Venezuela's Land Institute Recovers Public Land for Redistribution

[chlamor]

Venezuela’s Land Institute Recovers Public Land for Redistribution

By: Jonah Gindin – Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, Venezuela, March 14, 2005—Venezuela’s National Land Institute announced the impending redistribution of five ranches on Saturday, in a controversial settlement dealing with both private and public land.  The five ranches are, El Carcote, Piñero, Coco, Borges, and Hacienda Sanz. This could mean the redistribution of private land titles for the first time since the land reform law was passed in November, 2001.

The El Charcote ranch is owned by the British meat-producer Lord Vestey, through its local subsidiary Agroflora.  In January of this year, state Governor Jhonny Yánez ordered the National Guard and state police to ‘intervene’ in the property to prevent disputes between ranchers and occupying peasants from getting violent.  A group of farmers have been occupying a portion of the land for the past four years.

Critics have accused the government of failing to respect private property rights.  The Land Law, passed in 2001, was one of the Venezuelan government’s most controversial measures since President Hugo Chávez’s election in 1998.  General strike in 2001, led by Venezuela’s principal chamber of commerce Fedecamaras and the traditional labor federation, the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV), cited the land reform law as one of their primary grievances.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1545

[katsy]

1. Is HUGO

taking back from the rich and giving it to the people?

Did I read that right?

[chlamor]

3. Yes

And many of the largest landholdings are in the hands of outside interests i.e. global corps.

[Igel]

7. Yes, by claiming that the land deeds were irregular, and

the land actually had always belonged to the state.

One economist claimed that one of the big factors crippling many countries was the lack of land deeds that could withstand scrutiny. Land = wealth, but if you have land and can't prove it, you can't borrow against it to raise capital, nor can you borrow to buy it. And the government can come along and say that since you can't prove you own it, the government does (His name was De Soto, I think. "Conservative" is a more fitting label than "liberal" for him, but I'm not sure either's a good fit.)

The last land redistribution in Venezuela was in the '60s, but the deeds weren't always issued properly, or even issued.

[whistle]

2. Sounds like Allende of Chile, I think Chevez will need to watch

...his back or Oliver North and his death squad hit men will be stealing into the president's palace soon to, straighten the situation out. These guys are getting restless following several weeks of little action after HST affair.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Chile_KH.html

[TroubleMan]

4. I wish we could do that to rich people here.

They do it to poor people all the time in the name of "economic development."

[Disfronted]

8. I don't

I believe in raising funds through progressive taxation, not by stealing property. Tax the land, yes, and heavily, but I am uncomfortable with the government just taking it on a whim.

[sadiesworld]

9. If the land is determined to be private property...

compensation is paid.

[anarchy1999]

15. The "government" is not taking the land on a "whim".

The "government", ie Chavez is reclaiming the land and giving it back to those the land belonged to in the first place. Chavez is walking a very rocky road, may he live long and well, as Castro has.

[Blue to the bone]

5. This law does indeed have a lot of landowners, both large and small...

....worried.

[Robbien]

6. That is because many of the large land owners do not have papers

for the lands they claim are theirs. The land was grabbed back in the 1800's early 1900's under very troubling times.

The law Chavez is working under says if no papers and land is not productive, then the land will be turned over for agricultural use.

[Blue to the bone]

11. You are correct to an extent.

Some also have "papers", but those papers do not meet today's standards for a 'clear title'. In discussing this issue with locals, and an attorney, there are at least 3 levels of "paper" recognized in an average real estate transaction today.

Unfortunately, the whole thing has really been a can of worms for the court systems, law enforcement, and city and state officials who end up getting caught in the middle of disputes.

Even landowners with vacant properties in the cities have often found that overnight their property has been occupied, and is being claimed as "non-productive" by those who wish to claim ownership.

The "non-productive" wording is also quite subjective as one might imagine.

Interestingly, many of the land battles that are playing out around the country today are not taking place out in rural areas, or what would otherwise be considered agricultural property, but are occurring on the edges of the major cities.

Basically, when word gets out that a particular piece of property might be in play, overnight it is occupied by dozens, or even hundreds, if it is large enough. Each person then marks off a small area, places stakes in the ground on the corners, and then builds a small wooden and mud structure.

The original landowner, if he wishes to fight the fight, must then take everyone to court and try to get them thrown off the property. Some are successful, some are not. Some don't even try.

And some on both sides of the issue die in the process.

To me, it's really a pretty sad way to redistribute property and threatens all sorts of future problems related to private property ownership rights.

[w4rma]

12. It's only affecting huge tracts of land, that were probably taken from

small land owners, in the past, anyway. Small land owners are in no danger of losing their land, and even if they were, they could get another area as a replacement under these reforms.

[Blue to the bone]

14. Sorry, but you're just not correct.

Small landowners, especially those inside the cities and along the edges are at risk as well.

I've seen it with my own eyes.

As for "getting another area as a replacement", I'm not sure how that would play out when a city lot has been taken away from them.

[w4rma]

16. I'm sorry but you are going to have to provide more details

as to what you've "seen with your own eyes".

[Blue to the bone]

17. I've seen commercial lots occupied by "would-be farmers".....

...and I've seen those same lots later cleared of those who would like to own the land via the new law.

I've also seen agricultural land near cities occupied in a manner that I described earlier. Some of it still is occupied.

Also, I've read the local newspaper accounts about the legal actions that surrounded these events.

[seemslikeadream]

10. chlamor check out this blog

interesting reading and here are wonderful photos there too.

http://demokrasia-kenya.blogspot.com/2004/08/state-of-state-in-kenyaneo-post-or.html

[Say_What]

13. Venezuela's Agrarian Land Reform: More like Lincoln than Lenin

From COHA

<clips>

• Land Reform is the traditional third rail of left-of-center governments and social reform movements.

• President Hugo Chavez’s plan is fundamentally different from other Latin American attempts at land reform. The proper historical parallel is President Lincoln’s Homestead Act.

• Chavez’s opponents, who see him as “another Castro,” wrongly view his agrarian reform program as a total assault on private property.

• Land Reform is one of the most progressive aspects of Chavez’s “Bolivarian Revolution” as it seeks to alter the fundamental power structure of the landed versus the landless, reduce Venezuela’s dependence on foodstuff imports, and redress the country’s disastrous experience with the “Dutch Disease.”

• The government should concentrate more on shoring up the agricultural base of the public lands it already has distributed to peasant cooperatives, rather than draw a premature bead on private lands.

http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2005/05.21%20Venezuela%20Land%20Reform%20the%20one.htm