[FT] Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, is seeking to rule by decree in order to wage "economic war", as he battles a litany of problems with a loosening grip on power.Currency market distortions have fueled worsening shortages of food and basic goods from milk to toilet paper alongside high and rising inflation, posing a threat to the late Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. Price controls as well as endless fiddling with strict but ineffective exchange restrictions have generated a scarcity of foreign currency on which the import-dependent economy relies.
Mr Maduro, who served as Mr Chavez's foreign minister and vice-president, is seeking "special powers" from the country's national assembly to fight graft and pass economic measures. The president claims members of the "fascist" opposition, with support from the US, are "sabotaging" the economy in order to bring down the government.