A Narrow Escape in Venezuela

After last week's "narrow" victory in Venezuela of the NO votes on Hugo Chavez' proposed constitutional "reforms" that would have made him president for life and transformed the country into a socialist state a la Cuba, it was puzzling that he did not demand a recount. Now we know why. According to intelligence sources inside Venezuela the margin of victory for the NO vote was much more than reported by the media and the massive theft of the outcome by Chavez was thwarted by the military.

As reported in El Nacional, and confirmed to me by an intelligence source, the Venezuelan military high command virtually threatened him with a coup d'état if he insisted on [stealing the election]. Finally, after a late-night phone call from Raúl Isaías Baduel, a budding opposition leader and former Chávez comrade in arms, the president conceded—but with one condition: he demanded his margin of defeat be reduced to a bare minimum in official tallies, so he could save face and appear as a magnanimous democrat in the eyes of the world.

As Chávez is in total control of the Electoral Commission (CNE) in Venezuela as well as all of the other branches of government, the true outcome of the election will probably never be published.
This situation casts further suspicions on the previous elections "won" by the Cuadillo and "certified" by Jimmy Carter who never met a dictator he didn't support.

Chávez has another 5 years remaining in office so it is premature to celebrate this setback for him. Equally as unsettling is that it was only the Venezuelan military that prevented this potential constitutional coup.

cross posted at: Eternity Road