[NYTr] More Updates from Venez Referendum Election - Mainstream Press

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[The New York Daily News hasn't updated their story at all as of 2:00
a.m., still running with a headline about how Chavez is on the path to
becoming an "elected dictator." It will be interesting to see when full
results are available a breakdown by region, details on the vote on
the two different sections of reforms, and the expatriate vote, etc.

See last story below from the So.Florida Sun-Sentinel which indicates
that the anti-Chavez emigres, unsurprisingly, voted NO by a huge margin
of nearly 7,000 to 85.Yet they still predicted that Chavez would
somehow steal the election. Lunatic paranoids. Now what will they
say? That it's all a ruse to make Venezuela LOOK democratic??
We'll spare readers what the awful poisonous Miami Herald
has to say and will be sending out substantive analyses from more
thoughtful sources on this in the days to come. -NYTransfer.]


CNN - Dec 3, 2007
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/03/venezuela.referendum

Voters reject Chavez's referendum

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- Venezuelan voters narrowly rejected a
constitutional referendum that would have bolstered President Hugo
Chavez's embrace of socialism and granted an indefinite extension of
his eligibility to serve as president, the National Electoral Council
reported early Monday.

About 51 percent of voters opposed the amendments, while approximately
49 percent were in favor of them.

"Don't feel sad. Don't feel burdened," Chavez told supporters
immediately after the results were announced.

More than nine million of Venezuelan's 16 million eligible voters went
to the polls Sunday.

President of the National Electoral Council, Tibisay Lucena, said the
process "shows the entire world that we are a democratic country."

Chavez, in what he called a talk "from my heart" acknowledging the
results, thanked those who opposed his proposal, saying the election
had proven that Venezuelan democracy is maturing.

Thousands of people gathered in the streets, many of them university
students who worked to defeat the measure, burst into singing their
country's national anthem upon hearing the news.

Earlier in Caracas, Chavez -- clad in his trademark red shirt and
cradling his grandson -- made the sign of the cross when he voted, then
took his paper ballot and placed it in a box. "For me, it's a very
happy day," he had said.

He dipped his right pinky in ink, collected his paper receipt from the
voting machine and then gave an uncharacteristically short talk with
the news media.

"Let's wait for the results tonight," he told reporters. "We'll accept
them, whatever they may be."

Chavez called Venezuela's electoral system "one of the most transparent
in the world," and said its voting machines are among "the most modern
of the world."

At stake were 69 amendments proposed by Chavez, who has said he wants
to steer Venezuela toward full socialism -- a state his detractors
describe as full totalitarianism.

The most controversial amendment would do away with term limits,
thereby allowing the 53-year-old former paratrooper, who has already
served almost eight years in power, to hold it indefinitely as long as
he is re-elected.

If the amendments were approved, Chavez could have run for president in
seven-year terms.

At present, the president's term runs six years, and current law would
not allow Chavez to run again after his term ends in 2012.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck contributed to this report.

                           ***


Bloomberg - Dec 3, 2007
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSpYEZW_eEhM&refer=home

Venezuelans Reject Chavez's Plans for Constitution (Update1)

By Matthew Walter and Helen Murphy

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suffered his
first electoral loss in nine years as voters turned down his plan to
overhaul the constitution and tighten his grip on power.

Chavez conceded defeat, and said the vote showed the credibility of the
country's electoral institutions. He spoke today after the results were
given in Caracas by Tibisay Lucena, president of the national election
regulator.

The loss signals waning support for Chavez's drive to bring socialism
to the region's fourth-biggest economy by concentrating power in his
hands and ramping up state control of people's lives. Voters refused to
abolish presidential term limits or allow government censorship during
declared emergencies. Chavez also sought to shorten the work day to six
hours from eight, curb the power of states and cities, and end central
bank autonomy.

``This is the first significant setback that Chavez has ever had,''
said Adam Isacson, director at the Center for International Policy in
Washington. ``He has lost popular support. He has lost support of some
of the army and the poor.''

