Hugo Chávez has been granted the power to rule by decree by the Venezuelan National assembly, which means he’s now legally able to create new laws unchallenged. What does that mean?
Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben have pointed out how it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states, including representative democracies.
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Rule by decree allows the ruler to arbitrarily make laws, without any sort of legislative process or discussion. When no formal government institutions exist or martial law is in effect, rule by decree is common.
There goes whatever the Venezuelans had left of democracy and the separation of powers.
You can read more on rule by decree on Wikipedia, or read the news item here.