Chavez Demands Apology

And he's threatening to privatize nationalize Spanish interests in Venezuela unless he gets it. Chavez is angry because King Juan Carlos told him to shut up when he was interrupting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and calling him a fascist.

Chavez, who railed against imperialism and capitalism, named banks Santander and BBVA as possible targets, saying the OPEC nation did not need Spanish business.

"The king lost it," Chavez said at a late-night political rally. "He should say, '... I, the king, confess, I was beside myself, I made a mistake.'"

[...]

"Whatever has been privatized can be taken back, we can take it back," Chavez said earlier at a news conference. "If the government of Spain or the state of Spain ... start to generate a conflict, things are not going to go well."

Of course I'm opposed to Chavez's fondness for nationalizing industries, and I applaud the King's in-your-face moment. On the other hand, how smart is it to invest in Venezuela? It's not like Chavez is coming out of nowhere. Spain is now trying to smooth this over (read: placate) through "diplomatic channels."

UPDATE: Switched "privatize" above to "nationalize." 'Cause I was dumb.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:42 PM

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