"it would seem better to allow Minamb to write the social and environmental deal they want "

I doubt that they are capable of doing that. It's not that some of the individuals working within MinAmb are not dedicated and capable, but as an organisation, like most government organisations and especially those in Venezuela they are completely disfunctional.....

I get to smile every time I hear that Hugo is going to nationalize Las Cristinas and Brisas and then build complete mines from scratch. It's not just the money; in ten years they would still be squabbling about what color to paint the buildings even though they wouldn't have constructed a single one!

Does anyone know of a single instance where Hugo has taken over majority control of any enterprise and it is now operating more efficiently and has improved production since the takeover?

And that's with operating businesses!