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To: vireya who wrote (79199)	1/31/2007 2:45:48 PM
From: Paul Kern	Respond to of 206085

=DJ Venezuela Congress Downsizes, Hands Power To Pres Chavez 01/31/2007 Dow Jones News Services (Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) By Peter Millard Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela's Congress downsized its authority on Wednesday, giving President Hugo Chavez wide-reaching powers to legislate by decree for the next 18 months on issues ranging from natural resources and defense to education. Critics said Chavez has eliminated political debate, even from his own party, as he moves the country toward a socialist state with power centralized in the presidency. Congress is completely loyal to Chavez after opposition parties boycotted the most recent parliamentary elections in 2005, but pro-Chavez lawmakers will no longer have a formal role in drafting upcoming laws. Lawmakers painted the move as a victory for ordinary citizens; they approved the law out loud as it was read article by article in a downtown Caracas plaza, saying the "public" is handing authority over to Chavez. "This is a dictatorship of democracy," said Vice President Jorge Rodriguez, speaking out against the government's critics, who say Chavez is creating a totalitarian state. Observers see Chavez erasing political debate to accelerate political change. The so-called enabling law gives Chavez fast-track authority to pass legislation, reducing the National Assembly to approving less-important legal regulations and investigating government irregularities. "Now Congress will travel, and dedicate themselves to party politics," said Miguel Octavio, an analyst at local brokerage BBO Servicio Financieros. "I think Chavez is doing this to stick things in the laws that could have a negative reaction, even from his own camp," said Octavio. That has happened before, back in 2001, when Chavez used an enabling law to pass 46 pieces of legislation in a process marred by delays. Chavez's ministers finished drafting the laws a few days before the fast-track authorities expired. The laws, which put private property rights in question, caused many moderate Chavistas - as the president's supporters are known - to defect and mobilized the opposition. Labor, business and opposition oil workers joined forces to shut the country for two months in a general strike that ultimately failed to remove Chavez from office. This time, Chavez has said he will decree nationalizations of the country's largest telephone company, Cantv (VNT), and the electric power industry, as well as new taxes for the rich and increased state ownership of the oil and gas sector. Until now, Chavez has said he will let foreign oil majors like ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) keep minority stakes in multibillion-dollar oil projects. But after three years of surprise tax hikes and increased state intervention, foreign oil executives are bracing for even more radical policy moves. "We don't know what will happen. That's what people are afraid of," said one Caracas-based oil industry consultant. A final draft of the law shows Chavez will also be allowed to dictate unspecified measures to ensure "the equal distribution of wealth" as part of a new "social and economic model." Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, routinely criticizes U.S.-style capitalism and claims to be at the vanguard of a new Socialist movement for the 21st century. -By Peter Millard, Dow Jones Newswires; 58 212 564 1339; peter.millard@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-31-07 1434ET