So it is no surprise to anyone in Venezuela that its self-styled "Bolivarian" caudillo has set out to finish installing his "21st-century socialism" before he runs out of time. Last week the lame-duck, rubber-stamp National Assembly granted Chavez the power to rule by decree for the next 18 months. It also prepared new laws that could force the closure of the last television network sympathetic to the opposition, and subject the Internet and even mobile messages to a ban on any speech that would "foment anxiety" or "ignore the authorities." Internet traffic would be routed through a central node controlled by the state, as in China, Iran and Cuba. (...)









