Chávez Seeks to Remove Term Limits from Venezuela’s Constitution
By Daniel Hollingsworth
August 16, 2007 | Printer Friendly

Voice of America reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced before the National Assembly on August 15 that he will propose to amend the constitution to remove the restriction that currently limits the president to two six-year terms in office.  Chávez called for both an end to the term limits and an extension of the presidential terms to seven years.  The BBC reports that in addition to these changes, Chávez also proposed changes that would grant him greater control over the central bank and greater expropriation powers, “allowing the government to control assets of private companies before a court grants an expropriation order.”

Chávez will not face resistance within the National Assembly due to an opposition boycott of 2005 elections, so the National Assembly is expected to approve the proposals within the next several months, at which time they will be put to a national referendum.  The BBC writes that critics of Chávez accuse him of “attempting to remain as president for decades, following the example of his close friend Fidel Castro in Cuba.”  According to the Associated Press, Chávez called this “only a possibility, a possibility that depends on many variables.”

The U.S. State Department has thus far withheld specific comment on these changes, but the AP reports that State Department spokesman Sean McCormack noted that Chávez “has taken a number of different steps… that have really eroded some of the underpinnings of democracy in Venezuela.”

References:

Voice of America: Chavez Calls for End to Presidential Term Limits in Venezuela

BBC: Venezuela head outlines changes

Associated Press: Chávez Calls for Broad Changes to Venezuelan Constitution (Washington Post)