Chavez, who was recently granted special powers to decree laws, also said he was ready to require that all businesses in Venezuela similarly supply domestic demand before exporting.
"I think we should work on a different model with Latin American business owners," Chavez said, calling for them to "operate differently ... at least here in Venezuela."
Earlier this week, Chavez warned he could nationalize Sidor and private banks if they failed to change what he called unscrupulous business practices that harm local industries.
Chavez's comments Saturday appeared to reinforce that he does not plan an imminent takeover but rather intends to strong-arm the private sector into coming in line with his socialist revolution.
Since initiating a nationalization drive in January, Chavez has already moved to take state control of telecommunications, electricity companies and the oil sector.
Earlier Saturday — which Chavez noted coincided with Karl Marx's birthday — the Venezuelan leader rode in a red Volkswagen bug to a poor Caracas slum where he officially registered with a movement to create a single, pro-Chavez ruling party: the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
This is highly disturbing. I hope that domestic opposition can topple this idiot Chavez before his alliance with Iran causes us serious problems that we cannot ignore.
In the long run, he'll just ruin Venezuala with his hare-brained notions of how to run a country.
But in the short run he will be our problem and Latin America's problem. We're kind of busy right now and I'd rather not have to divert power south. That might be Iran's idea in a nutshell.
