[Washington Post] Christmas came early here in Venezuela, thanks to President Nicolas Maduro, who has slashed the prices of big-screen televisions and appliances by 60 percent or more for his overjoyed followers.On Wednesday, a day after being granted extraordinary powers to enact broad measures without congressional approval, the leftist government began moving quickly to combat skyrocketing inflation and shortages of basic goods. But in deepening a socialist experiment begun by his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, Maduro is taking Venezuela on a new, uncertain course that economists and political analysts say could make matters far worse.
Among his plans is to limit profit margins across broad sectors of the economy, a course that some analysts say is more radical than Chavez-era policies.