Venezuela's Chavez seizes French-owned retailer

[DEDixon 39]

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez signed a decree to expropriate a French-owned retail chain Wednesday, accusing the retailer of improperly raising prices and hoarding goods after Venezuela devalued its currency.

The state takeover of Exito hypermarkets raised concerns of Venezuelan business leaders, who predicted private investment will decline as a result of the government's drive to expropriate stores involved in what it calls price speculation.

"Who is going to invest in a country where at any moment and on any whim ... a business can simply be expropriated?" said Ismael Perez Vigil, who leads the country's largest industrial chamber.

Chavez said his government would transform Exito, which is majority-controlled by the French company Casino Guichard Perrachon SA, into a chain of state-run stores that will sell products at cut-rate prices as part of his drive toward socialism.

"We are expropriating the assets, buildings and transportation that make up the Exito hypermarket chain," Chavez said.

The president signed the decree a day after the National Assembly, which is dominated by his political allies, gave initial approval to legislation that expands the government's authority to expropriate businesses for improperly raising prices.

Lawmakers also paved the way for the expropriation of a mall in downtown Caracas.

The newly built Sambil mall has been vacant and its entrances sealed for more than a year since Chavez announced in December 2008 that he planned to expropriate it. He said then that the mall was monstrous, would create excessive traffic and should instead be put to other uses by the government.

Government officials have yet to publicly discuss compensation for the owners of the mall or Exito.

Chavez has warned he will crack down on businesses that raise prices following the devaluation earlier this month of Venezuela's currency, the bolivar.

Government inspectors accompanied by soldiers have temporarily shut down more than 1,000 businesses this month, including Exito's six stores in Venezuela, accusing them of improperly raising prices. Authorities took over management of Exito's stores Tuesday.

The expropriation of Exito will expand the government's presence in retail sales. It has a network of state-run subsidized food markets and recently opened a business selling arepas — toasted corn cakes that are a common meal in Venezuela.

Chavez also has nationalized businesses in the steel, telecommunications, electricity, cement and oil sectors.

wow!!!!

[Danno 1,228]

WhaT CAN YOU SAY... PROGRESSIVES LOVE THIS GUY.... really, they even Dream Obama had such power.... but alas, this is still a land with some sane people (in both parties)... and part of the Constitution in tack.

Watch one Progressive get so excited she forgot the camera was rolling.

Take note of the peps behind her chuckling.

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[Pooky 3,786]

Maxine Waters makes Sarah Palin look sane and reasonable.

I didn't think that was even possible!!!

[NickD 203]

After six years of legal battles, we are getting close to getting rid of a renter, that wasn't paying rent, has a kid. Was suppose to be last Monday, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe never. But our attorney told us to get someone in that apartment instantly, if Chavez finds out it's vacant, anyone can move into it.

We still have to pay the maintenance and taxes on it to prevent it from being foreclosed upon. It's criminal, wife worked hard and purchased that place for an investment, only to have it stolen from her. Could only say at least Chavez didn't toss her in a concentration camp, murdered her and pulled the gold out of her teeth, well maybe not that. See he is closing his 7th bank that he owes money too, wonder how many more. And that bit about helping the poor is all lies, buying weapons of mass destruction from Russia instead and building up a strong army. He is another Hitler.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

WhaT CAN YOU SAY... PROGRESSIVES LOVE THIS GUY.... really, they even Dream Obama had such power.... but alas, this is still a land with some sane people (in both parties)... and part of the Constitution in tack.

Watch one Progressive get so excited she forgot the camera was rolling.

Take note of the peps behind her chuckling.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Change you can believe in.

[NickD 203]

Chavez didn't do anything about my step-son's plane ticket he purchased months in advance for the equivalent of $800.00 (US dollars), day after he devaluated the Bolivar, airlines wanted an additional equivalent to $1,200 US dollars. But he was able to get a refund for this ticket, being paid with Bolivars worth less than half as much. Now who is screwing who?

Also found this article.

"A day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the expropriation of the

foreign-owned Exito chain of hypermarkets for price manipulation, his trade

minister accused another retailer of worse offences. Cada, a locally owned

supermarket chain, “is behaving worse” than Exito, Eduardo Saman said.

“Because (Cada) not only marks up prices, but speculates with basic food

necessities and restricts the supply to make people believe there are

shortages,” the minister said on state television.

Chavez announced Sunday the imminent expropriation of Exito, owned by Casino

Guichard Perrachon SA of Saint-Etienne, France and Almacenes Exito SA of

Medellin, Colombia, for what he described as repeated instances of raising

prices in defiance of government regulation.

