With Venezuela’s constitutional referendum coming up on Sunday numerous news stories have recently made the rounds. Here are some of them:* A TIME magazine article on President Hugo Chavez decided to ditch the dictionary and create a new word: “democratator”; def. “a democratically elected dictator”.
* An estimated 100,000 people marched in Caracas yesterday to express their opposition to the constitutional changes backed by Chavez. However, tens of thousands of Chavez supporters attended a pro-government rally in the Venezuelan capital today.
* Some economists believe that Venezuela’s economic growth will greatly slow down if the referendum passes. Yet as we mentioned last month, 2001 Nobel Prize winner in economics Joseph Stiglitz had backed Chavez’ policy during a visit to Caracas.
* On the political front, one of the main opposition groups that originally called for abstentions on Sunday has now changed its tune. Meanwhile, Chavez said that he would “start to pack my bags” should the “No” vote win.
* Polls vary on which side will win the referendum; a survey conducted by Datanalisis concluded that voters prefer “No” by a 10% margin yet a poll by Consultores 30.11 showed that “Yes” would triumph by 7%.
* Lastly, Venezuelans have been hoarding items like toilet paper based on rumors supposedly spread by “a group of business leaders (who) are…playing dirty.” (Pun definitely intended).
Sources- TIME, Voice of America, USA TODAY, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Reuters UK, International Herald Tribune, Reuters Africa
Image- CNN (“A banner in Caracas supports the constitutional reforms sought by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez”)
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