Decree Enables Expropriations of Homes for Renters in Venezuela’s Capital

Caracas, Venezuela, August 4, 2006 —On Tuesday, The Greater Metropolitan Caracas Mayor’s office approved a reform to its May 16th decree on housing expropriations, opening approximately 700 buildings throughout Caracas to the possibility of expropriation. The Association of Urban Real Estate Owners (APIUR) has criticized the move as “populist” and intended to hide the government’s inefficiencies in housing construction, while the Social Renters Foundation (FUSI) has applauded the move as a huge step forward in renter’s rights and in their struggle against the forced removal of renters across the metropolitan region.

The August 1st reform requires that in order for a building to be “expropriable,” it must have been constructed before January 2, 1987; have more than three apartments rented; have the same habitants living in those apartments for more than 10 years; and be located within the Greater Caracas Metropolitan region (which includes the municipalities of Libertador, Chacao, Baruta, Sucre and El Hatillo). Prior to the decree, only buildings that had all of the apartments rented for more than 10 years were “expropriable.”

According to El Universal, the reform also opened up the possibility of expropriation for buildings under horizontal proprietorship—a new legal definition of collective ownership in Venezuela, where a particular building is owned by several individuals or families. Each individual family owns a piece of the building, which they are free to sell or manage as they see fit. In order to expropriate a building under horizontal proprietorship, a majority of the habitants must agree to the expropriation.

The reform and decree come in response to the Caracas housing shortage and the increasing number of “illegitimate” evictions across the Venezuelan Capital. The reform further opens the door for renters who have been living in their apartment for more than 10 years to be able to legally acquire the deed to their home, and gives Caracas renters an extra tool in the struggle against forced evictions.

Renters must file a request and qualify for expropriation through the Housing Foundation of the Metropolitan District of Caracas (FUNVI) of the Caracas Metropolitan Mayor’s office. Once expropriated, the real estate can only be acquired by the families that currently are—and have been living—in the apartment. The long-time occupants of the apartment are the only ones permitted to file for expropriation.

Landlords will be paid an indemnization for the expropriation of their property by the Metropolitan government, who will then sell the apartments directly to the occupants. According to El Universal, “the mode of payment will depend on the results of the social-economic study. In any case the beneficiaries will receive preferential loans.” The elderly, sick, and incapacitated will be exempt from paying for the property.

APIUR has labeled the reform “populism with eyes on an election year” and has criticized it for leading to corruption, confusion, and false expectations. According to El Universal, APIUR Vice-president, Roberto Orta also stated that the Metropolitan Mayor’s office is attempting to hide the inefficiencies in the government’s ability to construct new homes due to the housing shortage.

Meanwhile, Veneconomy blasted the reform as a “tremendous irresponsibility.” “This new agreement not only attacks the right to private property, but also focuses on a middle class whose savings and only capital is it’s home,” said a recent Veneconomy article.

But renters and members of the fledgling Venezuelan renter’s movement are rejoicing.

In Caracas, due to the shortage of housing, rental prices have gone up. Families renting the same apartment for many years often have basic rent control, and pay very affordable rates. With rental prices on the rise, however, various landlords have moved to evict their current and longstanding tenants in order to raise the rent on new occupants.

According to Orangel Azoaje, one of the leaders of FUSI, formerly the Network of Evicted Renters, landlords usually use the excuse that the rental contract has expired in order to kick the renters out, even though after a stipulated period of time rental contracts are automatically renewed annually. Azoaje verified that in the past six months there have been approximately 300 such illegitimate eviction attempts in Caracas alone.

“But we don’t let these people get kicked out,” he told Venezuelanalysis on Thursday. “They have been living there for 30 years and suddenly they are treated as if they are squatters? That’s not right.”

Azoaje’s group is organized. They hold meetings in the buildings of people who have received eviction notices, and try to “raise the consciousness of the other renters in the building so that they will support these people.” When FUSI gets word of an eviction attempt they activate their phone lists, and send out the address of the building.

