No subject

AP

ON MONDAY December 3rd Hugo Ch=E1vez did something unusual: he admitted,
during a broadcast on Venezuela's state TV station, that he had made a
mistake. Venezuela's leader had hitherto seemed invincible, but at the
weekend he was forced to concede defeat in his bid to turn the country
into a socialist republic and govern it =93until my bones are dry=94. Voters
had rejected his proposals for sweeping constitutional changes in a
referendum on Sunday. His particular mistake, he suggested, was in
assuming that Venezuelans had the political maturity to embrace his
vision of socialism.

It had been a long time since the Venezuelan opposition tasted victory.
So long, that they had almost forgotten what it was like. =93I just
realised I=92ve been depressed for the past seven years,=94 said one woman.
Mr Ch=E1vez billed the changes proposed in the referendum as a =93reform=94,
but many saw it as tantamount to a new constitution introduced by the
back door in the government-dominated national assembly=97a =93coup d'etat=
=94
said some.

With the electoral authority in the hands of the government and
state-run media giving almost no coverage to the no campaign, many
thought the outcome a foregone conclusion. But all the serious polls
predicted a defeat for the president, provided that opposition voters
overcame the widespread conviction that the result would be rigged.=20

In the event it was pro-Ch=E1vez voters who stayed away in their millions.
(...)





--=20
  Hank Kobryn
  h_kobryn at fastmail.fm

--=20
http://www.fastmail.fm - One of many happy users:=0D
  http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/quotes.html