A vote of ‘Si' or ‘No’ in Venezuela
Posted: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:08 PM
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On Assignment
By Kerry Sanders, NBC News Correspondent
CARACAS, Venezuela – Sunday could be a turning point for this country's future. Venezuela’s 16 million voters will decide if they want to change their constitution in a major referendum.
Among the 69 proposed changes to the country’s 1999 constitution is one critical issue: can presidential term limits be eliminated? If so, President Hugo Chavez could be re-elected president every seven years for the rest of his life.
Some here, and some in the U.S. State Department, fear that type of power could effectively give Chavez not only the "president for life" title, but it could allow him to establish a totalitarian rule similar to what Fidel Castro and his brother have done in Cuba.
The president’s supporters say they want Chavez to remain because he has done what no other leader here ever has attempted – shared the oil wealth with the poorest people.
Either for or against change
But the method of the referendum and the ballot itself is not what you would expect in the United States.
The reforms are grouped into two blocks. Voters choose "yes" to all of the reforms or "no" to them in one block.
The actual ballots do not have any explanation of what exactly people are voting for or against.
In a U.S. election, the language on a ballot is written out -- and while the language is often confusing because it's crafted by lawyers, it is there for voters to read, re-read, and re-read again.
Also, in the United States, you can vote on each amendment.
Here it is more about aligning with movements rather than the details of the specific reforms.
The two sides here are Red or Blue. Red is pro-change. Blue says "no to the reform."
Perhaps it is a politically astute move, or maybe just happen-stance, but the presidential term limits issue is in the same block as a change in the work day – from eight hours to six hours a day for the same pay. Some of the other reforms include creating forms of communal property and increasing social security benefits for the poor.
In the end, those social reforms might be what will push through the referendum.
Class division
One factor you can't help but notice: the Blue party backers are mostly of European descent while the Red party is dominated by those with indigenous blood lines.
They also are separated by wealth.
The Blue party supporters have long held the wealth here. The Red party is mostly comprised of those who have endured generations of poverty.
The polls open Sunday morning.
It's expected the tally will be announced sometime late Sunday.
Will violence follow?
Both the Red and the Blue parties are not predicting violence, but everyone says they're prepared.
