This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7124313.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Chavez defeated over reform vote | Chavez defeated over reform vote |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has narrowly lost a referendum on controversial constitutional changes. | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has narrowly lost a referendum on controversial constitutional changes. |
| Voters rejected the sweeping reforms by a margin of 51% to 49%, the chief of the National Electoral Council said. | Voters rejected the sweeping reforms by a margin of 51% to 49%, the chief of the National Electoral Council said. |
| Mr Chavez described the defeat as a "photo finish", and urged followers not to turn it into a point of conflict. | Mr Chavez described the defeat as a "photo finish", and urged followers not to turn it into a point of conflict. |
| Correspondents say the opposition could barely hide their delight and that the victory will put the brakes on Mr Chavez's "Socialist revolution". | Correspondents say the opposition could barely hide their delight and that the victory will put the brakes on Mr Chavez's "Socialist revolution". |
| With his raft of reforms, Mr Chavez was seeking an end to presidential term limits and the removal of the Central Bank's autonomy. | |
| But the result marks the president's first electoral reverse since he won power in an election in 1998. | |
| Since then he has set about introducing sweeping changes in the country's laws aimed at re-distributing the Venezuela's oil wealth to poorer farmers in rural areas. | |
| The main opposition parties had claimed during the referendum campaign that Mr Chavez was seeking to give himself too much power, and was trying to establish a dictatorship. |