Chavez to rule by decree

[Torpedo Fodder]

BBC

Rule by decree passed for Chavez

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.
Venezuela's political opposition has no representation in the National Assembly since it boycotted elections in 2005.

Pledge

Mr Chavez approved 49 laws by decree during the first year of his previous term, after the assembly passed a similar "Enabling Law" in November 2000.
Now the president says an Enabling Law is a key step in what he calls an accelerating march toward socialism.
He has said he wants to see major Venezuelan power and telecoms companies come under state control.
Mr Chavez also called for an end to foreign ownership of lucrative crude oil refineries in the Orinoco region.
Critics of the president accuse him of trying to build an authoritarian regime with all institutional powers consolidated into his own hands.
But, National Assembly President Cilia Flores said "there will always be opponents, and especially when they know that these laws will deepen the revolution".
Campaigning for the elections last year, Mr Chavez vowed he would strengthen his "Bolivarian revolution", named after the 19th-Century Latin American independence fighter.

So, I wonder how many peple there are left who still think this guy isn't a dictator, or worse, think he's some kind of a hero just because he hates Bush? Somehow, I bet the likes of Cindy Sheehan, Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover will still cheer him on despite this.

[Officerpuppy]

I think he did bring about some positive changes/reforms for his country, but what he's doing there is going over the line. The balance between the poor and rich in latin america is very great, there virtually is no middle class, but I don't think having almost dictatorial powers is the way to go about solving things either.

[Marcantilan]

Well, Chavez is always following Castro´s advices (and Castro is not a democrat, for sure)

Sadly, this is the beginning of the end of another fragile South American democracy...

[Yahoshua]

I believe we have just witnessed the very means by which a democratic government will be dismantled and replaced with a dictatorship, namely ours.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

i support venezuela , cuba and north korea(a little bit i dont like their nuke policy) i support socialism because capitalism is pathetic IMHO , socialism everything is paid for esp university in america u pay thousands of dollars for a few pills or a few hundred thou for a simple operation luckily i live in canada and im proud of canada that our health care system is free and 2nd best in world only being beaten by american private health care

(almost) free education
free health care
high taxes(rather have high taxes then to have low taxes and pay for every little thing)

anyone else agree here that free education and health care is THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT thing a country HAS to HAVE no matter what?

[Yahoshua]

Just wait until you have no freedoms and are unable to make enough money to feed yourself, see how proud you'll be of socialism then.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

Just wait until you have no freedoms and are unable to make enough money to feed yourself, see how proud you'll be of socialism then.

typical [snip] Yugoslavia before they broke up i lived there and everything was good there was very little crime lots of jobs and people were satisfied, health and education were as good as american health system (Not better or same obviously) then stupid NATO comes in with dumb UN and tears apart the entire country now my country is nothing but a shame with corrupt democrats and crime and drugs and poverty.

[joea]

Originally Posted by elite_hunter_sh3

i support venezuela , cuba and north korea(a little bit i dont like their nuke policy)

North Korea? Nothing in common with the other two...plus they are dirt poor and have a nutty leader. Anyway, let me remind you folks Chavez WAS elected....second I HATE this opposing of "abstract" vs. "concrete" human rights, while I agree with CCIP I don't think in the long term it is a good thing to deny freedom for the human sprit even if the body is cared for (which is a necessary factor) .

[U-533]

Originally Posted by elite_hunter_sh3

i support venezuela , cuba and north korea(a little bit i dont like their nuke policy) i support socialism because capitalism is pathetic IMHO , socialism everything is paid for esp university in america u pay thousands of dollars for a few pills or a few hundred thou for a simple operation luckily i live in canada and im proud of canada that our health care system is free and 2nd best in world only being beaten by american private health care

(almost) free education
free health care
high taxes(rather have high taxes then to have low taxes and pay for every little thing)

anyone else agree here that free education and health care is THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT thing a country HAS to HAVE no matter what?

Obviously you have never lived in a socialist country.
It is not what most people have been lead to believe.
Some one has to pay for all that free stuff.


Here, where I live, only the "MOOCHERS" want a free ride, and even when they get the free ride they do not appreciate it.



The term "MOOCHER" is used here as a person who can work but refuseto and recieves Government Money.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

Originally Posted by U-533

Obviously you have never lived in a socialist country.
It is not what most people have been lead to believe.
Some one has to pay for all that free stuff.


Here, where I live, only the "MOOCHERS" want a free ride, and even when they get the free ride they do not appreciate it.



The term "MOOCHER" is used here as a person who can work but refuseto and recieves Government Money.

obviously uve been brainwashed i have physical proof from family from random people from my country that i have asked in the 60's 70's and 80's yugoslavia was strong they had a stable economy and had a good government so dont go calling around people that believe in socialism moochers because socialists work for each other the only reason why people think socialism is bad because it was said by the americans that it was communism communism is the dictatorship form of socialism yugoslavia was democratic socialism why Josef Tito was a croatian leader he was the glue that held yugoslavia together he was so good he was elected over and over until he passed away may he rest in peace. serbs were never fond of croatian leaders but tito they admired him and respected him and would die for him if they ever had to, after he died in the late 80's everything started going downhill from there.