The French firm holds 67 percent of Exito.

Last week, the leftist government closed 70 individual Exito and Cada stores for

24 hours, accusing them of increasing prices after a devaluation of the bolivar.

Officials said they would not allow retailers to boost prices on stock they

acquired prior to the devaluation.

Under the new exchange-rate regime, importers of essential items such as food,

medicine and heavy machinery can buy dollars at a rate of 2.60 bolivars to the

greenback. The school supply and science and technology sectors, as well as

public sector imports and remittances, also will be favoured by that rate,

representing a 17 percent devaluation.

But a higher rate of 4.30 bolivars to the dollar applies to most of the economy,

including the automobile, chemicals, rubber and plastics, appliances, textile,

electronics, tobacco, beverages and telecommunications sectors.

The Exito chain “now belongs to the republic” and in that “there is no going

back”, Chavez said Sunday on his weekly radio and television programme.

Explaining the decision to nationalise the chain, Saman said Monday that “a

refrigerator that they bought overseas for $300 or $400 is sold in Exito for up

to $4,000″.

The owners of Exito are also “associated with a supermarket chain, Cada”, where

that practice “is worse”, he said.

“Cada is behaving worse, because there they are speculating with meat, with

basic necessities,” Saman said.

Among those rejecting the expropriation was the Caracas daily El Nacional, which

attributed it to a “new phase of madness” of the government, which with all this

is showing, it said, “the total fascist essence of the Chavez military

ideology”.

“Racist hate against any foreigner who dares to invest in Venezuela in the field

of food distribution,” the newspaper said.

The director of the Caracas Chamber of Commerce, Victor Maldonado, rejected

Sunday Chavez’s announcement and called on him to rectify and “apologise to the

country instead of plunging deeper into these errors”.

“The nationalisation of the hypermarket chain Exito is nothing but a way of

sinking us into ruin” and exposes an economic policy that only creates “more

unemployment, more distrust” in the country."

Really can't go along with that bold up above, wife left Venezuela just when Chavez was started this stuff, she said her American based company imported over 5,000 medical related item, each had it owns Chavez assigned tariff rate. They were sending more money to Chavez than what they were could have sold the product for and no had choice but to drastically increase prices, or go in a hole.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Maxine Waters makes Sarah Palin look sane and reasonable.

I didn't think that was even possible!!!

Thats because it isn't possible. They are polar opposites of the same STUPID STICK.

[alienlovechild 75]

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez signed a decree to expropriate a French-owned retail chain Wednesday, accusing the retailer of improperly raising prices and hoarding goods after Venezuela devalued its currency.

Chavez said his government would transform Exito, which is majority-controlled by the French company Casino Guichard Perrachon SA, into a chain of state-run stores that will sell products at cut-rate prices as part of his drive toward socialism.

Are consumers there just stupid enough to ripped off or the goods sold that superior to state-owned HugoMart?

It's not that bad here but I know more than a few people in this country who'd love to put more regulations on a certain giant discount retail chain.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Are consumers there just stupid enough to ripped off or the goods sold that superior to state-owned HugoMart?

It's not that bad here but I know more than a few people in this country who'd love to put more regulations on a certain giant discount retail chain.

There is a vast difference between mandating that WalMart allow it's employees to unionize and nationalizing the company because their prices are not in line with a political agenda. Sad that you try to compare anything close to that.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

After six years of legal battles, we are getting close to getting rid of a renter, that wasn't paying rent, has a kid. Was suppose to be last Monday, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe never. But our attorney told us to get someone in that apartment instantly, if Chavez finds out it's vacant, anyone can move into it.

We still have to pay the maintenance and taxes on it to prevent it from being foreclosed upon. It's criminal, wife worked hard and purchased that place for an investment, only to have it stolen from her. Could only say at least Chavez didn't toss her in a concentration camp, murdered her and pulled the gold out of her teeth, well maybe not that. See he is closing his 7th bank that he owes money too, wonder how many more. And that bit about helping the poor is all lies, buying weapons of mass destruction from Russia instead and building up a strong army. He is another Hitler.

Wow. And some people look up to him in this country. I doubt they would want to live there themselves.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Wow. And some people look up to him in this country. I doubt they would want to live there themselves.

Some people look up to hitler, whats your point? Some people are delusional.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Some people look up to hitler, whats your point? Some people are delusional.

Obama is delusional.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Obama is delusional.

Aparently, so are you.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Aparently, so are you.

Only when I drink.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Only when I drink.

Absinthe will do that so ya.

Edited January 21, 2010 by Rob and Mel