Chavez loses vote on constitutional changes

President Hugo Chavez's attempts to extend his time in office indefinitely have been rejected by Venezuelans.His 'socialist revolution' in the OPEC nation looks to have been stalled.

However, it was a narrow margin of defeat, which highlights the increasing divide in Venezuelan society. Election officials said the "No" camp took 51 per cent of the vote against the reform package, while Chavez scored around 49 per cent support. Packaged in with the constitutional reforms were popular moves to reduce the workday to six hours and give pensions to street vendors and housewives. Although he struck a conciliatory note, claiming the nation had spoken and he had heard, Chavez vowed to push forward with the reforms. The news has given cheer to opposition groups led by students and the U.S. government. However, the slim margin of victory shows that the opposition still has a lot of progress to make before it can mount a credible challenge to Chavez and his supporters.