Chavez Says He’ll Seize Businesses That Raise Prices (Update2)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXbj7Dei7k2Y&pos=5

“The bourgeois are already talking about how all prices are going to double and they’re closing their businesses,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “People, don’t let them rob you, denounce it, and I’m capable of taking over that business.”

Chavez devalued the bolivar as much as 50 percent on Jan. 8 for the first time in almost 5 years, as last year’s decline in oil revenue caused the economy to contract an estimated 2.9 percent, its first recession since 2003. The government set a multi-tiered currency system that Chavez says will stimulate national production by making imports more expensive.