Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lost a referendum on constitutional changes by a narrow margin of 51% to 49%. The election had an abstention rate of 44%, suggesting that Chavez supporters who did not endorse the reforms stayed home while opposition voters turned out in droves. Among the proposals were plans to shorten the working day from 8 to 6 hours, lower the voting age from 18 to 16, remove autonomy of the central bank, and remove presidential terms limits. Chavez conceded defeat and said, “To those who voted against my proposal, I thank them and congratulate them.” He remains steadfast to further the reforms he has already put in place, which have vastly improved the lives of the country’s poor.

Since he was voted into office in 1998, the US and anti-Chavez elite have painted Chavez as a dictator. Whether you agree with the constitutional reforms or not, Chavez’s gracious reaction to the defeat certainly does not match the actions of a dictator. The fact that a fair election occurred at all suggests that Venezuela’s democracy is healthier than that of the United States. After all, what kind of dictator allows himself to be defeated? After two fixed presidential elections here in the states, we could use a little bit of the “undemocratic rule” that the people of Venezuela enjoy. Had Chavez actually won the referendum, the CIA was prepared to stage another coup.

It is important for us to take the US position towards a democratic leader like Chavez in context to our support for a despot like Putin. The one thing America truly fears is democracy. The same Western pundits that have slammed Chavez for his socialist views have excused Putin’s tyrannical rule as something necessary. A supposedly “liberal” pundit like Bill Maher comes to mind as one such apologist. Putin’s recent “win” has secured him 70 percent of the seats in the Russian parliament, but there’s no need to accuse the Kremlin of ballot-rigging because Bush trusts Putin.

In Russia, the Communist Party has cited some 10,000 violations, and said it will ask the Supreme Court to rule on the validity of the vote. Liberal opposition parties have basically ceased to exist, and the Kremlin has hailed the rigged result as a signal that Russian voters want Putin to retain power after he leaves office. This is the kind of police state “democracy” we support over the progressive reforms taking place in Venezuela, which have actually given the populace enough power to vote against the very government which gave them that power in the first place.

To further juxtapose socialist-libertarianism with authoritarian capitalism: While pro-democracy protesters are often jailed as their leaders meet mysterious ends in Russia, many of the Venezuelans involved in the actual 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez have never even been arrested or put on trial. While we know the CIA will continue in their efforts to install a strongman in Venezuela, we can also rest assured that Chavez will continue to fight for democracy. Viva La Revolución!

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