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CARACAS (AFP)--A new National Assembly was seated Wednesday in Venezuela with 40% of seats held by opponents to firebrand President Hugo Chavez.

The seating of the unicameral legislature opens a new chapter in politics in the South American nation, ending five years of almost unopposed rule by Chavez supporters following an opposition boycott in 2005.

Chavez has countered the loss of his supermajority by taking on special decree powers and reining in dissent.

A raft of new laws pushed through last month by the then mainly pro-Chavez assembly were decried as a "coup d'etat" by opposition politicians in the oil-rich South American nation.

Internet content and broadcast media freedoms have been restricted, lawmakers who switch parties face punishment, and, crucially, the president is entitled to rule by decree for the next 18 months.

This takes Chavez through to 2012, when the 56-year-old former military officer will once again seek re-election.

Chavez supporters will still hold 98 seats in the assembly compared with 67 for the opposition, but the newly seated legislature could change the political landscape.

The new lawmakers entered the assembly accompanied by crowds of their respective supporters, without incident.

Chavez late Tuesday called for the parliamentary process to proceed unfettered.

"People must respect all legislators because they were elected, but the lawmakers must follow the rules because otherwise this would be war, and end to politics," he said.

The outspoken critic of the U.S. has imposed his socialist vision on Venezuela and asserted greater state control over the economy since riding a populist wave to power in 1998.

But Chavismo, as his particular brand of socialism is known, suffered a blow with the resurgence of the opposition in September 2010 elections, amid public frustration with rising crime and a lengthy recession.