#15 On a different article on Fox News, Chavez declares he wants to be kind of an Evangelical Pope. For some reason I can't post it as a separate article to Rantburg, so here goes:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238015,00.html
Try to imagine Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, dressed up as a bishop — the head bishop — of his own state-sponsored church.
According to media reports coming out of Latin America, President Chavez is considering a proposal that would establish him as the high priest of his own form of evangelical Christianity, convert his cabinet members into bishops of a lower rank, and submit church activities to the civil and military power of his government.
It is still unclear who is behind the proposal. Publicly, it has taken the form of a petition by leaders of “Centro Cristiano de Salvación” (Christian Center of Salvation). The association claims to represent 17,000 evangelical churches and 5,000,000 Venezuelans. Their request is simple: make their denomination the country’s official religion, teach it in all public schools and pay the pastors from government coffers. In turn, they will make Chavez their head bishop and promise to submit absolutely to his authority...
(article continues) |
President Hugo Chavez announced plans Monday to nationalize Venezuela's electrical and telecommunications companies and amend the constitution, transforming his country into a socialist state. "All of that which was privatized, let it be nationalized," Chavez said in a televised speech, referring to "all of those sectors in an area so important and strategic for all of us as is electricity." "The nation should recover its ownership of strategic sectors," he added after swearing in a new Cabinet. Chavez also said he wanted a constitutional amendment to eliminate the autonomy of the Central Bank. "We're moving toward a socialist republic of Venezuela, and that requires a deep 