Venezuela's Chavez threatens cement maker Cemex
CARACAS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened "corrective actions" against a subsidiary of Mexican cement maker Cemex amid a wave of nationalizations as part of his self-styled socialist revolution.
Venezuela this month ordered the "forced acquisition" of the assets of a Colombian cement maker, and Chavez in April threatened to nationalize the cement sector as part of a campaign to boost the government's role in the economy.
On Sunday he ordered authorities to carry out an inspection of the property limits of a Venezuelan Cemex VCM1.CR VCM2.CR facility and evaluate its impact on the environment following a complaint that pollution from the operation was harming local residents.
"Companies ... should invest in technology to minimize and eliminate the impact on the environment and people's health," Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast. "Because if not the government will be obligated ... to take corrective actions that I cannot yet describe."
During a live television program from the eastern town of Guanta, a local resident told Chavez that Cemex has laid claim to land that local farmers believe is theirs and want to use for agriculture. The resident added that byproduct dust from the operation is causing asthma among children.
Guanta is near a Cemex plant called Pertigalete.
"We are going to do a legal study to see who is right, and at the same time take a look at the plant," he said, telling the local governor and the health and light industries ministers to review the situation and provide a report within a week.
Chavez this year nationalized the OPEC nation's largest private telecommunications and electricity companies, and took over four multi-billion dollar oil projects in an effort that pushed energy giants Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) out of the country.
Chavez in April accused cement makers of contributing to a housing crunch by not providing enough production to Venezuela's domestic market.
The legislature this month approved the government's takeover of the assets of Cementos Andinos, owned by Colombia's Argos CCB.CN.
Steelmaker Sidor (TX.N) on Thursday agreed with the Venezuelan government to offer discounts on products and to boost steel supplies to government projects, avoiding a nationalization that Chavez had threatened earlier in the year.
