CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leaders said yesterday they feared President Hugo Chavez would use decree powers he has requested to override an electoral setback that stripped him of a super-majority in parliament.
Chavez said on Friday he would seek the fast-track powers from the National Assembly for the fourth time in his controversial 11-year rule due to a flooding crisis caused by heavy rains that left more than 120,000 people homeless in the South American nation.
The move also appeared to be an attempt to strengthen his hand before a new parliament convenes on Jan. 5 with a stronger opposition presence.
Chavez did not say how long the decree powers would last, but opponents fear he will request them for a period extending well into the new parliament and to legislate in areas not limited to dealing with the flooding crisis.
“The president clearly intends to affect or weaken the power of the lawmakers who are going to enter parliament on January 5,” Juan Jose Molina, a lawmaker with opposition party Podemos, said yesterday.
An opposition coalition made big advances in a September legislative election and hopes to put a brake on Chavez’s self-styled “21st century socialism” when it takes up 40 per cent of the seats in the new National Assembly.
