Yesterday Hugo Chávez threatened again regime-critical TV channels (Globovision) and newspapers (El Nacional, El Universal and a couple of other minor ones). He also announced a new wave of land expropriation in Barinas. As I have written earlier, expropriations of all kinds will increase in the measure Venezuela's economy deteriorates. It is incredible how we have come to this point even though the oil price is still a couple of times more expensive than in 1998, when Chavez was elected.
The Barinas strongman won't expropriate lands of his political fans, much less those of his family, which is one of the biggest landowners in Barinas. He will just go for those who oppose him. The interesting thing here is how he declares the amount of acres that need to be expropriated, which shows how little he cares for legality: 10.000 hectares have to be taken over.
Expect professional squatters and his military people to end up with the best of those lands.
The picture below shows the entrance to La Chavera, property of the Chavez clan. The president's family has much more than that hacienda, but most other properties are under the official name of front men.
