By Andrew L. Jaffee

… Chavez’s use of the words “for now” in his concession speech echo a statement he made after his failed attempt to overthrow the government in 1992. After that, “for now” became a rallying cry for his supporters. …

El Jefe Chavez lost yesterday’s election, but don’t think he’s given up on becoming Venezuela’s dictator-for-life. He blamed his own supporters for defeat, even after he tried to buy their votes. But the majority of Venezuelans saw through his cynical pandering, and instead rejected Chavez’s more megalomaniacal proposals. In the final analysis, Chavez’s election grandstanding (his big mouth) — threatening to “cut off exports of oil to the U.S., Venezuela’s biggest trading partner” — seemed to convince a majority of voters that he was a danger, not an asset, to the country.

Trying to gloss over yesterday’s voter rejection of his 69 proposed constitutional amendments:

… Chavez… blamed the loss on low turnout among the very supporters who re-elected him a year ago with 63 percent of the vote. …

Chavez’s Castro-like mentality is incapable of hiding the thirst for absolute power, and voters saw this in some of the proposed constitutional changes, despite the allure of government handouts:

… While some [amendments] promised to win broad support, including a shortening of the work day and increased pension rights, others prompted allegations of a dictatorship-in-the-making. They would lift all limits on how many terms Mr Chavez could serve and also allow him to take control of the Central Bank and arrest people without charge during periods of emergency rule. …

Not only did Chavez lose yesterday’s vote, but he:

… suffered some high-profile defections by political allies, including former defense minister Gen. Raul Baduel. …

So Chavez is now acting like a good sport, calling for calm and restraint, and making statements like “There is no dictatorship here,” and “This is a democracy.” But even his ex-comrades don’t buy it:

… Baduel said after the results were announced that Chavez may continue to push for the measures he sought.

“We should be alert to the possibility that these changes will be imposed through a different route than the constitution,'’ he said in comments broadcast by Globovision. …

Remember what Chavez said after admitting his loss: “For me, this isn’t a defeat. This is for now.'’ Which leads us right back to the first citation in my article:

… Chavez’s use of the words “for now” in his concession speech echo a statement he made after his failed attempt to overthrow the government in 1992. After that, “for now” became a rallying cry for his supporters. …

As nauseating as it may seem, we still may live to see a Castro #2.

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Related: Dictator Watch, Latin America, Elections

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