Cemex open to discuss nationalization with Chávez

The cement maker does not rule out to talk with the Venezuelan government outside the arbitration system

Economy
Mexico's Cemex is open to come to terms concerning the expropriation of its manufacturing plants by the Venezuelan government outside the arbitration process commenced in international courts.

"We began a process of arbitration in an international court. However, we keep our stance before the (Venezuelan) government to negotiate outside the process of arbitration," said Héctor Medina, the executive vice president, Finance, of the Mexican company at a press conference held in Monterrey (northern Mexico).

In December 2008, Cemex applied for arbitration at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an institution of the World Bank. The dispute can last several years.

Cemex demands payment of about USD 1.3 billion for its assets expropriated by President Hugo Chávez's government.

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IISS: The FARC financed Chávez before 1999

10:07 AM. DIPLOMACY. Admired by the Colombian guerrilla after his coup attempt in 1992, the then lieutenant colonel Hugo Chávez Frías received financial support by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) for his projects after his capture that year. This mostly explains the relationship and "debt" between the parties, as revealed by a paper of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of the United Kingdom.