Slouching Towards Dictatorship

Venezuela is heading down a path we've seen before. A politician with charisma and a penchant for turning his rivals into bogeymen gets near unlimited powers which he says are for the betterment of the country.

Hugo Chavez has just about everything a president could want: popular support, a marginalized opposition, congress firmly on his side and a booming economy as he starts his new six-year term.

Now, he's about to become even more powerful — the all-Chavista National Assembly is poised to approve a "mother law" as early as Wednesday enabling him to remake society by presidential decree. In its latest draft, the law would allow Chavez to dictate measures for 18 months in 11 broad areas, from the "economic and social sphere" to the "transformation of state institutions."

Chavez calls it a new era of "maximum revolution," setting the tone for months of upheaval as he plans to nationalize companies, impose new taxes on the rich and reorient schools to teach socialist values. With near-religious fervor and plenty of oil wealth, Chavez is mobilizing millions of Venezuelans, intent on creating a more egalitarian society.

Yet, this is also the path to dictatorship. [T]hugo Chavez is getting exactly what he wants from a pliant parliament.

Hitler went down this path. So did Castro, Mao, Stalin, and the other socialists, communists, and leftists. Chavez is not going to give up the power he just obtained. It is too seductive and intoxicating. With Castro fading from the world stage, Chavez senses that now is his time.

There is absolutely no reason to believe that Chavez will act any differently than any other dictator who obtained near complete power. Personal rights and freedoms are going to be curtailed - he's already begun to purge his party of any real or perceived rivals. Businesses are already feeling the pinch as Chavez seeks to nationalize industry after industry. That the economy is still growing is a testament not to Chavez's economic acumen, but because Venezuela is so reliant on oil. If the price of oil drops, the country will be forced to deal with a significantly changed economic outlook. The government will not be able to paper over the problem with more money thrown towards its supporters.