The Venezuelan people established another benchmark this month by approving a constitutional amendment in a popular plebiscite that removes the two term restriction on candidates for political office. While this has been trumpeted in the US and conservative media as an attempt by popular President Hugo Chavez to make himself 'President for Life', nothing could be further from the truth. As Lara Pullin points out, the Australian, French, and the constitutions of a number of other countries allow for indefinite re-election (as opposed to 'appointment') of politicians (witness the Mezies years) so it is hard to see what the fuss is about. Lara tells us what this means to the Venezuelan people and why they voted the way they did in the referendum.
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