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Referendum opponents stage final rally in Venezuela
Reuters/Francesco Spotorno
People stand on the stage during a closing campaign rally against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's proposal of constitutional changes in Caracas November 29, 2007. The sign reads 'Vote No'.CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 11 29 07
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in central Caracas Thursday against what they called President Hugo Chavez's undemocratic plan to change the constitution to bolster his power.
In a final protest ahead of the weekend referendum on the proposed changes, the protesters, massed in the central Avenida Bolivar of Caracas waving flags exhorting a 'no' vote in Sunday's plebiscite.
Led by students who have held running clashes with police in the past few weeks, they branded Chavez's proposal to do away with presidential term limits, gag the press during emergencies and turn Venezuela into a "socialist economy" undemocratic and rushed.
According to the latest polling, voter intentions for Sunday's referendum are deadlocked, with a slight advantage for the 'no' camp.
A close result could trigger street violence, many feared.
Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition mayor of the upmarket Chacao district in Caracas, told reporters that a high turnout would boost the 'no' vote, but that "violence would only benefit the government."
Chavez has claimed that the US government has a plan to foment unrest, but that he would "neutralize" it.
Students preparing to march from the Central University of Venezuela in the capital vowed to do everything to defeat the referendum.
"The struggle will continue," Ricardo Sanchez, the leader of the main student group, told Venezuelan media.
He said there would be a student in each polling station to check voting, and urged a big turnout.Another student leader, Stalin Gonzalez, said the mobilization against the referendum was to avoid "a continued polarization of the country and a divided society."
According to the private polling institute Datanalisis, 44.6 percent of voters rejected the referendum, while 30.8 percent were in favor.
Another survey firm, Hinterlaces, put the split as 46 percent against and 45 percent for.
The resistance at the polls is unprecedented for Chavez, who still enjoys sky-high personal popularity ratings after eight years in power.
" There is a sector of Chavez supporters who don't seem very enthused by the reforms. This doesn't mean that Chavez will lose the referendum, but the results will be much more ambivalent than in previous elections," one analyst, German Campos of the firm Consultores 30.11, told reporters.
Story from AFP 29 1917 GMT 11 07
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