President Hugo Chavez threatened again on Friday to seize property from businesses if they are caught hoarding products, as Venezuela struggles with shortages of some basic foods and high inflation."some" as in "all"
Chavez warned that price speculation is occurring "at all levels of society, from the big capitalists to the small shopkeepers," and said his government could expropriate property from individuals or companies that purportedly sit on goods for months to sell later them at inflated prices.
"I ask the ministers and lawmakers to pay a lot of attention to this because it's one of the causes of inflation," he said during a marathon address to legislators.
among flinging money and cheap oil promises to Lefty dictators, commies, and Islamist axis allies?
Annual inflation soared to 22.5 percent in 2007 — the highest official rate in Latin America — according to the Central Bank.
Chavez — a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro — has made similar threats in the past. No such takeovers have occurred so far, however, and Venezuela continues to have many private supermarkets and food distributors.
but little goods and foods
Some food staples covered by price controls — sugar, cooking oil, milk, black beans, eggs and chicken — are sporadically hard to find in supermarkets, and Chavez's critics warn shortages are likely to persist as long as the price controls are maintained.
reeaaallly?
Leading retailers deny hoarding products. Many argue that currency controls established in 2003 are also responsible for higher prices, because some businesses are forced to buy imports using black-market dollars at more than twice the official exchange rate. Others say heavy government spending bankrolled by soaring oil profits has pushed up prices.