Feeding (as it were) off mgraves' last post....
Here are the AP's lead graphs on the supermarket story:
CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez threatened Wednesday to nationalize any privately owned supermarkets and food storage facilities caught hoarding inventories or violating price controls imposed on basic goods.
Accusing private companies of hoarding beef and other foods, Chavez warned supermarket owners and distributors that he would nationalize their facilities as soon as they gave him "an excuse."If they remain committed to violating the interests of the people, the constitution, the laws, I'm going to take the food storage units, corner stores, supermarkets and nationalize them," Chavez said during a televised broadcast. "So prepare yourselves!"
You know the first thought I had when I read that? Kulaks. What, or who, are they? The Wiki entry is here. The short answer is that they were Russians in the 1920s-30s who grew food and ate it. So they were killed. Why? Because they were hoarding and thereby violating the interests of the people. At least that's what the forebears of Hugo Chavez said.
|