Chavez piloting his revolution into agrarian sphere
Land tenure has become the next big Venezuelan issue as a strengthened Hugo Chavez seeking to expand his “Bolivarian Revolution” vows to seize unproductive spreads and the opposition points to the state itself as the biggest holder of idle acreage. The Democratic Coordinator, a broad opposition coalition, said Monday that “the big landowner in Venezuela is the state,” responding to what it sees as a threat from Chavez to expropriate unused land. “Of every five potentially productive hectares lying fallow, four are in government hands … that’s a reality the government hasn’t wished to acknowledge,” the Coordinator said. Full Story