Rule by decree passed for Chavez

[bigfootedfred]

Venezuela's National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting the president the power to bypass congress and rule by decree for 18 months.

President Hugo Chavez says he wants "revolutionary laws" to enact sweeping political, economic and social changes.

He has said he wants to nationalise key sectors of the economy and scrap limits on the terms a president can serve.

Mr Chavez began his third term in office last week after a landslide election victory in December.

The bill allowing him to enact laws by decree is expected to win final approval easily in the assembly on its second reading on Tuesday.

Chavez has now complete freedom to consolidate his power.
key: "He has said he wants to nationalise key sectors of the economy and scrap limits on the terms a president can serve."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6277379.stm?ls

in Video

[Caelius]

To the cynics: So now does he qualify as a dictator?

[danzig]

I like how they coin it 'revolutionary laws' ie nothing revolutionary about a two bit dictator seizing power and imposing his will on his citizens...Im sure the Chavez excuses will go "well he was democratically elected" as if that somehow makes it all ok. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck!

1) Suppression of opposition - Check
2) Seizing of all valuable assets within the country to ensure
only those loyal are involved the running of operations - Check
3) Scape goating a third party in order to justify your actions - Check

All the makings of a dictator..of course no doubt someone will begin a post somehow equating this with the US and Bush admin in some manner! Its funny too that Chavez always involves his Bolivarian Revolution despite the fact Bolívar's views run counter to Chavez.

[Erik]

1) Suppression of opposition - Check
2) Seizing of all valuable assets within the country to ensure
only those loyal are involved the running of operations - Check
3) Scape goating a third party in order to justify your actions - Check

All the makings of a dictator.

Those aren't the markings of a dictator.
The only real marking is:
>Rules by decree - Check.

"He has said he wants to nationalise key sectors of the economy and scrap limits on the terms a president can serve."

So?
Why do you need to limit the terms someone can serve in the first place?
As long as you have elections every few years I really see no problem with it.

Either Chavez is successful (unlikely) and the Venezuelans want him to stay.
Or he fails and he will be voted out at the next elections.

[Tom Paine]

Yep, all the makings of a dictator, and yep, there are parallels with Bush. Bush still answers to the democracy and still leaves power in '08 though. Chavez is a dictator, though whether he is two-bit and what he will be doing now remains to be seen.

[PacSubCom]

It says that it's not the first time this was done. He continuously needs approval of the national assembly, which is indeed, like Chavez himself, elected by the people in a by all accounts fair and equal election. So in effect, all of this is wanted by the people, including his socialist revolution. In addition, we don't know what rights exactly this enabling law provides him with. Can he abolish the constitution and human rights? Can he dissolve the parliament on a whim? May he call for martial law and start to arrest people without any constitutional checks and balances? How monolithic is the power of his party really?

Socialism does not exclude democracy, socialism is necessary for democracy, that is what history has shown. The absence of socialism, like in the west, more and more means the undermining of democratic institutions, with most power shifted to unelected entities ie corporations.

Socialism is not automatically soviet style communism, that is only the opinion of those who hate democracy and want you to hate it also.

Ergo, those who say Venezuela is on its way to dictatorship only show their hate of democracy. The reason: You don't recognize democracy when you see it, because you don't live in one.