Maduro strengthens hand with rule-by-decree win
CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday won emergency power to rule by decree for the next 12 months, as his government struggles with soaring inflation and shortages of basic goods.
The one-chamber National Assembly gave the elected socialist Maduro, 50, wide-ranging special powers he says he will use to target corruption, but which his opponents argue is a last-ditch attempt to repair economic damage caused by the government's policies.
Maduro maintains that the opposition, whom he only narrowly beat in polls following the death of longtime leader Hugo Chavez earlier this year, are waging "economic warfare" against the country.
Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, has said he will use the year-long expanded powers to impose caps on private sector profits and crack down on speculators.
The vote is the latest move by the Venezuelan leader, a protege of Chavez, to strengthen his hand as he faces an important political test in municipal elections in this oil-rich, OPEC member nation next month.
Over the weekend, Maduro used his existing authority to make retail stores slash prices of goods, sending troops to keep order among the unruly crowds that quickly formed.
The deep discounts of as much as 60 percent -- which Maduro has said would be extended to toys, cars and clothing -- came as workers cash their year end pay bonuses, allowing them to make purchases that otherwise might have been out of reach.
Venezuela has been battered by a 54 percent rate of inflation, a shortage of hard currency, and widespread shortages.
Critics however blame Venezuela's woes on the government-imposed fixed exchange rate and price controls, saying they have led to a lack of basic goods such as toilet paper, rice and meat.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who refused to concede defeat to Maduro in April's tight presidential election, has called the assembly's move a "fraud against Venezuelans."
Capriles called Maduro "a failed Cuban-style puppet, who aims to impose upon us an economic model that does not work."
Isolated Communist-ruled Cuba is Venezuela's main ally in the region, and provides political and military advisers to Caracas.
Earlier, Venezuela asked Twitter to block the accounts of users who are posting the unofficial dollar exchange rate -- illegal in a country that has had strict currency controls since 2003.
The state telecom regulator Conatel sent an "urgent" letter to Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California, asking them to "block the accounts and users of its web site which illegally listed currency in Venezuela," the agency explained on its web site.
According to Venezuelan law, it is illegal to publish the black market exchange rate, which is eight times higher than the official rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar. The government argues doing so encourages speculation and accelerates inflation.
The agency wrote that publishing the black market rate for dollars on Twitter is "highly burdensome for the Venezuelan economy and potentially harmful for the Internet service providers that do not block the content."
The US company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conatel's request seeks to block the 50 websites closed November 9 by the government from taking to Twitter to circumvent the official ruling.
The sites, although illegal, had existed for several years and published the unofficial exchange rate -- and if they were shut down, they would quickly reappear under different names.
The only official way to obtain dollars in Venezuela is through the so-called currency management agency (Cadivi), which sells them at the set rate of 6.3 bolivars, or through auctions organized by the central bank, in which dollars can go for 10 to 12 bolivars for a dollar.
