "Socialist Republic of Venezuela" to replace the current official name, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, established in the 1999 constitution.
"One year is a fair amount of time" to pass the law, Chavez said, adding that it would deliver other economic, social, and security benefits.
"It will be the mother of all revolutionary laws," said Chavez, who was re-elected last month and will be sworn in to a six-year term Wednesday. He was first elected in 1998.
Recalling that in 2001 parliament gave him special powers that allowed him to pass land reform law -- which triggered a general strike by business owners and political unrest -- Chavez said the new law would go even further.
"If in 2001 we had an impact on the economic and social structure of the country, this time the impact on the current economic situation has to be much greater," he said.
"Let's regain ownership of our strategic sources of production. ... All that was privatized must be nationalized," Chavez told 2,000 cheering officials and followers at the swearing-in ceremony.
The National Assembly is unlikely to resist Chavez's call, with his supporters dominating it ever since the opposition boycotted elections in 2005.
Chavez also declared that the country's central bank "does not have to be autonomous; that is a neo-liberal concept."
Last week he announced that his government will credit seven billion dollars of the 37 billion in international reserves held by the central bank to the country's fund for national development and the construction of socialism.
Beginning last year, Venezuela has been renegotiating its contracts between state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and foreign oil companies, including the US' Chevron and Texaco, and France's Total.
Venezuela's power sector is run by government-owned CADAFE except in Caracas, where privately-owned Electricidad de Caracas is in charge.
The telephone service, land-lines and cellular, is now controlled by CANTV, which was privatized in 1991 -- majority holder Verizon Communications is selling its Venezuela share to Mexico's communications tycoon Carlos Slim.
Chavez, a close of ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, was re-elected in December with 63 percent of the vote. He has declared that he wants to accelerate development of agriculture, infrastructure and housing.
After taking the oath as Venezuela's new Vice President Jose Rodriguez -- he is replacing 76-year-old Jose Vicente Rangel -- took a page out of Chavez' book and slammed the United States as an imperialistic power.
"Little by little, the peoples of the world are falling in step with the phrase: "Say no to imperialism," said the psychiatrist-turned politician.
AFP 09 0127 GMT 01 07
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