“We go to the building, call VTV (Venezuela state television station), call others, and of course we are peaceful,” said Azoaje. “We stay in the apartment, in the building and tell them that they are not going to evict this person.”

The reform, which passed this week, is one additional tool at their disposition. If a landlord threatens to evict, they can now petition the Metropolitan Caracas Mayor’s office for the apartment to be expropriated and sold to the family. Although this legal measure was available before, Tuesday’s reform increased the number of “expropriable” buildings by more than half. According to El Universal, the list is now at approximately 1200.

Although these buildings are now, by decree, “expropriable,” that does not mean that all the apartments in a building must be expropriated at the same time. According to Azoaje, in most cases, individual tenants are evicted one at a time, and the expropriations are often made per apartment as well.

The threat of expropriation has landlords thinking twice about evicting long-time residents. But according to Azoaje, this has also brought trouble. Once the landlords know that a building is going to be expropriated, they don’t have anything to lose and start to take out the residents. The renters can continue with the courts to try and win the expropriation, but in the mean time they are in the street.

Most landlords find out about the potential for expropriation when the inspectors arrive to inspect the building and analyze the case. Azuaje’s group, FUSI, is now pushing for another reform that would outlaw evictions for 15 days while a building is being studied for expropriation. But that’s just the beginning. FUSI was only formed this past January, and Caracas renters only began to organize themselves out of the Urban Land Committees (CTU) last November.

“We are just beginning,” said Azuaje enthusiastically “We are going to continue to struggle for housing. It’s not a game. Housing is part of life. Without housing, there is no life. When you have your own roof, you know that no one is going to take you out of your home… We don’t want to take anything from anything and we just want a fair price.”

Venezuela and Brazil to Build Shipyard in Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2006—The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian construction company Andrade Gutierrez SA to build a shipyard in Venezuela that would help maintain the 42 new oil tankers it intends to build by 2012.

This is all part of a wider diversification plan to reach new markets and to reduce the dependency on the international transport companies with their widely fluctuating prices, “PDVSA takes one step further towards exporting its crudes and derivatives and attractive prices in important markets such as those in Asia…and minimize our dependence on the international transport of hydrocarbons,” Chávez said.

Venezuela currently has sixteen tankers which transport only twelve per cent of crude exports.  By 2012 it hopes to be producing 5.18 million barrels of oil a day as opposed to the current 3.3 million.  The additional 42 tankers would mean that 45% of petroleum exports would be transported by state owned tankers.  The project should begin next year and although the exact location has yet to be revealed it is expected to be in the east of the country.

PDV Marina will also explore the possibility of building three or four special vessels that would transport liquid natural gas that is expected to be exploited with Russian assistance within the next few years.

“Within ten years we will be witness to an unprecedented jump in the heavy and light industry of the country, allowing us to penetrate new markets in the maritime industry in line with the strategy of PDVSA and the national government,” he added

Asdrúbal Chávez, the Manager of Trade and Supply of PDVSA and President of PDV Marina, the subsidiary of PDVSA involved in the agreement, said that this would be the first time that cutting edge technology for the fabrication, maintenance and repair of tankers and offshore platforms has been introduced to Venezuela.

Andrade Gutierrez SA is an international leader in marine construction with 60 years experience.  The Managing Director of Industrial Business Pedro Antonio Dias was satisfied with the agreement and recognized it as a step down the road of regional integration, “We celebrate working with PDVSA a contribution to the maritime development of Venezuela under the framework of the integration project.”

The project should not only mean the diversification of external markets.  The national economy should benefit too, as supply industries will be required.  PDVSA expects that factories involved in the manufacture of parts for the construction work will be generated as well as design centers.  These new industries will not be temporary and will remain to service future contracts.

Chavez Concludes Whirlwind World Tour in Africa

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure
Credit: Prensa Presidencial

Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2006—Venezuela’s President Chavez concluded his two week world tour in Africa today, visiting the countries of Mali and Benin, where he continued his effort to strengthen ties with a wide variety of leaders from the Third World.

