Democracy fading in Venezuela

Venezuelans voted on Sunday to abolish term limits for elected officials. With 94% of the results counted, 55% were in favor of the constitutional amendment to do away with term limits. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s sitting president, was thrilled with the victory.

From CNN.com

"Victory, victory, popular victory," Chavez told a jubilant crowd of thousands gathered in front of the Miraflores presidential palace. "This is a clear victory for the people. A clear victory for the revolution."

That quote was attributed to Chavez, but sounds eerily similar to remarks made by Fidel Castro many years ago as he ascended to power in Cuba. Chavez has already gone out of his way to make friends with Cuba and even Russia.

How long will it be before the U.S. takes action against Chavez? I’m not calling for all-out regime change like the Bay of Pigs fiasco or an invasion of Iraq. Clearly, some sort of political or economic pressure will need to be applied. Of course, that didn’t work in Cuba as poverty only increased.

If it wasn’t for Venezuela’s major export, this probably wouldn’t even be an issue. Their major export is oil. Time will tell.