A tax on unused land holdings. A program for distribution of government and expropriated (with compensation) unused private lands. Venezuelan citizens between the age of 18 and 25 or who head a family may petition to benefit from the Plan's land redistribution programs. The Plan's participants are first granted a piece of land to homestead and cultivate; if they cultivate it continuously for three years, they are then given official title to the land. This government-recognized title may then be inherited by the participants' relations, but its sale is legally proscribed. Implementation Three institutions were created to carry out the land distribution program: the Instituto Nacional de Tierras ("National Land Institute"), which oversees land tenancy; the Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo Rural ("National Rural Development Institute"), which oversees aid to farmers, including technical expertise and equipment, and the Corporación de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agrícolas ("Agricultural Corporation of Supplies and Services"), to help with marketing. By the end of 2003, 60,000 families had received temporary title to a total of 55,000 km2 of land under this plan. Controversy The taking of private land proved controversial among Venezuelan land owners since the introduction of The Land Law of 2001, with one Chávez ally, former governor of Cojedes state Jhonny Yanez Rangel stating during a speech that "private property … is a right, but not absolute", while also placing emphasis on the importance of "the collective interest". The military was often involved in land takeovers, with some allegations of the Bolivarian National Guard violently taking land from families. In 2010, Venezuela tied with Chad and Zimbabwe for 2nd worst property rights in the world according to the International Property Rights Index from Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative U.S. advocacy group. By 2014, the International Property Rights Index rated Venezuela as having the worst property rights in the world. See also Urban Land Committees References External links (es) Mission zamora venezuela on official governement web site New Left Review: "Collision in Venezuela" Narco News: "Land Reform in Venezuela" "Agrarian Reform in Venezeuela" Bolivarian missions Land management Land reform 2001 establishments in Venezuela