Chavez ramps up his control, seizes rice processing plants.

I remember whan Chavez was first elected. Oh, how people wooned over him. Look at how progressive and fair he is! Look at how much he is helping the poor! What a savior he is! Except each and every day he is further showing that he is nothing more than a power-hungry despot.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered troops to immediately take over rice-processing plants in his country, accusing some businesses of ignoring prices set by the government.

"What are some of the sectors of the agricultural industry doing? They buy rice from producers, and they don't want to produce regulated rice," Chavez said in a televised address Saturday.

"Well, I've ordered the intervention, starting right now, of all those sectors of the agricultural industry."

Chavez did not say how long the takeover will last, but warned that some companies could be nationalized if they tried to interrupt supplies.

U.S.-owned Cargill, with 2,000 employees spread among 22 locations in Venezuela, is among the major rice processors in the country.
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Since winning re-election in 2006, Chavez launched a campaign to nationalize strategic segments of Venezuela's economy, including cement companies, a steel mill and oil ventures.

Last month, Venezuelans approved a Chavez-backed constitutional referendum that allows him to run for a third six-year term in 2012.
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Some might say, "surely, this isn't a bad thing. He is trying to regulate rice costs for his people." That's not the real issue. What he is doing is seizing the rice processing plants in a power-grab. By controlling the rice plants, he can subsidize the poor with rice, all but cinching his re-election. The poor will be happy because, hell, at least they have food. Meanwhile, Chavez will simply gain more power until the entire country is within his grasp. It's an obvious move towards dictatorship.

I remember when he first got elected and began outlining and enacting his policies, I said that he would try to negate election term limits. I was right. He has said if the people vote him out, then he will leave. What makes you think that he will fairly count those votes? What makes you think that it will even be a fair election? Instead, Chavez will continue to drive towards being a dictator while posing under the guise as being democratically elected.