He has also lost confidence of investors. The government's 9 1/4
percent dollar bonds due in 2027 tumbled 22 percent this year, with
almost half the losses coming this month before the referendum.

Chavez's 69 proposed changes to the constitution were grouped into two
blocks. The first set was rejected 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent. The
second block of changes got 48.9 percent support, Lucena said, without
giving the ``no'' vote.

Oil Fuels Growth

While oil exports fueled annual economic growth of more than 8 percent
over the past four years, the South American country has a credit
rating below investment grade. Its annual inflation rate, 17.2 percent,
is the highest in the region.

``The opposition will emerge from its vote more energized and
empowered,'' said Gianfranco Bertozzi, a senior Latin America economist
for Lehman Brothers in New York. ``If handled carefully the event could
even herald a crumbling of the Bolivarian revolution, although it's
still early.''

Four months after Chavez unveiled his plan to write a constitution that
would quicken his so-called Bolivarian socialist revolution, some polls
were showing the referendum too close to call. Opposition parties,
student groups and even some former allies, most notably Chavez's
ex-Defense Minister Raul Isaias Baduel, the general who returned him to
power after a 2002 coup, campaigned against the proposal.

Power Grab

Their contention that the new constitution was a power grab resonated
with some of Chavez's supporters.

``President Chavez has given us much, but this time he's gone over the
top,'' Darwin Rodriguez, 23, a glass blower, said in an interview in
Caracas. ``He wants more power. I don't know what to do, but for sure I
won't vote `yes'.''

Demonstrations turned violent at times over the past three months as
police regularly used tear gas and water cannons to control crowds of
protesters.

Chavez sought to fire up his backers with escalating attacks on the
U.S., foreign investors and the media in his final speeches before the
vote.

He told tens of thousands of supporters at a Nov. 30 rally that he was
prepared to cut off exports of oil to the U.S., Venezuela's biggest
trading partner, should the U.S. government try to stir up violence in
the country after the referendum. He also said he may nationalize
Spanish banks operating in the country to defend the ``dignity'' of
Venezuela, after Spanish King Juan Carlos I told him to ``shut up''
earlier this month.

Private Investment

Economists said the proposed changes to the constitution would curb
private investment and slow growth in Venezuela, South America's
third-biggest economy and its biggest oil exporter.

``With this new constitution you can't do anything but obey the
government,'' said Ali Pio Carrillo, 64, a handyman in Caracas who also
owns a repair shop.

Chavez said last week that if voters approve his plan, he's prepared to
stay in power until 2050.

``It's still too early for me to go,'' said the former army lieutenant
colonel. ``I'll give my life for Venezuela until the last day.''


                           ***

DPA via Monsters and Critics - Dec 3, 2007 6:06 GMT
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/americas/news/article_1378056.php/Chavez_loses_constitutional_referendum_in_Venezuela__2nd_Lead_


Chavez loses constitutional referendum in Venezuela (2nd Lead)

Caracas - Venezuelan voters rejected constitutional reforms that would
have eliminated term limits for President Hugo Chavez, according to the
first preliminary official results in the early hours of Monday.

With an abstention rate of over 44 per cent and with over 88 per cent
of the ballots counted, 50.70 per cent of the voters rejected the
reform, while 49.29 per cent voted in favour of it.

'It is an irreversible tendency,' Tibisay Lucenas, president of the
National Electoral Council (CNE) said of the results of Sunday's
referendum.

Chavez spoke to the country immediately afterwards, admitting his
defeat. He said he 'thanked and congratulated' even those who voted
against his proposal, for doing so democratically.

'Please, know how to handle your victory,' Chavez said to the winners.

He noted that he thinks 'the Venezuelan democracy is maturing,' but
wondered what the opposition would have said of a similarly close vote
in favour of the referendum.

'I would not have wanted that victory,' Chavez claimed.

The reforms would have paved the way for a socialist form of government
and allowed the unlimited re-election of the president, among other key
measures.

