Election Review: Venezuela Turns Down Chavez Proposals

Another recent election in the international scene occurred on December 2, 2007 when the power expanding proposals of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez were narrowly turned down by a vote of 51% to 49%. It was the first time Chavez experienced electoral defeat, meaning that future progress of his "Bolivarian Revolution" is now in question.

And thank goodness too. Yes, even though I tend to lean left when it comes to my politics, it's more of a center-left and so I can't say that I am found of Mr. Chavez's socialist revolution. Some of my friends might be surprised to hear me say this but the fact is I really mean it. This rejection of Chavez's proposals was certainly needed because it seemed Chavez was heading on a path towards complete authoritarian rule.

If enacted, the proposals that Chavez put forward would have eliminated presidential term limits and they would have greatly centralized power into the hands of the president. Venezuela would have basically become another Cuba and well...the truth is I can't stand authoritarian rule. Yes, I am a believer in democracy and in the ability of a republic or constitutional monarchy to govern and follow the will of the people and as a result, I really look down on anything that smells of authoritarianism, whether on the far right or on the far left.

Events over the past year prove that Chavez has been heading in this direction. Chavez tried to force his party's coalition partners into one single party to make it like the communist party of Cuba and he also refused to renew the broadcasting license of the main opposition television channel, showing his lack of respect for opposition voices to be heard.

And of course, the proposed changes to 69 of the 350 articles in the constitution was the biggest signal that Chavez was heading towards complete authoritarian rule. This excerpt from an article in The New York Times entitled "Venezuela Vote Sets Roadblocks on Chávez Path" provides some examples of what might happen if his proposals were implemented:

"Opponents, meanwhile, warned that the proposed changes would have made Mr. Chávez even more authoritarian than they say he already is. One of the 69 amendments, for instance, would have allowed Mr. Chávez to create new administrative regions, governed by vice presidents chosen by him. Others would have given him the power to declare states of emergency for unlimited periods and increase the state’s hand in the economy."

So thankfully these proposals were not enacted because they would have led to drastic changes for Venezuela. Of course, it could be argued that Chavez is not so authoritarian as people think because he did respect the results of this election. But my gut instinct says he really wants his proposals enacted and so he will probably find another way to get it done. Or he might just wait and hold another referendum election sometime before the scheduled end of his term in 2013.

I think Chavez would rather gain authoritarian power through a referendum so that he can do what Palpatine did in the Star Wars movies, which is receive authoritarian powers through legitimate institutional means. And if Chavez were to ever obtain full authoritarian powers, well, I think we could say good-bye to democracy in Venezuela. But in this election democracy prevailed and I hope it does for years to come. I also hope it gets better leadership because many of its people are still impoverished and I'm not so sure that socialism is the way to get there. Reading The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs has been a real eye-opener for me and so I think a visit from Mr. Sachs should be in order for Venezuela.