VENEZUELA URBAN AND RURAL EXPROPRIATIONS CONTINUE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000944 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELA URBAN AND RURAL EXPROPRIATIONS CONTINUE (PART 2 OF 2) REF: A. CARACAS 808 ¶B. CARACAS 330 ¶C. CARACAS 444 ¶D. 05 CARACAS 2956 This message is sensitive but unclassified, please treat accordingly. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Threats of rural land expropriations continue in Venezuela. The private agricultural landholders are suffering, as squatters occupy and destroy land under the complicit eye of authorities. The National Assembly also passed legislation allowing seizure of agricultural stockpiles in cases of "emergency." Few interventions by the BRV's land institute (INTI) result in actual expropriations -- most landowners instead negotiate a settlement with the government or wait the battle out in court. However, the famed "Cha-Az Method" (government-owner negotiation process touted by the BRV as an amicable land reform solution) ultimately failed when INTI took over the landmark La Marquesena ranch on March 15 (the landowner had abandoned the negotiation process to wait for a court decision). A week later, Chavez gave "idle" land owners a three-month ultimatum to negotiate, or else the Armed Forces would occupy the land forcibly. As of February 2006, over 900 land occupation documents have been issued, causing affected Spanish landowners to prompt their government to intervene. In an attempt to justify takeovers, Chavez has declared that nearly 90 percent of existing land titles are illegal. The ultimate beneficiaries of "rescued" land are Chavez' voter base - peasants and members of agricultural cooperatives. End Summary. -------------- -- Rural expropriations damage agricultural sector -------------- -- ¶2. (SBU) Rural land expropriations continue to make headlines. The president of the Venezuelan Cattleman's Association (Fedenaga) has repeatedly denounced that the National Land Institute (INTI) and the BRV are backing landowners into a corner by "taking over property through violent means." There are increasing reports of invasions and extorsions by squatters, who threaten landowners with property destruction unless a percentage of the harvest is handed over. Though few actual expropriations have taken place, the BRV has called takeovers "rescues" - and has largely obtained the land through capitulation of landowners in negotiations. Many farms occupied by squatters and targeted by INTI are still pending legal process. ¶3. (SBU) In Yaracuy state alone, over 35 properties have been "confiscated" by INTI, many with complicity of military, local and state government authorities. Invasions and vandalism in this state have accounted for, according to Fedecamaras (the private sector umbrella business chamber), the loss of 5,000 jobs, destruction of over 4,000 hectares of sugar cane crop, and a revenue loss of USD 14.8 million. In the case of El Charcote ranch in Cojedes state (also targeted for expropriation by INTI),squatters drove down the price of the land (even burning some of it) and the British owners finally settled, receiving far less for their land than its original worth. ¶4. (SBU) On March 29, the National Assembly passed legislation reforming the existing Agricultural Storage Law, which now allows the government to confiscate stored goods in cases of "emergency" and if "food sovereignty" (domestic production to cover domestic demand) is compromised. Owners will have a 24 hour window in which to "justify" their stockpiles to authorities. In addition, the law previews BRV plans for sustainable development through construction of public storage infrastructure. (Note: this move hints at a BRV strategy to replace or compete directly with the agricultural private sector (Ref C). End Note.) CARACAS 00000944 002 OF 003 -------------- Failure of Cha-Az Method -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In Chavez' November 2005 push against "latifundios" (idle lands),Hato La Marquesena, an 8,400 hectare cattle ranch and environmental preserve, was hailed as an example of land reform resulting from amicable negotiations between owner and government (see Refs B,D). The process was baptized the "Cha-Az Method" (CH for Chavez, AZ for Azupure, the ranch's owner). However, Azupure didn't reach an agreement via negotiation, and chose to wait the battle out in court instead. To his surprise, on March 15 INTI declared that the land was government property (despite lack of court resolution) and has moved forward with plans to invite cooperatives onto the ranch and begin construction of a government-funded genetic studies center (Centro Genetico Florentino). ¶6. (SBU) The new Minister of Agriculture, Elias Jaua, declared on March 9 that "the revolution is above legal order" when justifying INTI's takeover of the ranch. INTI's director, Richard Vivas, announced that the owners had not responded to INTI's court motion for over a month (though Azupure's lawyers say they have a 60-day window to respond), and declared that Azupure couldn't produce a title chain to prove the land was privately-owned (Note: only a court can make this determination, not INTI. End Note.) He later said that if a court ruled in Azupure's favor in the future, INTI would indemnify the cost of the land and any improvements made upon it as per expropriation law. On April 4, BRV officials attempted to move 8,000 of Azupure's cattle off the land designated for construction, but