The Venezuelan parliament has granted President Hugo Chavez special powers in order to deal with an emergency caused by heavy rainfall recently, Chavez announced overnight to Saturday, DPA reported.
Chavez can now pass laws by decree for a period of 18 months, without parliamentary approval.
The president had argued that he needed the powers to deal with the more than 120,000 people who were made homeless during the rains.
The opposition called the "Enabling Law" (Ley Habilitante) reminiscent of Cuba.
They accused Chavez of trying to force his "21st century socialism" on the country and weaken the incoming parliament, due to take office in January, in which the opposition is set to have an increased number of seats following September elections.
The opposition fears Chavez is setting himself up for presidential elections in 2012.
This is the fourth time Chavez has requested special powers since he came to power in 1999. His past requests were all granted.
The special powers will allow Chavez to issue decrees on finance, economy and security policy.
He said that he had already drafted the first 20 laws. A tax increase is seen as almost certain, with the money due to fund housing.
The president had requested the powers be granted for one year but the head of the National Assembly, Cilia Flores, proposed extending the period by another six months.
The parliament due to sit on January 5 is set to break the five- year dominance of Chavez' United Socialist Party (PSUV) with 65 of the 165 seats held by the opposition.
The United States strongly condemned parliament's move.
"He [Chavez] seems to be finding new and creative ways to justify autocratic powers," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
"What he is doing here, we believe, is subverting the will of the Venezuelan people," he added. "As the Inter-American Democratic Charter underscores, the separation of powers and the independence of the branches of government are an essential element of the representative democracy."
...