Venezuela's pro-government National Assembly overwhelmingly approved constitutional reforms on Friday that would greatly expand the power of President Hugo Chavez and permit him to run for re-election indefinitely.
More power. No limits to his holding office:
All but seven of the assembly's 167 lawmakers voted for the changes by a show of hands.
"Today the Venezuelan people have a pencil in their hands to write their own history, and it's not going to be the history of the elite," said pro-Chavez lawmaker Earle Herrera.
Concerns that the measures will weaken civil liberties have been raised by university students, opposition parties, human rights groups and representatives of Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church.
Critics also worry the reforms would allow Chavez to remain in power for decades like his close friend Fidel Castro of Cuba.
These are what pass for "reforms" in Venezuelan electoral law. Use some populist slogans and some people (in the United States) will be distracted by the shiny object into thinking that this really is a great thing for democracy.
