i'm gonna be here a while

Hugo Chavez in 2005

"I promise I'll give the power back once things are straigtened out."

Venezuela's Chavez gets powers to rule by decree
Christian Oliver, Reuters, 1/31/07

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Congress on Wednesday granted President Hugo Chavez powers to rule by decree for 18 months as he tries to force through nationalizations key to his self-styled leftist revolution.

The lawmakers, all loyal to Chavez after opposition parties boycotted the 2005 congressional elections, flaunted their populist credentials by taking the unusual step of holding their vote in public in a square in downtown Caracas.

The boycot even if the elections were engineered was probably not the wisest choice.