----- Original Message -----
From: Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 5:21 PM
Subject: [GATA] Venezuelan legislature votes to give Chavez dictatorial power
Venezuelan legislature votes to give Chavez dictatorial power
Submitted by cpowell on 03:21PM ET Friday, January 19, 2007. Section: Daily
Dispatches
By Natalie Obiko Pearson
Associated Press
Friday, January 19, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070119/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_chavez_2
Venezuelan lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill granting President Hugo
Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months so that he can impose sweeping
economic, social, and political change.
Emboldened by his landslide re-election last month, the leftist leader has
called for "revolutionary laws" to accelerate the country's transformation into
a full socialist state.
"This process is unstoppable," lawmaker Juan Montenegro Nunez told the National
Assembly Thursday. "This process is a historic necessity."
The vote was unanimous as the National Assembly has been entirely filled with
Chavez's allies since opposition parties boycotted 2005 elections.
Chavez began his third term last week by announcing his intent to nationalize
key sectors of the economy, rewrite the country's constitution to eliminate
presidential term limits, and strip the Central Bank of its autonomy.
He also called for an end to foreign ownership of lucrative crude oil
refineries. Venezuela is the world's fifth oil producer and the fourth supplier
to the United States, its top customer.
"What is becoming evident is that all the powers are one single power in
Venezuela -- Hugo Chavez," said opposition politician Gerardo Blyde.
Chavez has angered Washington with his relentless anti-U.S. rhetoric, his
support for Iran's nuclear ambitions and his warm relations with Cuban leader
Fidel Castro. And yet with oil profits booming and his popularity high, Chavez
seems to be in step with many Venezuelans.
At the apex of a resurgent Latin American left, he urged South American leaders
meeting in Brazil Thursday to abandon the U.S.-supported free-market policies
and privatization of state industries that formed the pillars of their main
trade bloc, Mercosur.
"We came to approve accords, create space (for the disenfranchised), projects
to strengthen the real integration of South America and contribute with
something we consider absolutely necessary: the reformulation of Mercosur,"
Chavez said.
The Venezuelan bill provides a broad "mother law" that would enable Chavez to
enact laws by decree. The measure is expected to easily win final approval on
its second reading in the assembly.
National Assembly President Cilia Flores said that vote would probably be next
week, though she did not specify a day.
"The president has asked for a year and a half, and he will have a year and a
half to adapt all of these laws to the new political model," Flores said as the
debate opened Thursday. The discussion lasted four hours, though there was no
real opposition.
Chavez has not spelled out what other changes he intends to make, but
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro suggested nationalization also was
on the horizon for the mining sector.
"The basic industries of minerals should be in the hands of the national
state," he said at the Mercosur summit in Brazil.
It was unclear whether that would mean a total state takeover or majority
stakes for the government in mining operations now held by private companies.
Already state conglomerates have for decades dominated the mining of iron and
bauxite to produce steel and aluminum.
Chavez last week designated Venezuela's main telecommunications company and the
country's electricity and natural gas sectors as targets for nationalization.
Chavez has formed a commission to rewrite the constitution in keeping with his
socialist vision and expects to hold a referendum on the changes by the end of
the year. Chavez has already revised the constitution once since he took office
in 1999.
Among the changes, Chavez is seeking an end to presidential term limits, which
would allow him to run again for the presidency in December 2012.
Chavez has been emboldened to make more radical changes at home after winning
re-election with 63 percent of the vote, his widest margin ever.
Chavez says he is crafting a new sort of "21st-century socialism" for
Venezuela. Critics say it is starting to look like old-fashioned
totalitarianism by a leader obsessed with power.
* * *
Join GATA
at the
2007 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre
Sunday and Monday, January 21 and 22, 2007
http://www.cambridgeconferences.com/ch_jan2007.html
Admission is free for those who register in advance. The conference has
arranged discount rates at the Pan Pacific Hotel adjacent to the convention
center.
