Venezuelans vote as Hugo Chavez looks to rule 'indefinitely'.. Mr Chavez has said he wants to rule until 2049...

and most of you thought it would be BUSH

[link to www.telegraph.co.uk]

By Jeremy McDermott, Latin America Correspondent
Last Updated: 5:16PM GMT 15 Feb 2009

Venezuelans vote as Hugo Chavez looks to rule 'indefinitely'

Venezuelans are voting in a referendum which if passed would allow President Hugo Chavez to stand indefinitely for re-election, a measure which has been defeated before and upon which the controversial leader has staked his socialist "revolution".

Pre-voting polls suggested the outcome would be a "yes" verdict and a victory for Mr Chavez.

Polling company Datanalisis projected 51.5% for the "yes" campaign, against 48.1% for the "no".

"We must guarantee the continuity of our revolution," Mr Chavez said. "It is for the future, for your children, for your grandchildren."

More than a million Chavez supporting redshirted volunteers have been knocking on doors, handing out propaganda and urging the 16 million voters to turn out for the referendum.

The president's team believe that the last attempt to change the constitution, the 2007 referendum, was lost due high levels of abstention.

Government-controlled media, making up the vast majority of options available to the Venezuelan, have been bombarding the air waves with images of Mr Chavez inaugurating public works, meeting with world leaders and embracing the poor as he hands out the benefits of his social programmes.

They are responsible for him winning more than a dozen votes since he came to power in 1998 but, which along with foreign policy, have eaten billions of pounds out of the government's budget,

Mr Chavez has said he wants to rule until 2049, his health permitting, allowing him to consolidate his "Bolivarian Revolution", named after Simon Bolivar. He wants to mimic his more immediate role model, Fidel Castro of Cuba, who ruled for almost 50 years before handing over power to his brother Raul in 2007.

After 10 years of rule by Mr Chavez, a former paratrooper colonel who led a failed coup in 1992, Venezuelans have seen massive change. Increased social investment, nationalisation of key sectors, foremost among them the oil industry, and their leader missing few opportunities to poke Washington in the eye have all occurred.

Whilst poverty has fallen, it is still endemic. Crime has risen dramatically, with Caracas now among the most dangerous cities in the world. Food and power shortages have become common, with the economy totally dependent on oil revenues.

If the oil money runs out, and with prices at under just $40 a barrel, that seems a possibility, the whole system could come crashing down. Hence the urgency for Mr Chavez to win re-election now, as many analysts believe tough times lie ahead.

On Friday a Spanish MEP, Luis Herrero, who was due to observe the referendum, was expelled from Venezuela for calling Mr Chavez a "dictator".