[Venezuelanalysis.com editor Gregory Wilpert reports on yesterday's passing by Venezuela’s National Assembly of a so-called “enabling law” which will allow President Chavez to
pass laws by decree in eleven different areas for a period of 18
months. Chavez had asked for the enabling law earlier this month,
saying it is needed to accelerate the process of transforming
Venezuela’s state and economy into “21st century socialism.”This is the third time Chavez has received such authorization during
his presidency and Chavez is the fifth Venezuelan president to take
advantage of this power, which both the 1961 and the 1999 constitutions
permit. --Ed]
Noehli Pocaterra,
National Assembly Deputy representing the country's indigenous
population expressed her support for the enabling law.
Credit: Gregory Wilpert
Venezuelan Legislature Allows President to Pass Laws by Decree for 18 Months
By Gregory Wilpert – Venezuelanalysis.com
January 31, 2007
Caracas, January 31, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Venezuela’s National Assembly passed a so-called “enabling law” today, which will allow President Chavez to pass laws by decree in eleven different areas for a period of 18 months. Chavez had asked for the enabling law earlier this month, saying it is needed to accelerate the process of transforming Venezuela’s state and economy into “21st century socialism.”
This is the third time Chavez has received such authorization during his presidency and Chavez is the fifth Venezuelan president to take advantage of this power, which both the 1961 and the 1999 constitutions permit.
The enabling law, which Chavez has called the “mother law” for the laws that are to help bring about 21st century socialism, was passed in an outdoor meeting of the National Assembly today. In the course of the meeting, to which the public had open access, various representatives of the pro-Chavez coalition explained why they supported the law.
Most legislators talked about how they trusted Chavez to pass laws that would increase democracy in Venezuela and the need to act rapidly because this is what the Venezuelan people are expecting.
The second Vice-President of the national assembly, Roberto Hernandez, said, “We are living in a revolutionary time and a revolution is characterized by having as its fundamental objective social justice and social justice, for revolutionaries, cannot wait… We are promising justice for today and not for the future.”
Hernandez added, “We in the National Assembly do not vacillate in giving the president the enabling law to legislate… The laws that Hugo Chavez will decree are laws destined to satisfy the immense majority [of Venezuelans.”
Venezuela’s Vice-President, Jorge Rodriguez, also attended the session, in representation of the President, who had first proposed the enabling law three weeks ago. Rodriguez belittled the opposition’s notion that the enabling law would provide Chavez with dictatorial or totalitarian powers.
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