When I heard that Hugo Chavez did not win with

[ikojo]

his proposal, my first thought was this: how much influence, financial or otherwise, did the US exert on this election. Were people paid to vote a particular way that was more favorable to the US position?

I smell something fishy

[aquart]

1. Or they just don't want to give anyone carte blanche.

[ChazII]

3. That was my first thought. I will have to read more.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Exactly.

I can't imagine that he would have lost this vote had he left the removal of term limits and changes to the central bank out of the package.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. Oh for the love of Pete.

Not even Chavez is suggesting that the results are anything other than legitimate. He probably would have won handily had his behaviour over the past month been less ridiculous.

[cali]

5. yeah, but leave it some at DU to determine with zilch evidence

that the results were "fishy".

[Snarkturian Clone]

10. I haven't time to find a link right now

but I believe some DUers predicted that if the referendum didn't work out for Chavez there would be DUers claiming fraud or US involvement.

Chavez' loss here actually makes me think that there IS a democracy in VZ. Go figure.

[EFerrari]

11. The was US involvement, millions of dollars but it doesn't

look like there was fraud. We'll hear more but it looks like Venezuela managed to have a good vote despite the bs.

[Bolo Boffin]

7. I thought about that.

All of those powers that he would have had during a state of emergency, and then a couple of days before the election threatening to cut off oil to America?

He overplayed his hand, and he knows it. And the defeat is decisive but not embarrassing. They like him, they really do. But he should trust that the country is stronger than him.

A candle of hope in a troubled world. I'm really impressed by this whole affair.

[MADem]

6. Go read the referendum articles, and then tell us if YOU'D vote that in. NT

[onehandle]

8. When I first read this post

for about the fiftieth time today, I wondered why DUers don't look around and see that their brainstorm had already been posted numerous times?

And it's early still

[arcos]

9. They sure did, but probably not as much as in the last 2 elections...

Chávez was reelected last December, and he won a recall a about three years ago.

The current US administration interferes in just about any election it can (and to be honest, Democrats are not THAT much better).

People are paid to vote in just about any Latin American elections... it depends on the country and the area of the country how much they are paid. But the left has been able to overcome this easily by having better ideas, a better team, and most important, better intentions than the right wing. We also know what we are against, so it shouldn't come as a surprise... not in 2007, at least. That also happens with Democrats in the US, you guys are usually outspent by Republicans, have to fight voter intimidation, etc. That's a hard reality the left faces everywhere, and that doesn't mean we should tolerate it, but we should be wide aware and awake to fight it BEFORE the voting ends.

Chávez accepted the result as a gentleman... he was able to win by 60%+ a year ago, he might as well lose by 51-49% now. In fact, as I posted in another thread, I think this will actually strengthen him... now there's no excuse to say he's a dictator, or that elections are not fair and clean. They have always been that way, and that's why he lost... he's a democrat who will not tamper with the popular will.

[Odin2005]

12. There probably was some US influence, but it probably wasn't the main cause...

...of the no vote. Most Venezuelans like Chavez's economic policies, but many apparently don't like his centralizing of power in himself.