The National Assemby from 5.1.2011 onwards
Chávez's deputies approved yesterday a new rule for the National Assembly that will turn it, as we said many months ago, into an empty eggshell.
Chávez's deputies had already approved an Enabling Law for 18 months for Chávez with the excuse of "handling the consequences of the flooding" that lead to the death of 40 people last month. Chávez had already used a similar law after the much worse flooding of 1999 and on a couple of other occassions.
The regime approved an unconstitutional law that forces deputies to vote only for what their party says. If they do not do that, they are expelled. This has no parallel in any democratic country.
And now there is the new regulation, approved yesterday: as they are giving power to the "legislative people" (i.e. the Soviets or Councils which will turn out not to be the people but the thugs threatening the people), they are taking power from the elected deputies.
Until now the Assembly was working usually twice a week. Now it will work once a week. They also reduced the time speakers can talk and they will reduce the permanent commissions (now 15).