Democracy is Alive

http://mobile.nytimes.com/art/122885/19

In all the coverage of the Venezuelan referrendum it is important to remember one thing:

The measure was defeated. Let me repeat that, CHAVEZ LOST. The are certainly dictatorships that hold elections, but they don't lose!

For all the talk of Chavez controlling all the levers of power, the only difference between this and other recent elections in the country is that this time he was trying to do things that are unpopular. And the result was that people voted against his plan. I know this concept can be hard for some Americans, but in some countries the huge swath of poor workers neither disenfranchised nor deeply commited to voting for people that think their millionaire bosses need to pay even less in taxes and consolidate their economic position at the expense of the rest of the country.

And unlike the US, there as of yet is no indication that Chavez will go to the Supreme Court filled with his daddy's friends to get the voters choice overturned.