The Triangle

Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Ed-Op

You could say that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's President-wannabe-Dictator, has not exactly gotten what he wanted this holiday season.

All Hugo wanted was to be given sweeping powers to reform Venezuela with socialism and name himself President-for-life-like the kid next door, Fidel Castro.

But fortunately for democracy, and unfortunately for Hugo, Fidel's country was more generous than his.

With Venezuela's economy riding the daily insane rise in petroleum prices, Hugo Chavez has pumped money into social programs in his country in an attempt to create a socialist paradise, in exchange, of course, for being president forever.

On Dec. 3, however, Hugo Chavez' referendum, which would have implemented constitutional reforms, including letting him run for president indefinitely and handing him control of the central bank of Venezuela, failed to pass a popular vote.

In the days leading up to the vote itself, Chavez had characterized voting "no" on the changes as an unspeakable sin against socialism and Venezuela. However, as is evidenced by the electoral results, the Venezuelan people weren't gullible enough to think that handing their president almost unlimited powers would somehow further equality and prosperity in Venezuela.

A determined opposition of students, the Catholic Church, and others including former Chavez allies who thought that these "reforms" were just too overtly authoritarian defeated the measure by a very narrow margin.

The margin was, in fact so narrow, and the idea of Hugo Chavez not getting what he wants so alien in Venezuela that pro-Chavez supporters took to celebrating in the streets before they realized that their president had been denied his authoritarian ambitions. Celebrations continued anyway, repurposed to celebrate the defeat of the reforms.

The measure had been defeated by 51 percent against to 49 percent for the measure.

Because of the nature of elections in Venezuela, which a large number of analysts - and a large proportion of the Venezuelan people themselves - state are probably rigged, the proportion of those against the measure was probably far greater than 51 percent.

President Chavez, caught with his hand in the dictatorial cookie jar, responded to his defeat with a stained degree of gregariousness that, if anything, amplified the hostility he felt towards the opposition.

"Did Hugo Chavez choose the wrong timing? It could be. It could be that we aren't mature enough," Chavez said to state television late Monday, using the somewhat spooky habit of referring to himself in the third person and saying "we" in the same way as an annoying aunt addresses a small child using "we."

Continued...

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