Though likely to succeed at the polls, Chavez's proposed constitutional reforms have wrought serious dissent, Serene Assir reports Venezuela will have a referendum 2 December on constitutional reforms proposed in June by President Hugo Chavez, including enshrining socialism and removing the limits on the number of terms a president can serve. The proposals have been the focus of passionate and heated debate, and were modified by parliament. The referendum will be yet another defining moment in Venezuela's -- and Chavez's -- tumultuous history. Polls are conflicting: one suggests that up to two thirds of Venezuelans are opposed to the sweeping reforms, and the socialisation of the state that the amendments propose, another that over half are in favour. At least part of the seeming contradiction can be explained by Chavez's popularity amongst the majority of Venezuelans. It also has roots in the low expected turnout from the ranks of the opposition, which has grown steadily following the attempted coup against Chavez in 2002. The socialisation of the economy appeals strongly to the country's poor. Venezuela ranks 72 out of 177 in the UN's Human Development Index, significantly higher than Egypt (111) but lower than Brazil (69). It is perhaps worth noting that included in the amendments is a provision tantamount to positive discrimination in favour of indigenous groups. But top political allies to Chavez, including former defence minister Raul Isaias Baudel (who was instrumental in reinstating Chavez in 2002) and the Podemos Party, have joined the opposition, which was once viewed as neo- liberal apologists. Seeing the proposed reforms as undemocratic and, in the words of the once staunchly loyal Baudel, tantamount to a coup, Baudel and his new friends are now attracting moderate leftists, anarchists, students, and of course the church. A closer analysis of the amendments shows they are not just an attempt to instate a presidential autocracy, as the North American mainstream media would portray the draft. Yes, Article 230 of the draft removing the limit on the number of times the president may run has attracted the greatest attention, but many countries, including all parliamentary systems have no such limit. A broader reading, however, also reveals the socialisation of the state, a move that Chavez appears to have been preparing ever since his consolidation in power post-2002. A close friend to the now ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chavez has been at the forefront of the resurgence of populist socialism in Latin America, a trend that witnessed the 2005 election in Bolivia of the country's first indigenous Andean president, Evo Morales. Proposed in the amendments is a socialised restructuring of the state itself, describing the government as a "non-permanent organ in charge of evaluating and implementing communal and local projects" that emerge from the grassroots, which effectively are integrated into the state. Further, the armed forces, described as "an essentially patriotic, popular and anti- imperialist body," are set to become active participants in ensuring the "internal order" of the state. A temporary amendment is also proposed, to the effect that the Civil Guard will take on a military character. In the economic sphere, the draft amendments are ostensibly no less reminiscent of classical socialism. People have both a right and a duty to work. While stipulating the provision of social services including health care to all, and cutting the length of the working day to six hours, the provisions also spell an intensification of Chavez's ongoing drive to render the state the central actor in the country's economy. Crucially in this regard, new definitions of property are laid out in the amendments, including public, social, mixed and private, with private property restricted to personal use. Private businesses are not forbidden, and so it is possible to envisage a situation whereby Venezuela's very lucrative oil export business will benefit the state and the private transnational companies that formally conduct that business. Where the popular base is set to fit into that power equation is unclear. Amongst a broad variety of attacks is that of a group of Venezuelan anarchists who posted their views on the draft reforms on an Internet site anarkismo.net. They make a holistic critique of Chavez's proposals: "The principal objective pursued by big capital with this 'reform' is to give constitutional authority to the system of mixed property established between the National State and private capital [through mixed businesses]," the statement reads. "The capitalist essence of the Venezuelan State is not reformed but intensified." Chavez, however, sees the reforms differently: a way to "give more power to the people", as he reportedly told tens of thousands rallying in support of the amendments in the provincial Venezuelan city of Barcelona 17 November. He added that the reforms were a necessary step in the completion of the Bolivarian revolution, and called for wide participation in the vote lest his proposal be defeated by abstention.
