Panama City - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez yesterday defended his constitutional assembly's move to strip the Congress (parliament) of its powers, a decision denounced as authoritarian by his political opponents.
"The constitutional assembly is carrying out a popular mandate and that is completely legitimate and democratic," Mr Chavez insisted upon his arrival at Tocumen international airport here, as he arrived for the inauguration of Panama's new president, Ms Mireya Moscoso.
"It was the people, who voted 92 per cent in a referendum to create an assembly to restructure the state and outline a new constitution," he said.
"For 40 years in Venezuela the two-party government looted the country, robbed the people and destroyed the credibility of the government," Mr Chavez added.
The assembly voted on Monday to remove Congress control of budget and tax issues, after issuing a decree last week banning any further congressional sessions - a move critics have said effectively turns Mr Chavez into a dictator.