Venezuela: Can't Take "No" for an Answer

Following up on this post, news on Venezuela: Hugo Chávez held a constitutional referendum on December 2007 that would have allowed him to remain in power without having to run for office.

That referendum was defeated.

However, since Chávez controls the National Assembly, he has never given up on his quest for permanence, and yesterday the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment to remove term limits for all elected officials. The amendment is scheduled to go to the board of elections, which is also controlled by Chávez, and they'll probably schedule yet another referendum next month.

Not that this comes as any surprise; Chávez was talking about a February 2008 referendum last December.

In other Venezuela news which also involve Bolivia, and also following up on a prior post, Venezuela, Bolivia break diplomatic ties with Israel:

Venezuela and Bolivia broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip and refusal to comply with international calls for a ceasefire, their leftist governments said.

[Evo] Morales' diplomatic announcement on Israel came shortly after he received a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asking him to support an international agreement to resolve the Gaza crisis.

Iranian Cooperation Minister Mohammad Abbasi disclosed to reporters the contents of Ahmadinejad's letter after he met with the Bolivian president.

Fausta Wertz also blogs at faustasblog.com.