Has Chavez Gone Too Far?

In a 31 January Washington Post article Chavez's new plans are discussed. There are plans on the way to give more power to Chavez, allowing him to dictate new laws for 18 months. He says that with this power he will help "transform the economy, redraw the structure of government and establish a new funding apparatus for Venezuela's huge oil wealth." Also there was mention of Chavez's government eliminating Presidential term limits. The article discusses the different reactions that people are taking to this news. A mass of people have been gathering around the embassy to file for the right to move to Spain. Some of them are planning for the move in case things go bad and then things will be in order to leave. Others feel that Chavez's plan may turn over a new leaf in Latin America. This article caused me to think about what Venezuela may be getting into. At the beginning of the article it compares Chavez to a possible Castro. What if this does show true? Chavez seems to be taking some of his presidential roles past the point that his citizens feel is appropriate and it has only been a month since he was reelected. Unless the people make their concerns more vocalized, which is unlikely to happen, I think that Chavez will end up doing more damage to his country with his new 18 month "dictator" type rule.