VENEZUELA: President Chavez set to receive decree powers in Venezuela.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is set to receive decree powers in an open-air voting session in Caracas on Wednesday (January 31). Venezuela's Congress delayed by a day on Tuesday (January 30) its vote to give President Hugo Chavez decree powers enabling him to nationalize oil and utility assets and press his drive to turn Venezuela into a socialist state. Congress, which has no opposition lawmakers due to a boycott of elections in 2005, had been set to approve the measure on Tuesday but postponed action until Wednesday (January 31) to hold an unusual open-air voting session in Caracas's central square -- increasing public exposure. "The Communist Party totally supports the idea of holding an open-air voting session in Caracas's central square with the Venezuelan people, the Legislative Assembly and the government together will continue to strengthen the revolution," said a Communist Party spokesperson, Edgar de Jesus Lucena. If passed as expected, the vote will empower Chavez for 18 months to issue decrees expected to overhaul the OPEC nation's economic landscape by imposing state controls over such sectors as energy, mining and banking. Condemned by the opposition as an abuse of power by a dictator-in-the making, the powers would consolidate the anti-U.S. leader's control over Venezuela after he won a landslide re-election last month. President of Venezuelan Congress, Silia Flores, announced the approval of the decision by an overwhelming majority. "A special open-air voting session in Caracas's central square will take place tomorrow. The National Assembly authorizes the President of the Republic to rule by decree. Please proceed as usual to indicate your vote. (Deputes raise their arms) Overwhelming majority," Flores said. The move is part of a strategy to centralize power around Chavez, who is closely allied with communist Cuba. He has vowed to use his mandate to strip the central bank of its autonomy, eliminate presidential term limits and form a single party from the dozens of groups supporting him. "Today we presented the special commission report and we called for an open-air voting session in Caracas's central square where together with the Venezuelan people, Congress will pass the "enabling law", tomorrow's is going to be a special event, an extraordinary session," said Congressman Carlos Escarra. "This 'Enabling Law' transforms the president of the republic of Venezuela into an emperor -- Emperor Chavez," said Teodoro Petkoff, a leader of an often-divided opposition that has failed to stop the president amassing power. Previous presidents won such powers to steer Venezuela through financial turmoil. Despite an economic boom, Chavez says he needs the approval to accelerate a "socialist revolution" he began when he first took office in 1999. Aides predict he could implement up to 60 measures through decrees. He plans to take a majority stake in multibillion-dollar oil projects run by some of the world's biggest companies and nationalize the country's flagship telecommunications and electricity companies. Chavez has also pledged to change the constitution to redraw electoral districts' in a nation of Andean mountains, Caribbean islands and Amazon jungle, and to fire provincial authorities. The opposition says these moves will emasculate regional leaders. With the president increasingly in control of institutions, there has been little debate among lawmakers about granting the powers. In 2001 he won similar temporary powers, which allowed him to issue decrees boosting state control over oil fields and increased presidential power to confiscate land deemed idle. But the approval took months of political wrangling and became a lightning rod for many Venezuelans' anger that prompted large street protests. Earlier this month, the opposition mustered barely a few hundred demonstrators to protest the planned powers. Chavez revealed few details of his plans during the election campaign. He says his plan is inspired by communists such as Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, and South America's 19th century anti-colonialist hero Simon Bolivar. Chavez calls Cuban President Fidel Castro his father and declared himself a communist when he took office this month for a new six-year term, but denies he wants to turn the nation of avid consumers into another Cuba. Wildly popular among the majority poor for spending an oil bonanza on schools and clinics in city slums and rural villages, it is unclear how much of a mandate Chavez won at the polls for his power grabs. He revealed few details of his economic plan during the election campaign. The Caracas stock exchange has lost more than a quarter of its value since Chavez announced his nationalization bombshell this month and hard-currency dollars cost twice as much as before on the black market.

ITN Source | January 31, 2007

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