Upon his arrival in the West Africa nation of Mali, Chavez said that Third World unity was not needed to fight “against someone or against a particular country,” but to “confront the great challenges of this imperialist neo-liberal era.”

Chavez went on to say, “It is of primordial importance that we cultivate a conscience that we are a single people, so as to achieve true integration.”

Chavez met with President Amadou Toumani Toure and visited the Malinese Solidarity Bank and a housing complex. Chavez also signed a variety of cooperation agreements and a memorandum of understanding, so as to establish ties between Venezuela’s ministry of Energy and Petroleum and its Malinese counterpart.

Chavez’s last and final stop of his world tour was the West African nation of Benin, where he visited President Yayi Boni and promised to support that country’s micro-finance program. Also, Benin assured its support for Venezuela’s effort to acquire the temporary UN Security Council seat, which opens up in 2007.

The Venezuelan President’s world tour took him to eight countries in 14 days, starting with the Mercosur summit in Argentina and then on to Belorussia, Russia, Qatar, Iran, Vietnam, Mali, and Benin.

Venezuela Signs More Deals during Chavez’s Visits to Iran and Vietnam

Caracas, Venezuela, Julio 31, 2006 —After spending the previous 3 days in Iran, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrived in Vietnam on Sunday evening on his international tour, where more cooperation agreements were signed.

It was a like a trip from one era to another. Iran, although a long time foe of the US since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, really epitomizes today, in the era of the “War on Terrorism,” the new enemy the US has chosen to fight. Vietnam, a ghost from the Cold War era and, for the US, the communist menace. Both countries in these distinct periods saw themselves fight US imperialism. The Symbolism was surely not lost on Chávez.

The visits themselves on this tour have now become somewhat routine for Chávez. Guided tours, agreements, warm and kind words of mutual support, and plenty of photo opportunities.

In Iran, besides signing eleven commercial agreements with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chávez was given the highest badge of honor Iranian Republic bestows on foreign dignitaries.

As usual, Chávez spoke of the importance of a united front against the US, “If we are united, we can not only resist but we can also defeat imperialism.” The Iranians, predictably, agreed.

The eleven commercial agreements were for the energy, pharmaceutical, civil aviation, medicine and environmental protection sectors. The Iranian state oil company Petropars plans to invest four billion dollars in agreements with its Venezuelan counterpart PDVSA.

There has been much made about the relationship between the two countries. Being the world’s fourth and fifth largest oil exporters respectively and both members of OPEC, Iran and Venezuela are natural allies in the arena of oil politics. And they are both under constant criticism and pressure from the US government, which is the reason Chávez pushes for a common united front.

There are limits to their cooperation, however. Iran is an Islamic Regime and first and foremost looks towards the Islamic world to build alliances. Also, while Chávez has used the windfall from the high price of oil to increase the quality of life of Venezuelans, Ahmadinejad has done little in this arena. On the contrary, his regime oppresses efforts by Iranians to form labor unions and fight for better wages.

In fact, much closer ideologically to Venezuela, at least rhetorically, is Vietnam, or more correctly, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

While in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, Chávez praised its socialist model and said he was very keen to learn from it. He also, naturally, referred to Vietnam's achievement in forcing the US to withdraw from its lands, “Vietnam, with its bravery, was victorious over imperialism not only on the battlefield. Vietnam has also been maintaining the socialist standard in the ideological field.”

Commercial agreements were signed between the two countries, in particular, a petroleum cooperation agreement. Vietnam's largest export is crude oil and due to the high oil price recorded growth of 8.4% last year. This made it, along with Venezuela, one of the world's fastest growing economies.

Chávez made the point that while Vietnam exports crude oil (eighteen million tons/year) it imports refined products like gasoline. He said that they were losing two billion dollars a year and recommended they build a refinery in Vietnam. It is hoped the cooperation agreement would facilitate this development.

Chávez also said that he wanted Vietnam's help in creating a multi-polar world.

For the first time on the tour, however, he was met with silence on this topic. Vietnam's President Triet has been trying to build a strong relationship with the US. The US is now Vietnam's number one trading partner.