UPDATE 6-Venezuela assembly gives Chavez decree powers

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Reuters:

* Socialist president given powers for 18 months

* Chavez had asked for one year

* Move is part of a raft of legislation

* Parliament also passed tough new banking rules (Adds details, background)

By Frank Jack Daniel

CARACAS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Venezuela's parliament gave President Hugo Chavez decree powers for 18 months on Friday, outraging opposition parties that accused him of turning South America's biggest oil producer into a dictatorship.

The move consolidated the firebrand socialist leader's hold on power after nearly 12 years in office, and raised the prospect of a fresh wave of nationalizations as the former paratrooper seeks to entrench his self-styled "revolution."

Chavez had asked for the fast-track powers for one year, saying he needed them to deal with a national emergency caused by floods that drove nearly 140,000 people from their homes.

But the Assembly, which is dominated by loyalists from his Socialist Party, decided to extend them for a year and a half.

That means the president can rule by decree until mid-2012, and can keep opposition parties out of the legislative process until his re-election campaign is well under way for Venezuela's next presidential vote in December of that year.
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Obama wishes he could do this but he doesn't have the votes...