CHAVEZ CALLS FOR LAND REFORM ON "ALO PRESIDENTE"

UNCLAS CARACAS 002812 SIPDIS FOR WHA/PDA,WHA/AND,INR/R/MR,PACE/PR/FPCW/WHA NSC FOR CBARTON USCINCSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV OPRC KIRC VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ CALLS FOR LAND REFORM ON "ALO PRESIDENTE" -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. Agriculture was the main topic of President Chavez's 202nd "Alo, Presidente" which aired August 29. Indeed his choice of a rural town, El Socorro, in the state of Guarico helped to set the stage. During this event, as in recent speeches before the National Assembly and other venues, he called for the reformation of the land law. End Summary. -------------- Agriculture to Return To Former Glory -------------- ¶2. Chavez stated, "Now the revolution has begun the road toward construction of a agro-economy. We have been working on this for some years, and 2004 will be a great year in this endeavor, a leap forward in agricultural production." ¶3. Chavez began his call for land reform by noting that there were persons who had thousands and thousands of hectares of unused land. He complained that the current land law says if you have 20,000 hectares and they are producing it is not illegal. He also noted that 1,500 hectares seemed like an "adequate" size. He made a call to the landowners of Guarico and of Venezuela, " I prefer that we come to an arrangement." He continued saying, that "in this new stage of the revolution, and I have told the minister of agriculture today, and the president of the land institute and I tell them in front of the whole country, I insist on the severe application of the constitution and the land law." He continued by saying the present law calls for the "elimination of large land holdings" and it has to be followed. -------------- Neo-liberalism and Coup Fall-Guys -------------- ¶4. President Chvez began his remarks by laying the blame for agricultural woes on neo-liberalism saying, "We are hitting hard on land, on agriculture. Venezuela was an agricultural country for many years, then came the oil and the bad governments and we lost our national concept, that is Venezuela lost its way, and installed a neo-liberal capitalist system that abandoned the countryside, the rural producers were left abandoned, the rural exodus, the economic history of the twentieth century, we went to the cities, we left the fields, and agriculture fell." ¶5. In another remark, Chavez noted "The rural area had no access to technology, that is why we must leave aside the neo- liberalism and it is the Government, the State assuming the responsibility along with the private producers." ¶6. The program also included a video entitled, "The Agrarian Revolution Marches Ahead." It began noting that the rural struggle was being done in conjunction with the Bolivarian government to "break the chains of dependence on oil, that for many years relegated agriculture to a forgotten state. And the 2002 anti-government strike demonstrates how transnational interests penetrated our oil industry. We all remember how we lacked basic goods and how they tried to subjugate the desire for change of the Bolivarian people with hunger." ¶7. When speaking of the fall in production of beef and pork, Chavez called upon the minister of agriculture (Arnoldo Marquez) to repeat the explanation for the fall. The minister noted a fall of nine to eleven percent and blamed the attempted coup. Chavez went on to say that such a fall would not occur again because there now exists a government that will be working with the "nationalistic private sector to rid themselves of such a threat." -------------- Private Producers Should Not Fear -------------- ¶8. Aware of the fact that private producers might find something to fear in these suggestions, Chavez assured them, "This revolution does not have anything against private producers, on the contrary, we extend our hand to give them credit, cheap credit, this is an example, an agreement with China, we brought tractors from China and we will continue to bring tractors and we give them to Venezuelan producers on credit, to small producers and really cheap." He also noted the purchase of Brazilian tractors. -------------- -- Cubans Thanked for Medical Aid to Rural Guarico -------------- -- ¶9. President Chavez also talked about the poor of Guarico and the support received from Cuba. He noted that there were 36 people from Guarico that had not returned from Cuba, where they were receiving medical aid. He also spoke of other Venezuelans who likewise had traveled to Cuba: Carabobo, 1,480; Miranda, 1,300; Barinas, 434; Vargas, 520; Yaracuy, 601; and Zulia, 3,783. Currently he estimated 5,963 Venezuelans in Cuba. "For this we must thank the Cuban revolution, the Cuban people, the Cuban medical science, and their leader comrade Fidel Castro, thank you very much. Thank you in the name of so many Venezuelans who had lost the hope of seeing, recovering their sight to see their corn fields, to see their loved ones, to see the sun rise and set, thank you. This is a people coming out of the darkness." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. In this broadcast of "Alo Presidente," and on other occasions, President Chavez has called for immediate amendment of the current land law, to cap land ownership at 10,000 hectares per person (rather than the current 20,000 hectares),while at the same time making contradictory statements to allay the fear of the private sectors. BROWNFIELD NNNN 2004CARACA02812 - UNCLASSIFIED