Hugo Chavez wins election to allow him to rule for life.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Hugo Chavez wins election as dictator for life.

[RL3AO]

I'm shocked it was that close.

[HURAKAN]

The election allows for indefinite time in power, but he still has to run every six years. Of course, I am pretty sure he will cheat, which is likely what occurred this time.

José Martí, Cuba's National Hero, once said "I know the monster because I have lived in its entrails." I know what Chávez is doing because I have already lived in the same political system.

[HURAKAN]

I'm shocked it was that close.

Remember that he lost in 2007. I knew he wasn't going to lose this time.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Chavez will never officially lose an election. See Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

So does Mr Chávez. He has turned almost the whole of the state bureaucracy, including the armed forces and the state oil company, into an election machine. The government-dominated electoral authority has said nothing. Pro-government rallies teem with public-sector workers in red shirts and baseball caps bearing the logos of government departments. “Everyone’s here voluntarily,” insists Clevis Bozo, who works in the internal audit office of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the oil company. “It’s the will of the people.”

...

Mr Chávez has often said that “the revolution is peaceful, but armed.” Violence and intimidation of opponents by the security forces and by armed civilian groups (some openly linked to the government) have increased. Students campaigning against the constitutional change have faced harassment and arrest.

Opposition politicians elected as mayors and state governors last November have found it hard to exercise power. In Caracas the new mayor, Antonio Ledezma, has suffered an occupation of the city hall and other buildings by armed chavistas. The government has refused to intervene, saying that the occupations are a response to Mr Ledezma’s refusal to renew the contracts of thousands of workers hired by his chavista predecessor. Elsewhere, incoming opposition administrations have also found equipment and offices purloined.

The most disturbing incident was the sacking of Caracas’s main synagogue on January 30th by more than a dozen armed men. They vandalised religious objects, painted anti-Jewish and pro-Palestinian slogans on walls, and stole computer hard drives containing a database of the Jewish community. Officials condemned the attack and blamed the opposition. But it says that the government has been fostering a climate of hostility against Jews. Mr Chávez cut diplomatic ties with Israel in response to its attack on Gaza last month.

Days earlier a group of armed chavista radicals had attacked the Ateneo de Caracas, one of the capital’s most important cultural centres. Complaining that it was being used for “ultra-rightist” activities, they hurled tear-gas grenades and fired shots. They held scores of people at gunpoint for hours, stole their mobile phones and vandalised the premises. The assault was lead by Lina Ron, a prominent member of Mr Chávez’s referendum campaign. None of the assailants has been arrested or questioned. As if to dispel any doubt that the invasion of the Ateneo had the government’s support, the next day the finance ministry ordered the eviction of the cultural centre from the state-owned buildings it has occupied since the 1980s.

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[Stephanie]

Yeah, I'm shocked at this outcome - NOT!!

[gtalum]

I'm not surprised.

I do wonder why we give this guy the time of day.

[HURAKAN]

I'm not surprised.

I do wonder why we give this guy the time of day.

As long as he continues to provide the US with oil, he will be there. If the supply stops, change will happen!!!

The US has too many problems to deal with Chávez, which is unfortunate because I think there is enough evidence that he has been suppliying the FARC with money and firearms.

[gtalum]

I know it's due to oil, but personally I'd happily pay for more expensive oil to see Hugo choke on his own oil supply. An oil blockade is the fastest way to topple his hold on Venezuela.

[abajan]

I know it's due to oil, but personally I'd happily pay for more expensive oil to see Hugo choke on his own oil supply. An oil blockade is the fastest way to topple his hold on Venezuela.

I doubt that. Look at the way the decades old blockade against Cuba has rallied Cubans behind Castro.

As far as term limits go, I'm not convinced they are necessarily in the best interest of democracy. Think about it. If someone wants to run for office and the majority of the electorate wants that person, they should be allowed to vote for him/her, regardless of how many times the candidate has occupied the office. The important thing is to have checks and balances in place (like outside observers, for example) to ensure that the election process is free and fair (and free from fear). And herein lies the rub with Venezuela because I'm not convinced their system isn't rigged in Chavez's favor.

[wyq614]

On that day I stayed in my room and kept watching live on Venezuelan TV Channel ("El canal de todos los venezolanos") because I know it is possible that the result may affect my life and my future.

If I were a Venezuelan and had right to vote, I'd vote NO , but as a Chinese Spanish language student, I give him best wishes, as he is so friendly to China and may offer us jobs by boosting his cooperative plans with China (mainly energy or petroleum). And moreover, he may ADVICE OTHER LEFTIST GOVERNMENT TO DO SO, TOO. I know Venezuela-China honeymoon may end when opposition hold power. I don't care if he is a dictator. What I care is my possibility of acquiring a job in the future.

[Derek Ortt]

On that day I stayed in my room and kept watching live on Venezuelan TV Channel ("El canal de todos los venezolanos") because I know it is possible that the result may affect my life and my future.

If I were a Venezuelan and had right to vote, I'd vote NO , but as a Chinese Spanish language student, I give him best wishes, as he is so friendly to China and may offer us jobs by boosting his cooperative plans with China (mainly energy or petroleum). And moreover, he may ADVICE OTHER LEFTIST GOVERNMENT TO DO SO, TOO. I know Venezuela-China honeymoon may end when opposition hold power. I don't care if he is a dictator. What I care is my possibility of acquiring a job in the future.

you're honest about it. I respect that (though I hate Chavez)