Venezuela’s
2007 Enabling Law
On January 31, 2007
Venezuela’s National Assembly passed the Ley Habilitante, or the Enabling
Law. This law, which was debated with
the participation of civil society in a special open-air session of the
National Assembly, allows the President to pass laws by decree for 18
months. Among those who engaged in the
public discussion mandated by article 211 of the Venezuelan Constitution, and
subsequently supported the final passage of the law, were everyday Venezuelans
representing women’s organizations, student’s groups, and farmers, among many
others.
The main components of the law are quite simple. For 18 months the powers of the executive
will be extended to allow the passage of laws by decree in 11 key areas
including public administration, taxation, and civic participation, just to
name a few.
The laws that will be
drafted in each sector are aimed at increasing efficiency, weeding out
corruption, and providing more avenues for upward mobility for the
citizenry. For instance, the stated
goal in the sphere of public administration is to identify and train local and
state officials in key values
of public service while also strengthening the ethics of public servants.[1] In the economic and social arena, the goal
is to achieve equality and the equitable distribution of wealth through
investment in health care, education, and social security.[2] In relation to the energy sector, oil
production in the Orinoco Oil Belt may be nationalized as well as the
electricity sector.[3] According to the Associated Press, Chavez
also plans to “carry out reforms aimed at bringing ‘power to the people'
through thousands of newly formed Communal Councils designed to give
Venezuelans a say on spending an increasing flow of state money on projects in
their neighborhoods, from public housing to potholes.”[4]
Hugo Chavez is not the only Venezuelan
president to be granted this power, which both the 1961 and 1999 constitutions
have permitted. Nor is Venezuela the
only country to include it in its constitution (article 203). The Spanish, German, and Italian
constitutions also have clauses which permit the executive branch to legislate
by decree.[5]
In Venezuela’s case, in 1974 it was
granted to President Carlos Andres Perez, in 1984 to President Jaime Lusinchi,
and to interim President Ramon Jose Velasquez in 1993. The majority of the U.S. press and top
government officials never raised concern over the use of the law under the
previous administrations but today they have taken a different posture. Interestingly, Thomas Shannon, Assistant
Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, acknowledges that, “It's
something valid under the constitution…. As with any tool of democracy, it
depends how it is used." He went
on, "At the end of the day, it's
not a question for the United States or for other countries, but for
Venezuela."[6] And that’s exactly what Venezuelans will
decide in the months ahead.
For the first time in Venezuela’s history,
the Enabling Law now gives the right to any Venezuelan to hold a referendum
against laws established by decree as long as those laws do not deal with
issues of human rights, international agreements, and the reinstitution of the
death penalty, as explained in Article 74.[7] In fact, the day after the law was passed President
Chavez was quoted in a local Venezuelan newspaper, El Universal, “If a
Venezuelan does not like a law, that Venezuelan has the right to call the media
outlets, convene an assembly, draft a petition, and look for signatures.
They only need to have 10% of the signatures of citizens registered in the
Electoral Registry, meaning 1.6 million Venezuelans."[8]
As all eyes will certainly be on Venezuela
during the next 18 months, it is important to remember that this is not the
first time that Chavez has been granted this power. In 2000 he used the Ley Habilitante to pass 49 laws including the
fishing rights law, the hydrocarbons law, and the land reform law, all of which
have been widely extolled as successes by the general public.