Venezuela polarized over Chavez's land policy

[bemildred]

Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela—

When Elbert Santiago, a poor messenger service employee and father of three, heard about a chance to trade up from his "hole" of a slum apartment to a place a short stroll from the presidential palace, he didn't think twice.

After all, the price was the same for both places: practically nothing.

Santiago is a squatter, one of the army of poor who with the encouragement of leftist President Hugo Chavez have taken over an estimated 155 office, apartment and government buildings here in the Venezuelan capital.

Sure, he shares the place with 27 other families, and the seven-story office building is a shambles. At street level, the windows have been boarded up and graffitied over; inside, a dingy, narrow corridor leads to elevators that no longer work. But it's home.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-venezuela-squatters-20110408,0,4627865.story?track=rss