Venezuela: Presidential defeat in national referendum on constitutional reform - full text
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Officials from Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) on Dec. 3 announced that, in a national referendum held on Dec. 2, voters narrowly rejected proposed amendments to the country’s constitution of 1999. CNE officials, cited in a report published on Dec. 3 by the Reuters news agency, said that about 51 per cent of voters rejected the proposed constitutional changes, whilst some 49 per cent approved of the plans. Voter turnout was 56 per cent, the Associated Press news agency reported on Dec. 3.
Immediate Context
The results were regarded as a blow to the government of President Hugo Chávez Frías, which had promoted the proposals as part of the administration’s broader attempts to "construct a profoundly different Venezuela" with "Bolivarian socialism" (sometimes called "21st century socialism").
The referendum asked voters to approve or reject a total of 69 proposed amendments to Venezuela’s constitution, all of which had been approved by legislators after the reforms were debated in the National Assembly in August, September, and October. The amendments included the removal of Venezuela's two-term presidential limit, an extension of the presidential term from six years to seven, a reduction in the working day from eight hours to six, the granting of some political and economic powers to local communities, and the removal of the central bank's autonomy.
Some of the constitutional reforms sought by Chávez’s government, most notably the proposal to remove the two-term presidential limit, were regarded as controversial by the president’s opponents, who claimed that the plans were a "power grab" and a step towards a "dictatorship" in Venezuela. However, the head of state in many countries, including highly developed countries such as the UK and Australia, was permitted to stand indefinitely for re-election, a fact which was absent from most mainstream media reports about the debate over Venezuela’s constitution.
Ahead of the referendum, a series of protests for and against the constitutional reforms were held throughout the country. On Oct. 23, two police officers and several students were injured during violent clashes that erupted in Caracas (the capital), when opponents of the reforms reached the National Assembly (the unicameral legislature) building, where pro-government supporters were also gathered.
Reaction and Outlook
President Chávez responded to the referendum results by congratulating his opponents on their victory, urging them to show "restraint" in their celebrations, an apparent attempt to prevent an outbreak of violence between his supporters and opponents. Chávez also vowed to "continue in the battle to build socialism" and said that the reform proposals remained "alive", prompting speculation in a Reuters report on Dec. 3 that he might try other (unspecified) ways of introducing the constitutional reforms.
The AP on Dec. 3 cited Chávez as saying: "I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense".
Vinay Jawahar, a political analyst cited by Reuters, said that the rejection of the reforms should cause Chávez "to rethink the pace and scope of" his "Bolivarian revolution".
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, cited in a report published on Dec. 3 by the AP, said that the result was a "victory" for Venezuela, adding that the US government "felt that the referendum would" have made "Chavez president for life", which was never "a welcome development".
Under the terms of Venezuela’s 1999 constitution, Chávez would be forced to step down from the presidency by 2013 and was prevented from seeking a third term in office.
Historical Context
Lt-Col Hugo Chávez Frías first rose to prominence in Venezuela in February 1992, when he led a failed coup attempt against the government of former President Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-79; 1989-93). Andrés Pérez had overseen an economic crisis that saw inflation rise to more than 80 per cent and real salaries decrease by more than 40 per cent. Shortly after the coup attempt, Chávez negotiated the terms of a surrender and addressed the nation on live television, broadcast from the ministry of defence. During his address, Chávez accepted full "responsibility" for the coup attempt, famously saying that the armed rebellion had failed "for now".
Chávez was imprisoned for his role in the coup, but, from his prison cell, he openly supported a second failed coup attempt, launched by fellow military dissidents in November 1992. Former President Rafael Caldera Rodríguez (1969-74; 1994-99) pardoned Chávez and other military leaders in March 1994, as part of his government’s attempts to improve relations with Venezuela’s senior military leaders.
In October 1997 Chávez founded the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), which, as part of the left-wing Patriotic Front coalition, in November 1998 won more votes than any other party in legislative elections to the National Congress (Venezuela’s former bicameral legislature).
Chávez swept into power in December 1998 , winning more than 56 per cent of the first round vote in presidential elections. During his election campaign, Chávez alarmed Venezuela’s domestic and international business communities with pledges of radical economic and political reforms.
Chávez was inaugurated as the president in February 1999 and immediately issued a presidential decree calling for the holding of a national referendum on the creation of a constituent assembly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution. When the referendum was held, in December 1999 , voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution, which Chávez said was designed to strengthen democracy, introduce essential civil and human rights, and eliminate widespread corruption.
In presidential elections held in July 2000 , under the terms of the 1999 constitution, President Chávez was re-elected for a new six-year term in office, after winning almost 60 per cent of the first round vote.
A coup in April 2002, led by right-wing political parties, business leaders, and some senior military leaders, temporarily removed Chávez from power, but the president returned to his post after a dramatic and popular mobilisation of support for him on the streets of Caracas. Immediately after the coup, Pedro Carmona Estanga , then president of Fedecamaras (the Venezuelan Federation of Associations and Chambers of Commerce and Industry--an employers' organisation), illegally declared himself as Venezuela’s new president and dissolved all three branches of the government. Carmona was placed under house arrest when Chávez was restored to office, but he later fled to Colombia, where he remained after being granted political asylum.
Opponents of Chávez in December 2002 launched a campaign designed to sabotage Venezuela’s oil industry, supporting a nationwide general strike, including a stoppage at Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA--the Venezuelan state energy company), as part of broader attempts to force Chávez to resign or to announce the holding of a fresh general election. However, Chávez announced in February 2003 that the "oil coup" had been defeated, before appointing a new board of directors to PDVSA. Attempts by the opposition to remove Chávez from power were frustrated again in August 2004 , when, in an opposition-supported national referendum, the CNE confirmed that 59.25 per cent of voters rejected the notion of recalling the president from office.
In legislative elections to the 167-member National Assembly (the unicameral legislature), held in December 2005, Chávez’s MVR won 114 seats. A year later, and with the opposition seemingly impotent, Chávez was overwhelmingly re-elected for a new six-year term in office, after winning more than 62 per cent of the popular vote in a presidential election held in December 2006. He was inaugurated for his second consecutive six-year term in office during a ceremony held in the National Assembly in January 2007.
Since winning power, Chávez had pursued a range of left-wing policies, including the redistribution of idle land to Venezuela’s poor majority and the renegotiation of contracts with foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela to increase the state’s share of the wealth being generated from the country’s natural resources. Chávez also launched a series of social programmes, including those designed to improve literacy, access to education, housing, and healthcare. Chávez’s radical agenda was very popular amongst Venezuela’s poor majority, but it incensed prominent figures from the domestic and international business communities.
Chávez’s popularity in Venezuela was deeply rooted in a perception that he was a leader who wanted to protect the interests of Venezuela and its citizens more than he wanted to protect the interests of the Venezuelan and international business communities. His frequent use of "firebrand" or "populist" rhetoric, to publicly condemn the policies of senior international figures such as US President George W Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, reinforced his popularity amongst those Venezuelans who supported his left-wing agenda.
