U.S. “cautiously optimistic” of Venezuelan vote

The State Department is cautiously optimistic over the results of Venezuela’s national referendum on term limits according to several news reports.

"We congratulate the civic and participatory spirit” of the voters State Department spokesman Noel Clay said to AFP regarding Sunday’s referendum. Yet Clay added that the Venezuelan government must “now focus on governing democratically” and addressing issues that most affect Venezuelans.

The State Department’s satisfaction was not shared by anti-Chavista Venezuelan expats living in south Florida:

''I'm very disappointed,'' Javier Quintero said of Chávez's win to abolish term limits. ``Unfortunately, there is not too much to do. I don't know what is going to happen with my country''…

''They have hope in the original idea he had, like helping the poor,'' (Florida International University student Che) Guerra said of her pro-Chávez relatives. ``My aunt in Venezuela, she's pro-Chávez. I tell her poor people never had anything. You give a little bread, water, they're going to be happy, but it doesn't mean it's good.''

Approximately 54% of voters chose to drop term limits from the Venezuelan presidency and other elected positions in a referendum characterized by electoral observers as “free and fair.” The election was a victory for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez but will have to face several challenges such as a slumping global economy if he wishes to win a third term in 2013.

Image- AFP (“"SI" (YES) reports a newspaper after Hugo Chavez won a referendum.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Al Jazeera English, miamiherald.com, AFP, Radio Netherlands Worldwide