This article was originally published by Latin American Herald Tribune
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed a new law that prohibits brokerage houses from trading in the bolivar or in dollar-denominated government bonds and establishes a new state-run financial exchange.
“I’m enacting the Capital Markets Law. It’s a law that will allow us to escape the rot of capitalism,” Chavez, who signed the legislation during a Cabinet meeting aired on state television, said Tuesday.
The leftist president said the new law includes the creation of the Public Capital Exchange, which will begin operating “in the coming weeks.”
The law also authorizes the creation of the Securities Superintendence, a replacement for the current National Securities Commission, and provides a road map for a new securities system to be operated by entities authorized by that new regulatory body, he added.
“The revolution keeps taking steps to create a new system, the transition” to what Chavez calls the socialism of the 21st century.