Venezuelan congress
approves initial
constitutional reforms
Venezuela's National
Assembly on Tuesday
unanimously approved the
disputed constitutional
reforms proposed by
President Hugo Chavez to
allow the president to
be reelected, possibly
for decades.
The legislators did not
object to the project to
create a socialist state
by means of a
constitutional reform
proposed by Chavez last
Wednesday.
Final approval is
expected within two or
three months, and the
changes would have to be
approved by a simple
majority in a public
referendum.
On Aug. 15, Chavez
delivered his reform
project to the National
Assembly proposing to
modify 33 of the 350
articles in the current
constitution approved in
a popular referendum on
Dec. 15, 1999.
Chavez proposed
indefinite presidential
reelection and the
establishment of the
socialist state as his
main political
objectives, besides
increasing the
presidential term from
six to seven years and
curbing the central
bank's autonomy.
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