The mayor of Venezuela’s capital recently lost much of his authority. The mayor of Maracaibo, the country’s second-largest city, is in hiding. Soldiers have taken over ports once controlled by governors who are members of the opposition.
Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez say a series of moves by the socialist leader’s allies, including targeted corruption probes and laws shifting power away from opposition-held offices, mark a power grab by Chavez at a time when he’s feeling emboldened by a referendum win allowing indefinite re-election.
“It’s a government that’s becoming more strongly centered on the figure of the president and it’s becoming more repressive,” said Margarita Lopez Maya, a historian.
Chavez denies involvement in corruption cases being pressed against top opposition leaders but insists many are “criminals” and “mafiosos” who should face justice.
“Let the bourgeoisie squeal, but there has to be justice,” Chavez said during a visit to China.
The most recent move limiting the power of an opposition figure came on Tuesday, when the pro-Chavez National Assembly weakened Caracas’ newly elected mayor by taking away offices including city hall and eliminating most of his responsibilities for city services.
Instead, authority will be transferred to an official appointed by Chavez to oversee the capital.
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, who replaced a Chavez ally, plans through a referendum to challenge the law that has usurped his powers. Some of his authority was already diminished when former Caracas mayor Juan Barreto, a pro-Chavez ally, transferred the police and city hospitals to the national government. The new law strips Ledezma of responsibility for health, police and education, reducing his role to one of coordination between district mayors.
It’s not yet clear how the law will effect Ledezma’s budget — an issue to be decided in the next month — but he could lose federal funds.
Chavez on Tuesday defended the law as “absolutely necessary” to provide better administration in Caracas and said municipal governments “are going to remain intact.”
Earlier, another law brought seaports and airports under federal control and Chavez sent troops to take over some of them.
The law bringing transportation hubs under federal control affects all local leaders, but key opposition politicians will be hurt most because they previously administered some of the country’s largest ports and no longer receive revenues from tariffs.
Prosecutors also have resurrected a corruption case against opposition leader Manuel Rosales and jailed former Venezuelan defense minister Raul Baduel, a Chavez critic who faces an accusation that funds went missing on his watch. In contrast, not a single prominent politician currently allied with Chavez has been charged with corruption — in spite of many accusations by critics.
Chavez’s authoritarianism has become increasingly apparent as he has concentrated power since winning a Feb. 15 vote that eliminated term limits, said Lopez Maya, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
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