Victory for People Power in Venezuela

But Chavez isn't going away anytime soon!

Opponents of Chavez Power Grab rally in Caracas in advance of Sunday's vote.

Yesterday's narrow defeat of a referendum that would have given Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez unlimited power was a welcome check to the tyrannt's march towards imprisoning the Venezuelan people in a Stalinist copy of Castro's Cuba.

The effort to defeat Chavez's power grab was spearheaded by students at Venezuelan universities not yet under the direct control of the dictator.

But defeat was only made possible because the poor, which Chavez claims to champion, have seen their lives change for the worse as Chavez economic policies have damaged Venezuela's economy to the point where even the daily staples of life like beans, chicken and milk are in short supply.

Venezuelan National Guard using violent tactics to suppress opposition.

Chavez called all those challenging his reforms "traitors" and warned that a "no" vote was a vote for US President George W. Bush and US "imperialism". And Chavez didn't hold back using police state tactics and violence to intimidate his opponents.

Bad News: Chavez Still In Control

While Sunday's vote was a setback for Chavez, he's still firmly in control and has unchecked power to seek revenge against the "traitors" who opposed him. He has absolute control of the national legislature and the Supreme Court. He has shown a willingness to use the power of the state to punish his opponents and to shut down opposition news media.

And while the opposition has checked the latest power grab, they themselves are fragmented and unable to reverse previous Chavez assaults on freedom.

Message to our Venezuelan friends: Celebrate for now amigos. But more difficult work lies ahead!