Chavez vows to achieve changes by other means

Houston Chronicle:

Following a razor-thin loss at the polls that emboldened his opponents, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez vowed Monday to push ahead with his plans to create a socialist country.

Hours after voters rejected constitutional changes that would have given him sweeping powers to transform the country, Chavez said he would pursue many of same measures voted down in Sunday's referendum through other means such as new laws and decrees.

"We are prepared for a long battle," he said. "I don't take back even one comma from this proposal. It's still alive. It's not dead."

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Experts said some of the amendments on Sunday's ballot, such as reducing the workday to six hours, could be turned into law by the National Assembly, which is controlled by Chavez's allies. Another option would be a special assembly to write a new constitution.

A fresh charter would allow Chavez to revive his effort to scrap presidential term limits and remain in office beyond 2013. But the plan also poses risks for him because the revitalized opposition could win many of the assembly's seats.

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Chavez is a determined despot. The Venezuelans may be falling out of love with him and his policies, but that is likely to lead to more repression on the part of Chavez. Communism usually requires brutal oppression to impose it upon people. It cannot survive with freedom. If it were so great Cubans would not be risking their lives to flea from free health care.