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Houston Chronicle - Hugo Chavez, already one of the most powerful leaders in the history of this oil-rich country, may get a new duty: mapmaker-in-chief. If voters approve a major rewrite to Venezuela’s constitution on Sunday, the president will be able to carve out new political territories and appoint vice presidents to run them. This “new geometry of power,” as Chavez calls it, is a key part of his socialist blueprint and, his supporters say, could mean more federal aid and attention to long-neglected areas.

But opponents argue it would usurp the power of elected mayors and governors, some of whom oppose Chavez. Presidential appointees, the critics say, would act as parallel authorities, siphoning away prestige and federal money from local and state officials. “The strategy is to strangle the mayors and governors,” said Ramon Martinez… “Chavez will decide everything.” Chavez’ project, said Manuel Donis Rios, a Venezuelan historian, mirrors the policies of 19th-century dictators who appointed military commanders to rule outlying areas and crush dissent.