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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Venezuelans protest Chavez's new socialist push |
| 2008-08-07 |
| CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Riot police used tear gas Wednesday to block hundreds of Venezuelans protesting the latest moves by President Hugo Chavez to concentrate his power. The demonstrators said a blacklist of opposition candidates and a series of socialist decrees are destroying what's left of their democracy. Though the protest of about 1,000 people chanting "freedom!" was small compared to past marches, there is a growing public outcry over the sidelining of key government opponents ahead of state and local elections in November. Chavez opponents also are outraged by 26 laws the president just decreed, some of them mirroring the socialist measures voters rejected in a December referendum. "We said in the referendum that we didn't want that, and now he's put it in the decrees," said protester Josefina Bravo, a 59-year-old who wore a sticker reading "No means no" on her baseball cap. "That's the problem we have: All the powers are concentrated in the president." Chavez issued the decrees just before the expiration of special legislative powers that allowed him to make laws without National Assembly approval for the past 18 months. For a time after the defeat of his constitutional referendum in December that would have imposed radical economic changes and let him run for re-election indefinitely, Chavez seemed to be taking a more pragmatic, less confrontational approach to his socialist project. Now the leftist leader is pushing hard again to remake Venezuelan society. One decree establishes a civilian militia that critics warn could emulate the citizen groups that control many aspects of community life in Cuba. Another gives Chavez the ability to designate regional authorities who critics say could undermine the power of locally elected officials. Other decrees empower Chavez to expropriate goods from private businesses and increase state control over food, punishing business owners who fail to comply with price controls with fines, closure and even 10-year prison terms. The decrees came down just as the Supreme Court, whose justices were appointed by the Chavista-dominated National Assembly, on Tuesday upheld a decision by Venezuela's top anti-corruption official to bar 272 mostly opposition-aligned candidates from running. The blacklist was drawn up by another Chavez ally, Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russian. None of the candidates on the list have been convicted of corruption or other crimes. Opponents note that some pro-Chavez politicians who have been publicly accused of corruption aren't on the list. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 Socialism does not, has never and will not ever work. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-08-07 13:04 |
| #7 Big Jim, the people defeated Hugo at the polls, but the count went to Hugo. I'm not sure how, ask Jimmah Carter. Bush should'a dropped a dime on Hugo after that. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-08-07 12:12 |
| #6 If Obama's elected here should I hope you got what you wanted? |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-07 10:38 |
| #5 He's an elected president. I hope they got what they wanted. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-08-07 10:35 |
| #4 Well at least some of the peopel there are wakign up to Hugo trying to make Venezuela into Zimbabwe. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-07 10:24 |
| #3 Will I be called a Cassandra for predicting food shortages? No, but don't be surprised if you hear econometrician. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-07 07:22 |
| #2 > punishing business owners who fail to comply with price controls with fines, closure and even 10-year prison terms. So the way to avoid jail, is to stop selling at a loss? i.e. stop selling. Will I be called a Cassandra for predicting food shortages? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-08-07 06:49 |
| #1 This reminds me - how come Obama isn't planning any visits to Venezuela during his campaign? And if he did visit would he have any protestors? |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-08-07 03:29 |