This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6315819.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Chavez to be granted new powers | Chavez to be granted new powers |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to be granted special powers to make sweeping changes to the country's national life. | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to be granted special powers to make sweeping changes to the country's national life. |
| Members of the National Assembly are due to finalise a law allowing Mr Chavez to rule by decree over the energy sector and 10 other broad areas. | Members of the National Assembly are due to finalise a law allowing Mr Chavez to rule by decree over the energy sector and 10 other broad areas. |
| Mr Chavez has said he wants to speed up his "maximum revolution" but critics say it will be an abuse of power. | Mr Chavez has said he wants to speed up his "maximum revolution" but critics say it will be an abuse of power. |
| The US has accused him of threatening democracies in Latin America. | The US has accused him of threatening democracies in Latin America. |
| The National Assembly is due to pass the enabling law later Wednesday in a special session held outdoors in central Caracas. | The National Assembly is due to pass the enabling law later Wednesday in a special session held outdoors in central Caracas. |
| The law will allow Mr Chavez to rule by presidential decree over 11 broad areas from energy to the economy to defence for the next 18 months. | The law will allow Mr Chavez to rule by presidential decree over 11 broad areas from energy to the economy to defence for the next 18 months. |
| Commanding position | Commanding position |
| It is expected that President Chavez will, in effect, nationalise the oil and gas industries, taking a majority share in their ownership. | It is expected that President Chavez will, in effect, nationalise the oil and gas industries, taking a majority share in their ownership. |
| That would involve companies like Exxon, BP and Chevron. | That would involve companies like Exxon, BP and Chevron. |
| It is not certain what, if any, form of compensation those companies might receive. | It is not certain what, if any, form of compensation those companies might receive. |
| Mr Chavez has popular support after his re-election victory last year, the assembly is on his side after the opposition boycotted parliamentary elections in 2005, and Venezuela is reaping huge revenues from high oil prices. | |
| The BBC's Duncan Kennedy says this puts him in a commanding position to enact his ambitious programme. | The BBC's Duncan Kennedy says this puts him in a commanding position to enact his ambitious programme. |
| He wants to scrap presidential term limits and rewrite the constitution to build what he calls "socialism for the 21st Century". Officials say he has no intention of turning Venezuela into a communist state, arguing that freedom of speech and religion will all be safe. | |
| But the US has again been critical of his leadership. | But the US has again been critical of his leadership. |
| John Negroponte told a hearing to confirm his position as the new deputy secretary of state that Mr Chavez has not been a "constructive force in the hemisphere". | John Negroponte told a hearing to confirm his position as the new deputy secretary of state that Mr Chavez has not been a "constructive force in the hemisphere". |
| "He has been trying to export his kind of radical populism and I think that his behaviour is threatening to democracies in the region," Mr Negroponte said. | "He has been trying to export his kind of radical populism and I think that his behaviour is threatening to democracies in the region," Mr Negroponte said. |