Victory for Chávez: Venezuelans Approve Referendum Abolishing Term Limits

President Chávez greets the crowd outside the Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela following the passage of his referendum on Sunday. (image: Fernando Llano/Associated Press via nytimes.com)

Voters decisively passed the closely watched referendum to abolish term limits for the president and all other elected officials in Venezuela by a margin of 54.4 percent to 45.6 percent yesterday, the New York Times reports.

The referendum’s passage provides president Hugo Chávez with a huge political mandate, as he had said he required time beyond the expiration of his current term in 2013 to complete the leftist “transformation” of his country.

For heating oil users in the U.S., the passage of the referendum signifies more of the same. Venezuela will continue to export large quantities of crude to the U.S., and the state-owned oil company CITGO will most likely continue to distribute free and discounted heating oil to needy American families.

The great unknown following Chávez’s electoral victory is the state of U.S.-Venezuelan relations. The belligerent and fiercely anti-American Chávez has already criticized President Obama for having the “same stench” as Bush, but also stated recently that he was ready to establish friendly relations between the two countries. A closer relationship between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments could be mutually beneficial. One hypothetical arrangement could involve American economic aid being exchanged for lower crude prices.

However Venezuelan-American relations play out in the coming months, one thing is for sure—U.S. presidents and diplomats will be dealing with president Chávez of Venezuela for many years to come.