By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
CARACAS, Venezuela—On Friday, Venezuelan legislators voted to allow President Hugo Chavez to rule by decree until 2012. The bill, which is called the “enabling law,” was allegedly passed in order to safeguard the country during emergencies; but in essence, the law gives Chavez the power of a dictator.
The overwhelming majority of “lame duck” legislators agreed to pass the enabling law. The National Assembly voted to give Chavez 18 months of unchallenged power. Cilia Flores, assembly boss of the United Socialist Party, said the lawmakers’ act displayed their “revolutionary commitment.” These legislators will be replaced by newly-elected ones who are critical of Chavez and his government. The new lawmakers, who will consist of about one-third of the National Assembly, take office in less than three weeks.
The law was supposedly a response to the recent torrential rain in the country that caused significant damage. President Chavez held “capitalism” responsible for the terrible weather. Now, Chavez will have supreme control over Venezuela for the next year and a half, including taxes, the armed forces, land-use, and banking.
Chavez taunted opposition members after the bill passed, saying, “You won’t be able to make even a single law, little Yankees. We’re going to see how you make laws now.” Chavez refers to his critics as Yankees to imply that they are U.S. sympathizers. The president has claimed to already have at least 20 decrees planned, including requirements for media operations and an increase in “Value-Added Tax.”
Numerous human rights groups, along with the U.S. State Department and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), have criticized the “autocratic” seizure of control by Chavez. The IACHR announced that the new law “assigns the president of the republic ample, imprecise, and ambiguous powers to dictate and reform regulatory provisions in the telecommunications and information technology sectors.”
According to Business Monitor International, the enabling law will prevent opposition members from altering “an increasingly radical policy trajectory. This not only has negative implications for democratic legitimacy, but it also increases the threat of major political upheaval in 2012.”
Chavez has given no indication that he will relinquish any of his power, and quipped that “the empire” is attempting to thwart his “Bolivarian Revolution.”
For more information, please see:
The New American-Socialist Chavez Set to Rule Venezuela By Decree-20 December 2010
Washington Post-Venezuelan legislature grants Chavez decree powers-19 December 2010
Epoch Times-Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to Rule By Decree-19 December 2010
