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Workers are holding overnight vigils this week at a Pepsi-Cola warehouse in central Venezuela in an attempt to block President Hugo Chavez's plans to seize the site, the latest in a series of nationalizations that have divided the nation.
The site of warehouse, along with other buildings in the city of Barquisimeto's industrial zone, has been targeted for new housing development by Chavez. The facility is owned by Polar, a food services conglomerate with which Chavez has often been at odds.
The nationalization of the site, which was formally decreed by Chavez this month, prompted Lara state Gov. Henri Falcon to resign from the president's party. In a recent interview with The Times, Falcon, who previously was mayor of Barquisimeto, said Chavez's autocratic ways prompted his decision to jump to the splinter socialist Party for Everyone.
About 800 workers in the industrial park, including 450 with Pepsi, are in danger of losing their jobs.
Chavez has promised to pay companies for seized properties, but many are still waiting for compensation, including many of the 60 oil field service companies whose assets were seized in May 2009.
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