Dubious Demands in Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a classic Latin caudillo who failed twice in 1992 to seize power by coup d’etat but came back 10 weeks ago to win office in a popular landslide, has everything an autocratic ruler might want, but wants more.

The army is his and has been since the failed coups. His Patriotic Pole coalition controls a third of the Congress, and if those two power centers were not enough, the president has a squadron of operatives to mobilize mobs and harass brave judges and politicians who oppose his programs.

On Tuesday, Chavez announced it would be necessary to dissolve the Supreme Court and Congress if he was not granted the extraordinary powers he is demanding. A month earlier, Congress had bowed to the president’s pressure and given him powers not enjoyed by previous Venezuelan leaders.

He has cloaked his demands in a need to reform the country’s oil-based economy, and if that were all he intended, the dictatorial methods he has employed so far might be justified by many Venezuelans. But when he talks of needing 10 to 14 years in office to establish his reforms, the citizens are rightfully dubious. The constitutional limit on the presidency is five years. Chavez, dangerously, wants more.