after managing to move only 700, the cows wandered back to their original grazing grounds. ¶7. (SBU) Although Chavez has said in the past that he will respect court rulings, he declared on March 19 that he would give a three-month window for landowners to negotiate with the government or else he would send in the Armed Forces to occupy their land. (Note: Given the lethargy of the courts, they will not likely make any land dispute rulings before this time frame End Note.) He urged mayors, governors and peasant groups to "have more initiative" in fighting latifundios, and linked the issue with Venezuela's dependence on food imports. -------------- Going Back to 1492 -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Many of the "cartas agrarias" (documents that allow land occupation) issued by INTI are for land owned by Spanish citizens. (Note: INTI has issued over 900 as of February 2006, versus the 3,000 issued in the entire 2005 calendar year. End Note.) Over 40,000 hectares of Spanish-owned sugar cane farms have been invaded (affecting over 200 families),prompting owners to call on the Spanish Embassy in Caracas to intervene. Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos reportedly engaged Chavez himself on the issue, who promised not to expropriate Spanish-owned lands. (Note: this has prompted many Venezuelan landowners to opt for Spanish citizenship. End Note.) In Yaracuy state, Italian and Portuguese landowners have also been affected by the invasions. -------------- Taking land on a technicality -------------- ¶9. (SBU) On March 19, Chavez proclaimed that "there are no real property titles, as the law dictates, in 90 percent of the (agricultural) land in Venezuela." However, legal experts vehemently disagree, noting that the Civil Code and the Notary and Registry Law have guidelines on land titles and most existing land titles follow them. In addition, experts note that the law puts the onus of proof regarding land ownership on the government, not on the private CARACAS 00000944 003 OF 003 landholder. The lack of willingness of courts to make timely rulings (or any rulings at all) on title disputes sways public opinion to Chavez' claim that land titles, even if held, are illegal. (Note: Most likely, Chavez' comments are intended to make him appear magnanimous by allowing ranchers to negotiate for land that they allegedly do not own. End Note.) ¶10. (SBU) Aside from "food sovereignty," other BRV players have found creative ways to justify land "rescues." INTI's president cited on March 29 that land in the border state of Tachira was being used for narcotrafficking and confiscated fourteen ranches. Portuguesa state governor Antonia Munoz made a call on March 24 to all peasants in the region to "keep their eyes peeled" for idle lands and aggressive landowners, and praised INTI's efforts to deliver "social justice" to the state. Various INTI spokespeople have declared they'll protect peasant rights and interests. -------------- Who gets "rescued" land? -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The immediate benefactors of BRV-"rescued" land are squatters and agricultural workers, who receive documents (but not land titles) permitting them to occupy and work the land legally. Most "rescued" land is handed over to agricultural cooperatives (often made up of the same squatters and agricultural workers) or used by the BRV for various ad hoc projects, such as the genetics center in La Marquesena and an agricultural training school in El Charcote. Though there is a severe housing crisis in Venezuela (Ref A),rural land is rarely sought out for housing solutions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that urban dwellers who receive rural land tend to return to the city. ¶12. (SBU) In 2004, Chavez created Mision Vuelvan Caras (Mission About Face),which trains participants to create "endogenous development models" (loosely-defined business models similar to cooperatives, with collective decision-making and use of local natural resources for production). Graduates from this program are called "lanceros" (javelin-throwers) -- they receive preferential loans from Fondafa (Agricultural, Forestry and Fishing Development Fund) and first dibs on expropriated land. Productivity statistics for "Fundos Zamoranos," as the cooperatives on rescued rural land are called, are not known. One analyst said that agricultural financing increased by 45 percent in 2005 while agricultural production only rose three percent. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Though Chavez has made public calls for more initiative in fighting idle lands, the number of ranches actually expropriated remains low. Most owners cave into BRV pressure and reach a settlement or choose to wait the battle out in court -- though Chavez has made it clear that those who wait will ultimately lose out. The people who receive the rights to work on (but not own) "rescued" lands are clearly those in Chavez' political base, and continuation of "idle" land interventions fits well within his election year strategy. Threats of expropriation are wreaking havoc on the agricultural sector and deterring investment. After decreasing his herd size in view of expropriation threats, one rancher emblematically said: "We cattle farmers have one foot in Venezuela, and the other out." If the government's solution is to alienate ranchers and substitute them for unproductive cooperatives, the BRV can kiss their "food sovereignty" dream goodbye. BROWNFIELD