Venezuelans on edge as government prepares to intervene

[bemildred]

Will the defenseless, downtrodden British Company defeat the
evil, greedy peasants?

EL CHARCOTE, Venezuela - Hundreds of squatters have moved onto this vast cattle ranch and planted crops in hopes that the land will one day be declared their own, putting them sharply at odds with the British-owned company that claims rightful ownership.
The long-running dispute - like many others across Venezuela - is reaching a critical point as the government promises swift action on a sweeping plan to give ''idle'' land to poor farmers.
Most of the estimated 600 squatters farming plots on El Charcote Ranch arrived in the four years since President Hugo Chavez signed a law clearing the way for agrarian reform.
''I trust Chavez and believe he wants the best for us, but we are struggling, working land that may not belong to us in the end,'' said Santiago Arzola, 40, who farms melon, beans and sweet peppers to sustain a family of five.
A 1998 census found that 60 percent of Venezuela's farmland was owned by less than 1 percent of the population. The survey said 90 percent of farmland given to the poor under a 1960 agrarian reform had since returned to the hands of large landholders.

Salt Lake Tribune