The controversial left-wing populist Chavez had won all previous
elections and referendums since he assumed power in 1999 with at least
60 per cent of the vote, and was generally considered to have a broad
popular base in a deeply divided country.

Vice President Jorge Rodriguez admitted that the results of the
referendum were 'close' long before they were known.

However, the CNE said it would wait to count at least 90 per cent of
the votes before making public the preliminary results.

Opposition leaders appeared elated hours before the first results were
known, but they would not reveal specific data so as not to violate
electoral legislation. After several hours, however, they grew tense
and started to demand that the authorities disclose the results more
promptly.

When the armed forces prevented representatives of the opposition from
entering the headquarters of counting efforts, some leaders threatened
to break the law and publicize their own date if the CNE did not do so.

They accused the authorities of 'playing with fire' and of jeopardizing
peace in the highly polarized country. 

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

                               ***


S.Florida Sun-Sentinel - Dec 3, 2007
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flrndvenezuela1203sbdec03,0,629279.story

South Florida's Venezuelans say no to constitutional changes

By Ruth Morris

MIAMI--Wearing baseball caps and T-shirts with the yellow, blue and red
of their country's flag, thousands of Venezuelans streamed through the
Miami consulate Sunday to vote on sweeping constitutional changes that
could allow President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election for life.

Unofficial early results from Venezuela suggested a close and
controversial tally, but in South Florida, home to many who oppose
Chavez, voters rejected the changes by a huge margin. The Miami
consulate's electoral board registered 85 votes for the new laws and
6,791 votes against them.

Angered by what they see as a move to hand Chavez unchecked authority,
many showed up at the consulate polling station in white T-shirts
emblazoned with a single word — No.

"This is our big chance," said Mercedes Bello, 37, a real estate agent
from Dania Beach who left home before dawn to stand in line at the
Miami polling station. "If we let this day pass [without voting] we
could be losing our country."

The tense lead-up to the vote brought massive marches and violent
protests in Venezuela, a major oil supplier to the United States.
Chavez, an increasingly vocal antagonist of the Bush administration,
threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States if it meddled in
the polling.

If the referendum failed, it would be Chavez's first loss at the polls
since he took office in 1999. But even a close victory could bring
further discord to an already divided country.

"Hypothetically, even if Chavez wins by 5 percent, it's a failure for
him," said Pedro Mena, a Weston resident.

In South Florida, lines were short in the morning, but snaked around
the back of the Brickell Avenue building where the consulate has
offices by mid-afternoon. As the day wore on, voters waited around two
hours to cast their ballot, a delay compounded by an electrical fire in
an office on another floor. The short circuit forced a temporary
evacuation. Organizers extended polling hours after a 4 p.m. projected
closing to accommodate voters standing in line.

Chavez supporters were a minority. When a dozen "Chavistas" in red
T-shirts unfurled a Venezuelan flag across the street from the
consulate, crowds of voters jeered and chanted: "I came because I
wanted to. They didn't pay me!"

Poll station workers reminded the crowd, "Everyone has a right to
express themselves," and tensions eased.

Vendors, meanwhile, sold T-shirts with the Spanish words: "Porque no te
callas," a question King Juan Carlos of Spain put to Chavez at a recent
summit: "Why don't you shut up?"

Antonio Hernandez Borgo, Venezuela's Consul General in Miami, would not
disclose how he voted. But he framed the government initiatives as
necessary steps to move away from a society split by class.

"Venezuela always has been divided," he said, referring to the marked
income disparities that took hold, even as the country's oil ran thick
and fast. "There are very large sectors that were not attended to, and
a small sector of very privileged people. This is changing."

Even before final results were in, many who voted in South Florida
questioned them. They said they mistrusted the use of electronic voting
machines in Venezuela. Voters in South Florida cast paper ballots. "I
think the 'No' will win, but that he'll steal the vote," said Kendall
real estate broker Aida Vega, 40, referring to Chavez. "All the power
is in his hands."

[Information from the Associated Press was used to supplement this
report.]

Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel