The populist and leftist leaders in the past decade seem to lean towards Marxism and Socialism, and those political ideologies are tending to make everything nationalized, from natural resources, to institutions, land planning, facilities.
Since the populists and leftists have openly been saying that they want to make the societies more socialist and that it is the right way, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they are trying to implement that by nationalizing the resources of the country, as they are the basis for the economy.