By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Dec 15 1994 (IPS)

The Venezuelan Parliament continually lost power to the Executive branch in 1994, and will face even greater problems in 1995 with further economic adjustments and local and regional elections.

“The President views Congress as cattle, to be herded about and eventually sacrificed,” said Ramon Avelado of the opposition Social Democrats (Copei).

Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera was elected in 1993 as an independent candidate after leading Copei for fifty years, and since the election he has taken advantage of public loathing for the Congress, which is blamed for nearly all the current ills in the country.

As a result, a strong President now faces a weakened legislature no longer operating as a counterbalance, in spite of the fact that if it were able to unite, the opposition would control 75 percent of the seats.

Caldera’s supporters – the National Convergence (dissident social christians) and the Movement towards Socialism (moderate left) – hold 25 percent of the seats, while the opposition social democrat Democratic Action (AD) have 29 percent, Copei 26, and the left-wing Radical Cause 20 percent.

Congress passed 41 new laws in 1994 – nearly all requested by Caldera – and in April, the opposition AD introduced the proposal authorising the President to legislate by decree.

Parliament also agreed to push next year’s budget proposal through on the “fast track”, though all parties admitted that the document contains serious shortcomings and will need frequent adjustment.

In most cases the opposition supported government proposals, and passing new legislation has been easy.

In the words of AD Secretay General Luis Alfaro, “We will support the government unconditionally in order to guarantee a stable democracy,” though this attitude may change during 1995 elections.

In June, Caldera single-handedly suspended six constitutional freedoms and imposed a state of economic emergency, with controls on prices, banking transactions and currency exch Opinion polls at the time gave the President an approval rating of nearly 90 percent.

In its first move in opposition to Caldera in July, Congress reinstatated the economic and individual rights suspended under the emergency measures.

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