Now all the laws needed to abolish democratic local government and create a "communal state" have been drafted, Ms López Maya says.
In particular, a package of five laws aimed at setting up a "communal state" threatened to render what remained of representative democracy in Venezuela a purely decorative matter.
His stated aim is to make his "21st-century socialist revolution" irreversible and set up a "communal state", which bears little relation to that enshrined in the 1999 constitution he himself fathered.
The opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) alliance is hoping to retain a powerful voice in the regions, in order to slow or halt the government's plans to create what it calls a "communal state".
The opposition's strong showing suggests he may have trouble advancing his agenda to make his "21st-century socialist revolution" irreversible and set up a "communal state", at odds with his own 1999 constitution.
The communal, state-owned lands on which, up until few years ago, 90% of farmers grazed their livestock, have all but disappeared, rented off at cheap rates by the authorities to foreign companies.
The boys — the legendary Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy — engaged in their typical high jinks, and the chuckles of fan club members turned to cackles and then guffaws as they finally managed to bring down the big top, eliciting screeches and applause from an audience in a communal state of celluloid-induced bliss.
Land use is based on natural rangelands and takes place commercially on private land, traditionally on communal state land, and to a lesser extent through leasehold in protected areas.
"It's left people in a communal state of grief".
The other 20% consists of consumptive tourism, dominated by trophy hunting, which takes place mostly on commercial land but also on communal land and state land.
