Dec 21, 2010 / 20:11 pm
Archbishop Roberto Luckert of Coro, Venezuela said President Hugo Chavez's new law will turn the country into a “constitutional democratic dictatorship.”
On Dec. 17, Venezuela's National Assembly approved President Chavez's request to rule by decree for 18 months. The additional power, the president argued, would help him address the damaging floods within the country.
The law comes just weeks before the new National Assembly, elected earlier this year, takes office.
During the elections on Sept. 26, Chavez’s ruling party only won 95 of the 165 seats in the Assembly, which is not enough to maintain a majority. Although three Assembly members from other parties are expected to vote with the ruling party, with just 98 votes, Chavez would still fall short of a two-thirds majority needed to get his measures passed.