Saturday, September 2, 2006

by Peter Wilson and Alex Kennedy

CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg): Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is running for re-election in December, has said he would call a referendum in 2010 to change the constitution, allowing him to hold office without any term limit.

"If the majority of the people say yes, we'll have to change the constitution so that re-election in Venezuela will be indefinite," Chavez, 52, said in a televised speech in Caracas before tens of thousands of red-shirted supporters. "The people will decide."

Chavez would have to step down in 2013 under the current constitution if he wins in December.

Chavez, who first won election in 1998 and then was re-elected in 2000 after voters approved a new constitution, said his plan would let him further a socialist revolution in Venezuela. He previously had threatened to seek to extend presidential terms if the opposition boycotted elections now set for December 3.

"Chavez is showing his more radical side," said Luis Vicente Leon, an analyst with polling company Datanalisis.

"There may well be Venezuelans that support Chavez, but don't want him to be president forever. This announcement will further polarize the electorate, but Chavez has up until now always been able to use polarization to his advantage."

The former military officer said he also met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro Friday during a visit to Cuba. Chavez said Castro continues to recover from intestinal surgery. Venezuelan state television showed Chavez visiting Castro, who was shown in his sickbed.

Chavez also named former foreign minister Ali Rodriguez as his new ambassador to Cuba, replacing his brother Adan.

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