Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he'll keep up his push to take land from the country's largest landowners and redistribute it to the poor.

Chavez said in his weekly television address from the La Marquesena estate in the southwestern state of Barinas that he would seek a negotiated settlement with the country's biggest landowners over property redistribution. The government said two weeks ago that it was expropriating La Marquesena, which covers 8,490 hectares (20,978 acres) from its owner, Carlos Azpurua.

``Large landholdings in Venezuela will end or I will die in the attempt,'' Chavez said. The 51-year-old president, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected under a new constitution in 2000, proposed that Azpurua keep part of the estate while turning over about half to the government for development, which would include the creation of a state company to improve animal and crop yields.

Venezuela in March seized 110,000 hectares from four farms in Cojedes state. Chavez has said that many of the country's bigger estates don't farm the land they have, and that the property should be redistributed to landless peasants. He has also claimed that many large estates don't have title to the land they hold.

``There is a constitution here, a legitimate government and a land law, and we are determined to see that the law is fulfilled,'' Chavez said.

Azpurua is willing to negotiate, said Chavez, who said he had talked to the landowner before the start of his television address. Azpurua said in an interview with Union Radio he would discuss Chavez's proposals with his partners and workers.

Chavez opponents protested in Caracas during the speech, banging on pots and pans and blocking some streets. A majority of Venezuelans continue to support private property, El Universal reported, citing a poll by Alfredo Keller y Asociados.

The percentage of Venezuelans expressing support for private property was 87 percent while those opposed was 8 percent, the poll showed, according to the newspaper. The rest were undecided or didn't answer, the newspaper said. The poll of 1,500 Venezuelans, conducted between Aug. 19 and Sept. 4, had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points, El Universal reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Wilson in Caracas at pewilson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 25, 2005 19:14 EDT