Venezuela's Maduro to seek decree powers in graft fight

[Zorro]

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday he will ask for decree powers last used by his predecessor Hugo Chavez to ramp up a fight against corruption that has begun to cost him politically with supporters.

Maduro, who served as Chavez's foreign minister and vice president, narrowly won an election four months ago after his socialist mentor died of cancer.

He has struggled with slowing economic growth and rising inflation while also trying to impose control on the diverse coalition he inherited from Chavez. It ranges from military officers to businessmen, leftist ideologues and armed militants.

A new anti-corruption drive that Maduro launched with great fanfare has led to the arrest of some relatively senior officials from state-run businesses and institutions.

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-maduro-seek-decree-powers-graft-fight-033211838.html

That didn't take long.

[mwrguy]

1. He needs to be able to safeguard the revolution

Same as Chavez.

[Socialistlemur]

3. Safeguard which revolution?

The concept you bring up seems to be part of a very interesting atempt by communists to enshrine the Chavez/Post Chavez regime in a cocoon, as if it were something special. As far as the Venezuelan Constitution is concerned, there is no revolution. There is a president, a National Assembly, a Supreme Court and the suposedly independent Electoral Comission.

Maybe you mean he needs to preserve PSUV rule, and use the term revolution as a symbol for this rotten party. The PSUv is well known in Venezuela to be extremely corrupt. It's ranks were swelled by opportunists, boligarchs, thieves, drug runners, kidnappers and murderers (of which Venezuela has plenty since crime has quadrupled since Chavez took over).

The rotten state of affairs could be covered up when Chavez was president using cash from petrodollars and borrowing. But with Chavez dead and Maduro showing he can't even speak properly in public corruption and crime can no longer be dismissed as "inventions of the fascist media".

I've pointed out in the past that corruption within the government was pervasive and it was killing the country's economy. When I did so there seemed to be an automatic defense mechanism, and I would either be ignored or criticized as a "right winger", "fascist", and similar niceties. But the truth is the truth, and if you have a shred of honesty you will face it. Chavez ran a rotten shop, Maduro has to clean it up or he won't survive. And no it won't be me or the CIA doing him in. Corruption and crime can be accepted by the people to some extent but with 40 % inflation, food scarcity and a very clear lack of brains at the top the people will take care of Maduro eventually. Either they will recall him in a few years, or chavista forces within the party will either kill him or force him to resign. So...what we see is Maduro trying desperately to cut off corruption. But corruption is an integral part of the party, the PSUV. So what "revolution" is this you want to preserve? The corrupt cadres within the PSUV? Is that what you want to stay on top? Or do you mean you want Maduro and his Cuban backers to carve the PSUV up and put half the officials in jail?

So you see, there's no "Revolution". What Chavez left behind was rotten to the core. If anything, what Venezuela needs is a revolution indeed: to wipe out the PSUV and start from scratch. And this, unfortunately, is now impossible. They are too entrenched and have too much power. And to make matters even worse, Maduro is advised and possibly bossed around by Cubans. And these Cubans have been taught to govern using repression, and a really obsolete economic system which they are trying to change on the fly. So what needs to be preserved? Maduro so he can repress the people, which is starting to really dislike him because they see the inflation and lousy economy a result of his rule? Or the PSUV corruption machine, led by Diosdado Cabello?

[joshcryer]

2. He can't get them without 2/3rds majority, legally.

But the TSJ has already decided that isn't necessary with the ouster of Mardo. So you can expect illigimate decree powers to be passed for the illegitimate president.

[Zorro]

4. There may be more going on here

Could be part of a plan to get rid of Diosdado Cabello.

[Socialistlemur]

5. Maybe it's associated with the Edmee Betancourt firing

The lady was fired from her post as president of the Central Bank. So she lasted 4 months. I read a report which stated the firing was related to her refusal to print money to cover a huge robbery at a state gold enterprise. But it was also rumored she was associated with large scale problems at BANDES. There is also a small matter : a chunk of the gold reserves is missing.

The government seems to be behaving in a very erratic fashion and without saying so openly seem to be headed towards a draconian shut down of imports because they lack the cash to pay. But if they do try this idea of ruling by decree it will be a coup de etat. It will be an admission of failure, of the entrenched nature of corruption, and of the governments utter lack of ideas.