Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday signed into law a legislation that will grant him special powers in the next 18 months to legislate by decrees to accelerate reforms in broad areas.

Chavez said "the law is designed to foster national development in the 11 areas," including energy, transformation of state institutions, finance and taxation, national security and defense.

Chavez rejected accusations, published in the Venezuelan media and reiterated by US President George W. Bush in a television interview, that the special powers entitled by the Enabling Law could lead to tyranny.

Chavez said that the law is an essential legal device for the transformation of Venezuela.

Venezuelan legislature, the National Assembly, unanimously passed the law in a special session in Caracas's central Bolivar Square on Wednesday, aimed at what the president called picking up pace in building the 21st century socialism in his country.

Chavez has mapped out five "motors" to achieve the goal, which are the Enabling Law, constitutional reform, launch of new drive for Bolivarian popular education, a new geometry of power for the national map so that marginalized poorer areas would be more included, and explosion of communal power to give more power to communal councils.

Chavez, who was re-elected president of Venezuela on Dec. 3, 2006, took the oath of office on Jan. 10, promising to create a new socialist political, economic and social model in his country.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)