Chavez defeated over reform vote

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has narrowly lost a referendum on controversial constitutional changes.

Chavez’s defeat is a victory for democracy. His admitting his defeat is an expression of respect for popular will. In his future policy making, he will bear in mind that there is a majority that wants him to rule democratically and that there is another political force in the country whose opinions should be taken into account.

Chavez was seeking to kill democracy in Venezuela by seeking to stand indefinitely in elections. This is an unfair game as through time he will wield more influence across all Venezuela's institutions. This means his opponents will have little chance to defeat him. Now with his defeat, they won’t have an indefinite new Fidel Castro.

As Chavez failed to have support for his "socialist Revolution" at home, he's unlikely to get full support for his policy among other neighboring countries, except among his far away ally Iranian president and the dying/aging Fidel Castro. This show that the Venezuelan people don't easily buy slogans under the banner of revolutionary socialism that means having a president for life. Had Chavez he would wield more influence across all Venezuela's institutions. This means his opponents would have little chance to defeat him. Anyone opposing him would even be seen as traitor of his "political revolution" aimed at diminishing the influence of "imperialist" USA.

Dictatorship would be the likely outcome of giving Chavez huge power and indefinite terms to rule if he had had the massive support he would use as a weapon to silence anyone calling for power sharing.

It should also be a sigh of relief to the USA which will see his back in 2013. But still it will have to bear with him for the legitimate years he still have in power. At that time, he will be just a veteran politician or he will take a pause to see what he can do in 2019, the time he will surely be older (65 years old) but probably unchanged in his views. In 12 years from now, Venezuela could change during his rule until 2013 and under the rule of his successor. It remains to see if he will have the ability and the authority to have any influence to materialize his view of “Revolutionary Socialism”.