"Clearly this is a message from the Venezuelan people that they do not want any further erosion in their democracy and their democratic institutions," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said after the referendum.
"The people spoke their minds, and they voted against the reforms that Hugo Chavez had recommended and I think that bodes well" for the country's future as well as "freedom and liberty," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
The US officials spoke after Chavez acknowledged his first-ever defeat at the polls after the weekend referendum, which would also have turned oil-rich Venezuela into a socialist state, went down to defeat by a narrow 51-49 margin.
I sense some triumphalism in this vote against Chavez. I do not share this joy of victory.
First the good news. Though I have no doubt that Chavez was able to pad his vote total with illegal means, he was not able to outright steal the election with a totally fabricated vote.
Yet a sizable minority of Venezuelans thought that a dictatorship under Chavez was a good idea. Forty-nine percent if the polls are real. Even if this total is really closer to 40%, any halfway decent dictator can terrorize and intimidate the rest of the population if he has 40% support.
A vote for his dictatorship would surely have been convenient for Chavez, but don't think that this is over:
There was a disturbing few hours after the vote, however, during which the government gave no results whatsoever and Chavez pondered what to do.
"I tell you from the heart: for a few hours I debated with myself, in a dilemma," Chavez said. "I've now left the dilemma behind and I'm calm. I hope the Venezuelans are as well."
He added: "Now, Venezuelans, let's put our trust in our institutions."
Quite the dilemma. He had to decide whether to abide by the results. That he did comes from his confidence that he can achieve in pieces what he could not get whole. Note his call to trust the institutions of Venezuela--institutions that Chavez himself controls. Those institutions will give him his dictatorship one piece at a time.
The opposition is happy:
Opposition members and sympathizers immediately celebrated their victory, setting off fireworks in Caracas and filling the streets with cheers and whistles.
Yes, be happy Chavez lost this round. Venezuelans have a republic, if they can keep it.
Chavez is calm in the face of how the people have spoken. The Venezuelan people, I am confident, are still damned.
