Following an ongoing 14-month labor conflict between Venezuela's largest steel producer Sidor and its union workers, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced on Wednesday his plans to nationalize the company.
Venezuela's vice president, Ramon Carrizalez, said at a press conference on Wednesday, "After a long process of fruitless negotiations for a solution to the conflict between Sidor and its workers, President Chavez made the decision in the early morning to assume state control of Sidor."
Sidor is currently 60 percent-owned by Luxembourg-based, Argentinian-controlled steel company Ternium, 20 percent-owned by the Venezuelan government, and 20 percent-owned by its workers. Vice President Carrizalez assured the public that the decision would not affect Venezuela's friendly relations with Argentina, though Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, a close ally of President Chavez, had yet to issue a statement about the takeover as of Thursday.