Venezuela Laws

The pro-government Congress on Tuesday granted President Hugo Chavez special fast-track powers to decree a wide range of laws without parliamentary debate, as the fractured opposition complained that the bill hands too much power to the president. The so-called enabling law allows Chavez one year to decree 37 laws on topics ranging from public finance to land reform. Chavez's leftist coalition controls 60% of Congress.

Bowing to popular pressure, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would rescind a new intelligence law that critics said would have forced citizens to spy on one another and would have moved the country toward a police state. During his Sunday talk show "Alo Presidente," Chavez said he had had second thoughts about the National Intelligence and Counterintelligence Law that he decreed May 28, a law that has been under attack from the nation's human rights and legal experts as unconstitutional.

Thousands of Venezuelan businesses closed Monday and millions of people stayed home from work in a nationwide strike against new laws that critics say stifle investment. President Hugo Chavez responded by calling out troops and police to patrol the tense streets, and he accused "corrupt economic elites" of conspiring against his government. He blamed the media for promoting the strike and threatened to decree legislation regulating the content of news reporting.

Thousands of Venezuelan businesses closed Monday and millions of people stayed home from work in a nationwide strike against new laws that critics say stifle investment. President Hugo Chavez responded by calling out troops and police to patrol the tense streets, and he accused "corrupt economic elites" of conspiring against his government. He blamed the media for promoting the strike and threatened to decree legislation regulating the content of news reporting.

Bowing to popular pressure, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would rescind a new intelligence law that critics said would have forced citizens to spy on one another and would have moved the country toward a police state. During his Sunday talk show "Alo Presidente," Chavez said he had had second thoughts about the National Intelligence and Counterintelligence Law that he decreed May 28, a law that has been under attack from the nation's human rights and legal experts as unconstitutional.

This country's government and the opposition reached a preliminary agreement Friday preparing the way for a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule. The still-unsigned deal -- announced exactly a year after dissident generals ejected Chavez from power in a coup, only for loyalists to reinstall him two days later -- is the most significant achievement to emerge from five months of negotiations mediated by the Organization of American States.

The pro-government Congress on Tuesday granted President Hugo Chavez special fast-track powers to decree a wide range of laws without parliamentary debate, as the fractured opposition complained that the bill hands too much power to the president. The so-called enabling law allows Chavez one year to decree 37 laws on topics ranging from public finance to land reform. Chavez's leftist coalition controls 60% of Congress.