We’re revisiting this story, first published in April, following Caracas’s recent announcement that some “non-essential” nationalized assets will be transferred to the private sector or returned to their former owners. The authorities have not specified which state assets are being offered to the private sector or returned to their owners. Notably, the term “non-essential” would rule out key industries.
Not every nationalized asset was expropriated. In many cases, owners abandoned their factories during the country’s economic crisis, leaving workers without jobs or income. The Venezuelan government stepped in to reclaim these sites and keep production going.
The Kellogg factory in Maracay, Aragua State, is a notable example. With government support, the workers took over the factory’s operations after it closed without prior notice. In 2019, the multinational company denounced they were victims of expropriation and demanded a multimillion-dollar settlement. It continues to be a factory without bosses today.
In 2018, at the height of the economic crisis in Venezuela through crippling sanctions, Kellogg’s announced the overnight closure of their Maracay factory with hundreds of redundancies – and massive knock-on effects in the local community.
The workers refused to accept the closure and, with government assistance, restarted the factory. It is still running eight years later, employing hundreds of people. Not only has it expanded production, it now uses 100% Venezuelan raw materials – not only local maize and sugar, but packaging also.
The head of the trade union council in the factory is now fulfilling the role of Managing Director.
This is how governments should deal with the whims of multinational capital, rather than allowing invaluable plants and equipment to go to scrap. If the Grangemouth refinery had been treated this way, when Ratcliffe decided he could make more profit in the Netherlands, then Scotland and the UK would not be facing potential jet fuel shortages now.
Watch the interview with Orlando Contreras, the leader of the Kellogg’s workers’ union:
Source: craigmurray.org.uk
Craig Murray is an author and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010.