The Devil's Excrement

What one pro-Chavez leader of the Federation of Farmers thinks about land reform in the Chavez era:

“The land is for those that work it and not for those that own it was the saying in the adeco times in the sixties, in reference to the implementation of agrarian reform. Those were stormy times, my parents tell me, when at all times, anarchy and populism were the rule when it came time to assigning productive land, much like it is happening in the Bolivarian revolution.

The populist and pork barrel euphoria of the beginnings of the democratic era, did not allow for the planning, the ordering, the giving away of land titles and the necessary census to know, truly know, who was capable of receiving land and make it produce. It was all a complete mess (despelote!) that killed the law that became, according to the experts, a model for the agrarian sector in Latin America. Today, unfortunately we are repeating the same errors. I would even say that it is even worse, because in Betancourt’s time Government officials were filled with good intentions, in contrast with the hoodlums that currently lead the Ministry of Agriculture and Land who are filled with revenge and hate towards anyone that is not with the revolutionary process. That is why I propose that the first revolutionary invasions should take place in floors 13, 14 and nearby floors of the East Tower of Parque Central, with the objective of removing from the roots the corrupt, incapable and inefficient elements that have overtaken the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

What guarantee do producers have that the land will not be invaded by people foreign to the agricultural sector, when those that lead the institutions of the sector are highway hoodlums? What guarantee is there that the supposedly unused lands are going to be occupied by people that know what they are doing and not by militants of the Chavismo, whose intention is to take over the land to either sell it or rent it later , much like it is happening with some housing in Caracas? Is not easy, I insist, first let’s get rid of the misery traffickers that lead the Ministry of Agriculture and Land and then let’s give away the land to those that truly want to work it. By the way, the number one estate owner continues to be the State; it is there where the process of invading land should begin. “

This entry was posted on September 19, 2004 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Venezuela.