Chavez plan was defeated in Venezuela by 51-49%. The administration likes to call him a dictator, but a real dictator would never lose a close election like that.
The plan called for eliminating term limits on the office of President, which, frankly, is no big deal. We had the same thing until FDR who won four terms and, in a fit of pique, a subsequent Republican Congress passed the two-term limit.
More serious were measures which would have greatly increased the power of the president, allowing the president to declare states of emergency for unspecified lengths of time, as well as appoint "vice presidents" of newly-created administrative districts who are answerable only to the president.
Chavez continues popular in Venezuela. He last won election with 63% of the vote. That slipped to 49% yesterday, indicating that people are willing to go with Chavez only so far. Venezuela should get credit for having what appears to be a generally fair election, with the results honored by all sides.
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