Monday, February 16, 2009

In an anti-democratic move today, 54 percent of Venezuelans freely voted to give Chavez the power to run for office indefinitely, striking down term limits. If my ironic voice is too subtle, my apologies. It is transparently absurd to describe this as anything but democratic; the will of the people, that is a clear majority in this case, made a decision on executive power in a popular referendum. I welcome the opposition, another cornerstone of a healthy democracy. But it is ridiculous to continue the charade that the caudillo of Venezuela, though autocratic, is a dictator. One need not be a Chavista to make this point.

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