VENEZUELA: Portuguese man on hunger strike to protest expropriation of his land

Record ID: 339917

  • Title: VENEZUELA: Portuguese man on hunger strike to protest expropriation of his land
  • Date: 8th September 2010
  • Summary: ALVES LYING DOWN A LOCK AND CHAIN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LAND OWNER ON HUNGER STRIKE, FRANCISCO ALVES, SAYING: "I am in a firm position to defend my property and with this I am laying down a stone so that the constitution is respected and that private property is respected." VARIOUS OF ALVES' PROPERTY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ALVES, SAYING: "I am not going to stop protestin
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2010 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABWJPIT3K0BFGOQ59AK93BAS7Z
  • Story Text: A Portuguese business man living in Venezuela was on his fourth day of a hunger strike on Tuesday (September 7), as he protested the expropriation of part of his property by the Venezuelan government.
    Francisco Alves said he received a letter from the government stating it was "retrieving" 27,000 square meters (xxx square feet) of his 2.7 hectares (XX acres) in the central Carabobo state.
    The visibly weakened 59-year-old man chained himself to a warehouse on his property and said he would continue with the protest until the government reverses its decision to seize his land.
    "I am in a firm position to defend my property and with this I am laying down a stone so that the constitution is respected and that private property is respected," Alves said.
    A local newspaper reported that the National Land Institute, INTI, was "retrieving the land because of exceptional social interests and for public use" that included plans for railways and a train station.
    "I am not going to stop protesting. I am going to keep at it until I receive a document that reverses the measure [that allowed for my land to be taken]," added Alves.
    The Portuguese native has lived in the South American country for the past 26 years and says he has bought the property over the course of the last 21 years.
    The hunger strike comes at the heels of the death of Franklin Brito, a Venezuelan farmer who died on August 31 after a long struggle and hunger strike also protesting the government's land nationalization policies.
    The death has stirred up local politics as the opposition looks to slash leftist President Hugo Chavez's hold on power in legislative elections on September 26.
    Paramedics were on site making sure Alves remained hydrated.
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