Chavez loses Referendum

Chavez has very narrowly lost the referendum on two proposed block reforms to the 1999 constitution of the Bolivarian republic of Venezuela. These being "block a" indefinite re-election & "block b" votes for 16 year olds.
It is too early to apportion blame or even theorise that the socialist project which is associated with Hugo Chavez is damaged by this. Though naturally that is what both sides (chav and antiChav) are doing. Hugo had in his closing speeches in the campaign railed against an alliance of Spain, its King, the USA and Colombia and then in a typical performance brought in the nazi's, but left out Farc (video attached) whereas the opposing side gurggled about dictatorships, pointed at Bolivia's worrysome crises of the last week & gleefully clapped their little handies when this time they won what Chavez curiously called a "Pyrrhic vicory".
That being a classical reference to a naval battle of the early Roman empire whose victory was had at such great cost as to be worthless.

Though their victory would not have been possible with resistance to the current style of the reforms within the Chav camp itself. Whence the reforms in some altered form will return & be carried through. The Venezuelans have exercised democracy, not a perfect democracy, but beyond an emergent democracy. They're lucky to have it. & it seems they appreciate it. Maybe some day, their bolivarian revolution will have another "man" or "woman" doing the rousing speeches?

No doubt many opinions will be aired about this today & in the next week & already it's hitting front page news in both English & Spanish language media.

from Venezuela
http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/12/03/pol_art_venezolan...shtml
from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7124313.stm
from Spain's "EL Pais"
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Chavez/rec...1/Tes