Wow, did we dodge a close one in Venezuela. The Chavez package of dictatorial powers barely missed being voted into law by a 51 to 49 margin, which means that there was such an overwhelming groundswell against it that Chavez couldn’t cheat his way into winning.
Still, he is President until at least 2012 and this quote ought to give us pause:
“I congratulate my adversaries for this victory…For now, we could not do it.”
Chavez is no dummy. He knows full well that if he stomps on the opposition much harder than he already has, the left in places like America and Britain will start to edge away from him and he’ll lose the support that’s helped him get to where he is right now. On the other hand, his influence is such that losing yesterday’s election is not a terrible setback. He can bring the same package up for a vote again after he’s throw a few more body-blows to the opposition. He has a few years before he has to leave and if he plays the game the way he’s played it thus far, it’s not a given that he’ll be leaving then either. Yesterday’s vote was a win-win situation for him. By losing magnanimously, he can let his syncophants paint him as a generous democratic leader. Meanwhile, he hasn’t lost anything at all. His loyalists still infect the judiciary and legislature, as well as the local political machines. As I see it, yesterday’s vote was just Chavez dipping his spoon into the soup, to see if it’s ready for him to gobble up right now or if it needs to simmer a while. And so it’ll simmer.
I’m amused by the reactions from the left (see here, here, here, and here) who are now saying that since one of Chavez’ plans were foiled by an election, he’s obviously not the demon dictator the “Bushies” claim. It’s not like they really considered Chavez a dictator anyhow, but they’re taking the opportunity today to turn the Fawn-O-Meter up to Maxiumum Toady. Would that they have given President Bush the same benefit of the doubt in 2004 and 2006 when his party faced electoral setbacks, or during the myriad Congressional votes that didn’t go his way.