GATA will hold a reception at the conclusion of the conference: from 6 to 8
p.m. Monday, January 22, in the Cypress Suite at the Pan Pacific, 999 Canada
Place. The Cypress Suite is on the hotel's restaurant level, one floor above
the lobby. The reception will offer snacks, a cash bar, and some brief remarks
by GATA's delegates to the conference, including Chairman Bill Murphy. There
will be no admission charge for the reception but so that we might prepare
better, if you plan to attend please let Secretary/Treasurer Chris Powell know
by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
* * *
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Recommended Sites
Recommended Internet sites for daily monitoring of gold and precious metals
news and analysis.
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http://www.mineweb.com/
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http://www.howestreet.com
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http://www.minersmanual.com/minernews.html
http://www.a1-guide-to-gold-investments.com/euro-vs-dollar.html
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http://www.miningstocks.com
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http://www.freemarketnews.com
http://www.321gold.com
http://www.SilverSeek.com
http://www.investmentrarities.com
http://www.kereport.com
(Korelin Business Report -- audio)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/home.htm
(In Spanish)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/plata/english.htm
(In English)
http://www.resourceinvestor.com
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http://www.prudentbear.com
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http://www.goldinsider.com/
http://www.hsletter.com
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http://www.caseyresearch.com/
Eagle Ranch discussion site:
http://os2eagle.net/SSL/phpentry.php
Ted Butler silver commentary archive:
http://www.investmentrarities.com/
Recommended Gold & Bullion Dealers
Coin and precious metals dealers who have supported GATA
and been recommended by our members:
Blanchard & Co. Inc.
909 Poydras St., Suite 1900
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
888-413-4653
http://www.blanchardonline.com
Centennial Precious Metals
Box 460009
Denver, Colorado 80246-0009
1-800-869-5115
http://www.USAGOLD.com
Michael Kosares, Proprietor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Colorado Gold
222 South 5th St.
Montrose, Colorado 81401
http://www.ColoradoGold.com
Don Stott, Proprietor
1-888-786-8822
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
El Dorado Discount Gold
Box 11296
Glendale, Arizona 85316
http://www.eldoradogold.net
Harvey Gordin, President
Office: 623-434-3322
Mobile: 602-228-8203
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Gold & Silver Investments Ltd.
Mespil House
37 Adelaide Rd
Dublin 2
Ireland
+353 1 2315260/6
Fax: +353 1 2315202
http://www.goldinvestments.org
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Investment Rarities Inc.
7850 Metro Parkway
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55425
http://www.gloomdoom.com
Greg Westgaard, Sales Manager
1-800-328-1860, Ext. 8889
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Kitco
178 West Service Road
Champlain, N.Y. 12919
Toll Free:1-877-775-4826
Fax: 518-298-3457
and
620 Cathcart, Suite 900
Montreal, Quebec H3B 1M1
Canada
Toll-free:1-800-363-7053
Fax: 514-875-6484
http://www.kitco.com
Lee Certified Coins
P.O. Box 1045
454 Daniel Webster Highway
Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054
http://www.certifiedcoins.com
Ed Lee, Proprietor
1-800-835-6000
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lone Star Silver Exchange
Suite 635, 3521 Oak Lawn Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75219
214-632-8869
http://www.discountsilverclub.com
MRCS Canada
12303-118 Ave. NW
Edmonton, Alberta T5L 2K2
Canada
http://www.mrcscanada.com
Michael Riedel, Proprietor
1-877-TRY-MRCS
1-877-879-6727
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Miles Franklin Ltd.
1001 Twelve Oaks Center Drive
Suite 1028
Wayzata, MN 55391
1-800-822-8080
http://www.milesfranklin.com
Contacts: David Schectman,
Andy Schectman, and Bob Sichel
Missouri Coin Co.
11742 Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-4614
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
314-965-9797
1-800-280-9797
http://www.mocoin.com
Resource Consultants Inc.
6139 South Rural Road
Suite 103
Tempe, Arizona 85283-2929
Pat Gorman, Proprietor
1-800-494-4149, 480-820-5877
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.buysilvernow.com
Swiss America Trading Corp.
15018 North Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85032
http://www.swissamerica.com
Dr. Fred I. Goldstein, Senior Broker
1-800-BUY-COIN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Moneychanger
Box 178
Westpoint, Tennessee 38486
http://www.the-moneychanger.com
Franklin Sanders
1-888-218-9226, 931-766-6066
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