US, opposition cheer Chavez's defeat in Venezuelan referendum

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5 hours ago

CARACAS (AFP) — The United States, opponents and business leaders on Monday cheered Venezuela's rejection of reforms that would have opened the way for left-wing President Hugo Chavez to rule over South America's biggest oil exporter for life.

"Clearly this is a message from the Venezuelan people that they do not want any further erosion in their democracy and their democratic institutions," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.

In Venzuela, opposition groups were emboldened by the result of Sunday's referendum, which was rejected by the slimmest of margins -- 51 percent to 49 percent.

"It was the people's battle against a state plan that tried to place all the nation's power and oil wealth at the service of a political project," said Leopoldo Lopez, a mayor in the anti-Chavez chic Chacao district in Caracas.

Chavez, a 53-year-old charismatic former paratrooper known for his bullish ways and sharp anti-US rhetoric, was uncharactistically subdued when he finally emerged early Monday to accept his loss.

"Don't feel sad," he told his supporters, pointing out the razor-thin margin by which they were defeated.

He said he recognized his plans to enshrine his vision of a socialist economy in Venezuela's charter had been thwarted "for now" -- but stressed he would not give up.

The opposition had won a "Pyrrhic victory," he claimed, adding that he would not "change one comma" of his plan.

The result was disappointing for ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his regime, which views Chavez as a close ally and relies heavily on Venezuelan oil shipments.

But Castro praised Chavez for how he faced up to defeat.

"Dear Hugo: I send you revolutionary congratulations for your speech today, which was a 'Veni, vidi, vici' of dignity and ethics," Castro said in a message relayed by state television, referring to the Latin phrase uttered by a victorious Julius Ceasar -- "I came, I saw, I conquered."

The 81-year-old leader, who has handed over power to his brother Raul Castro since undergoing surgery in July 2006, said Chavez had shown "courage and wisdom" in his reaction.

The Caracas stockmarket, however, was encouraged by the poll result. Monday, the main index closed four percent higher.

And Ricardo Sanchez, one of the leaders of university students who had spearheaded the resistance to Chavez's reforms through street protests, said: "It's in Chavez's hands if he wants to continue with confrontation."

Overnight, students and other youths celebrated the "no" result with an imprompty outdoor party in the center of the capital as fireworks exploded in the sky.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time -- it's the beginning of the end for Chavez, we've shown we can beat him," said Edwin Sanchez, a 27-year-old student.

"The people were fed up with his perpetual paranoia," said Anna Camelo, a 30-year-old shopworker also celebrating. "He wanted to impose a dictatorship on us and cut us off from all the other countries."

Chavez, who has cultivated ties with Cuba and Iran, had called all those ranked against him "traitors" acting on behalf of US "imperialism."

He had banked on his high popularity among voters to push through his plans to make Venezuela a socialist economy, ending the central bank's autonomy and allowing authorities to stifle the media in times of emergency.

He has said he also wanted to stay in power "until 2050," through the reform's scrapping of presidential term limits.

But, under the extant constitution, he will now have to step down at the end of his second mandate, in January 2013.

The European Commission said it was "satisfied" with Chavez's admission of defeat, while Spain -- whose King Juan Carlos last month told Chavez to "shut up" during a summit -- congratulated the Venezuelan people for their "democratic maturity."

Venezuela's constitution prevents Chavez from again presenting his constitutional reform under the current congress -- though he could conceivably appoint a constituent assembly to draft an entirely new basic law for adoption.

Raul Baduel, a former defense minister and one-time Chavez ally who has emerged as a rallying figure for the previously fractured opposition, urged supporters to remain vigilant against another attempt to usher in the reforms.

"We need to remain conscious of the possibility that the president could attempt to reach the same results through the legislative process," he said.