VZCZCXYZ0007
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0714 2331803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211803Z AUG 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7373
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8483
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8264
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2873

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000714 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA, CHAVEZ'S NEW 
CONSTITUTION; SCO PAULO 
 
"New Constitution Gives Chvez Too Many Powers" 
 
Business-oriented Valor Economico editorialized (8/21): "The 
constitutional reform proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez 
can be summed up by an old phrase: 'The state is me.' The new laws 
will make that nation an extension of Chvez's personal will. The 
powers are absolutely exorbitant, even for the usual pattern of 
Latin American dictatorships. Hugo Chvez's main goal is to 
guarantee his perpetual reelection, and everything indicates that he 
will get that, and even more.... The economy will suffer 
transformations.... The concept of property will become a mess, 
where private property will have to coexist with 'social,' 'public,' 
'collective' and 'mixed' properties.... There is no clearer and more 
absurd example of the extraordinary powers Chvez intends to grab 
than the Executive proposal to give the president control over the 
management of the nation's international reserves.... The practice 
is common in African dictatorships, with the known disastrous 
results.... The management of reserves in the hands of a politician 
who seems determined not to respect limits can not only cause 
economic disaster, but also serves as a remarkable weapon of 
political corruption and personal enrichment. There is no 
distinction in this regard between socialist and other 
dictatorships.... The new Venezuelan constitution will eliminate 
still existing democratic mechanisms in that nation. Supported by a 
sea of petrodollars, Chvez will reign absolute as long as destiny 
decides." 
White