Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas, Venezuela warned that some of
the government's recent land seizures have not followed procedures
outlined in the country's Constitution.
“While it is true that the government has the power to confiscate, it
must do so by following the procedures established in the
Constitution,” the cardinal said after Mass for the World Day of Peace
on Jan. 9.
He noted that “this is not happening in some cases.”
Cardinal Urosa acknowledged that there is a great demand for more
housing in the country, but that the need – which sharply increased due
to the recent flooding – “is not going to be resolved in six months.”
“The interests and rights of all people must be reconciled, and the government should do so justly,” the cardinal asserted.
New excuse?
In the past week, the Venezuelan government has confiscated numerous
buildings and plots claiming they will be used for the construction of
homes for those affected by the flooding.
However, Rafael Alfonzo, a
leading financial analyst, called the move a “new excuse” by Hugo Chavez
to take over private lands.
Chavez alleged that the measures are
necessary to protect the food supply, to “rescue” lands from plantation
owners, and to prevent monopolies and market speculation.
The Observatory of Property Rights in Venezuela reported that between
2005 and 2010, some 1,729 violations of private property by the
government took place, and that during the last year there were 535
cases of confiscation.
The most controversial one involved 2.2 acres of
land belonging to the Antimano child nutrition center.
Chavez said the
center would now be known as the “Amatina Socialist Community.”
On his television program “Alo Presidente” on Jan. 9, Chavez ordered
the confiscation of land to “accelerate all over the country, especially
south of Maracaibo Lake,” where land belonging to the El Delirio and
Dinamarca ranches was recently confiscated.
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