Chavez fails in Venezuela

I never thought I might get tired of blogging, and it's not really that. I haven't run out of things to say; indeed, I was somewhat overwhelmed over the weekend by the surfeit of interesting events. So much to process, find links for and think of something arresting yet accurate to say. I don't know if I'll ever catch up, but here's a start.

I said most of what I wanted to say about the charming failure of Hugo Chavez to gain approval for his referendum on 60-something constitutional changes designed to centralize political power further, bring the economy under closer political control and allow the president to run for reelection for life (with longer terms, of course), in this Register editorial. Except for a couple of things.

When I talked to Ian Vasquez at Cato, he stressed the breadth of the anti-Chavez movement, and was especially pleased that so many students were involved. He said Venezuelans, like most people, were suspicious of concentrated power in the executive. I don't know how true that is, but I hope it is. By overreaching in a way that so obviously benefited him personally in his desire to hang onto addictive power, he may have sparked an effective long-term opposition that may prove capable of slowing down or squelching his grand design for oil-supported socialism in Venezuela. But I don't expect that he will give up his plans, even if he is chastened for the moment. Ian thinks he's a true believer, and most of what I've learned about him over the years suggests that he is.