Chavez Referendum Defeated

A referendum proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, which essentially would turn Venezuela into an almost socialist state, was defeated this past weekend. This indicates that voters believe he had finally overreached in proposing constitutional changes that would have ended term limits for the president and greatly centralized his power. This referendum proposal caused many protests throughout Venezuela, and its defeat came to the surprise of many people. However Chavez did the right thing to respect the voters opinion by acknowledging the defeat, rather than taking the path of a dictator and doing something radical. This firmly established his classification as a supporter of democracy. Here is the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/world/americas/04venezuela.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=a97347ef286aebc2&ex=1197349200&emc=eta1