In a neck & neck, foto-finish, so-close-it-makes-your-eyes-water plebiscite, Venezuelans have voted 51% No, to 49% Si, to proposed changes to their Constitution.
They will still keep their long work week, instead of embracing the proposed reduction to a 6-hour work day. And they have avoided granting President Hugo Chavez the power to declare a national emergency whenever he wants and so declare himself the country’s sole authority “for the duration of said emergency”.
The UK’s Guardian newspaper reported on the vote:
“I’ve voted for him every time before but not this time, I’m worried where this is headed,” said Jonathan Machado, 25, a taxi driver in Barinas. “I want him to stay in office but on a leash.”So, a mixed bag.