Bolivia Seizes Gas/Oil Industry

[katty]

more: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=94009

Bolivia seizes gas industry

La Paz (dpa) - Bolivian President Evo Morales Monday signed a decree to immediately nationalize the country's gas and oil industry, and ordered the military to occupy energy facilities.

Morales, 46, who was elected president in December on his pledge to nationalise the industry and make coca crops legal, made the announcement during a May 1 speech in the energy management centre of San Alberto, in the southern province of Tarija.

Wearing a hard hat typical of oil workers, Morales said international companies would be given 180 days to negotiate new contracts. Most of the country's natural gas deals were sealed in 1996, when Bolivia conceded 40 years of rights to Repsol of Spain, Petrobras of Brazil, Total of France and British Gas.

"This is a historic day, when Bolivia retakes the absolute control of our natural resources," Morales said. "The state is recovering the property, the possession of and the total and absolute control of these resources."

[rodeodance]

1. He is telling oil companies to sell to Bolivia or get out of country. whow

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. It's sad. But if oil companies are going to insist that the end is near,

countries of good conscience have no choice but to make this decision to protect the resource for everyone.

[bluestateguy]

2. Idea for how to get national health care?

Just have the military seize all of the health insurance companies in the middle of the night. Just an idea.

[redqueen]

4. Let's hope this trend continues.

I'm tired of the rich profiting at the expense of everyone else.

I'm sorry most of the middle class and much of the poor don't get it yet, but we can't afford to wait for them to catch up.