Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s effort to seize more political power in his country was spurned by voters on Sunday, prompting raucous celebrations in Caracas late into the evening.
Chávez had proposed a referendum containing 69 amendments that would have given him even more power in his country.
As if he and his cronies don’t have enough already.
Among other measures, Chávez wanted to abolish term limits, declare states of emergency for unlimited periods of time and increase the country’s role in the economy.
The proposal was rejected 51 to 49 percent by 56 percent of the registered voters who made it to the polls, according to the country’s Election Commission. And while that might not be the greatest turnout for voters, at least they have finally been heard.
Although Chávez still has unprecedented control over his country, the results of this election represent a giant step forward for Venezuelans.
Earlier this year, Chávez banned a TV network from public airwaves because it was critical of his government, and he nationalized the country’s oil, telephone and electricity companies. Obviously, Chávez was still hungry for more power. But this time he got caught reaching into the cookie jar.
Venezuelans finally proved that they’ve had enough of Chávez’s socially inspired policies — they’re sick of feeding this monster.
Some Chávez supporters said voter turnout wasn’t higher because people feared Chávez would retaliate for opposing his referendum. It’s hard to blame them — Chávez has a history of erratic behavior.
Recently, he threatened to nationalize the Venezuelan operations of Spanish banks because Spain’s king told him to shut up during a meeting. Talk about being neurotic.
This is only one of many times the soldier-turned-politician has threatened another country if he doesn’t get his way.
Not only is this unproductive but it’s downright irritating.
The voters’ decision could also spell good news for the United States, which has seen its once-strong alliance with Venezuela deteriorate over the years.
The U.S. is still Venezuela’s main oil consumer, despite the weakening political ties between the two parties. Giving more power to Chávez would give him that much more authority to stop selling oil to the U.S. This would be extremely inconvenient for us college kids, too.
If Chávez set an oil embargo on us, it would wreak havoc on the country’s oil market, possibly forcing Americans to dip into our own oil reserves, or to increase our dependency on oil in the Middle East.
Neither of those options seem viable.
But as long as Venezuelans continue to vote during critical elections, the gamut of Chávez’s power will remain limited. That’s the most important thing.
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