My family and I stayed up late last night waiting for the results of the referendum on the constitutional reform in Venezuela. The result? Venezuelans said “NO” to the constitutional reform proposed by Chávez. This is the first election that Chávez loses since 1999 when he became president. It is still worth mentioning that the election was quite close with only a gap of a little more than a percentage point. There was 44% abstention for this referendum mostly on the part of those who opposed Chávez according to the surveys done leading to the election. This high abstention rate is alarming on many fronts. It seems that many Venezuelans have not yet figured out the power they have in their right to vote–the power to make a change. It may seem sometimes that if one abstains from voting here in the U.S. that it wouldn’t matter too much and that may be somewhat true, but in Venezuela this is not the case. On a personal note, it does blow my mind that after having Chávez for nine years in power they have not understood what they can do through their vote.
More:
Venezuelan bishops declare constitutional reform as “morally unacceptable”
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