Chavez surprised by Bolivia's nationalisation

by Natalie Obiko Pearson
Caracas, Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he had no part in Bolivia's nationalisation of its natural-gas industry and that the move took him by surprise.

Chavez said Bolivian President Evo Morales's decision on Monday to dispatch troops to gas installations following a nationalisation decree was not discussed when they met just days earlier in Cuba along with another leftist ally, Fidel Castro.

"Evo made a decision that surprised us all," Chavez said Friday in a nationally televised speech. "Some say I gave him the order along with Fidel in Havana. That's a lie. They're trying to minimise the dignity of the Bolivian president."

A report in Venezuela's El Nacional newspaper earlier this week alleged that state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, was involved in Bolivia's nationalisation.

It said that six PDVSA financial advisers went to Bolivia to help draft the terms of the nationalisation, including recommending that tax on production at the country's two largest gas fields be raised to 82 percent from 50 percent.

Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez dismissed the report on Friday, telling Union Radio that "the level of liberty of expression that exists in Venezuela allows any stupidity to be said."

He called the allegations "rude and disrespectful," noting that Morales had called for such measures during his presidential campaign last year.

Chavez hailed the nationalisation that has rattled foreign investors and other countries in the region.

"Evo decided to retake, nationalise Bolivia's hydrocarbons for the Bolivian people," he said. "That is something that should be applauded and supported."

Shortly after the nationalisation, PDVSA pledged technical assistance and investment to help Bolivia explore for and extract natural gas and oil.

Chavez's vocal support of like-minded ideological allies in the region has drawn suspicions about his intentions as he uses Venezuela's surging oil revenues to increasingly assert his influence in the region.

His signing of a favourable oil pact with dozens of leftist Nicaraguan mayors prompted Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera this week to ask Chavez to stay out of his country's political affairs.

Peru and a presidential candidate in Mexico also have recently accused Chavez of interfering in internal affairs after he openly endorsed leftist candidates in those countries.