Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/referendum-results-empower-chavez-to-continue-socialist-revolution Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Venezuelans voted to lift a two-term constitutional limit on the presidential term, allowing Hugo Chavez to run for office again in 2012. Analysts discuss what this means for the future of Venezuelan politics. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. MARGARET WARNER: Venezuelans gave their president, Hugo Chavez, a huge victory yesterday, voting to eliminate term limits and clearing the way for him to run for re-election indefinitely. With 94 percent of the votes counted, official results showed the measure passing 54 percent to 46 percent.The public reaction was as divided as the electorate. VENEZUELAN CITIZEN (through translator): It's great. I knew the "yes" vote was going to win. What else is there? VENEZUELAN CITIZEN (through translator): Personally I don't really agree. But if he won, what can I do? MARGARET WARNER: Chavez said the vote would free him to complete the socialist revolution of Venezuela that he embarked on more than a decade ago. Since taking office in 1998, Chavez has used Venezuela's vast oil wealth to finance social programs for the poor, including free health clinics and subsidized food stores.He's also made himself known by his verbal insults against the United States and former President Bush, though this weekend Chavez said he was ready to pursue a, quote, "rapprochement" with President Obama.And for more on yesterday's vote and its significance, we turn to Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Americas Society, a New York-based think tank focused on Latin America. He's also editor-in-chief of its magazine, the Americas Quarterly.And Shannon O'Neil, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She recently directed a council-sponsored task force on U.S. policy toward Latin America.Thank you both. Mr. Sabatini, let me start with you. How significant a victory is this for Hugo Chavez and for his agenda? CHRISTOPHER SABATINI, Americas Society: It's significant because, well, only a few months earlier, 15 months earlier, the exact same amendment to allow him to run definitely had been defeated. So this time, he came back and he won. So in that sense, it is very significant, in terms of his agenda to be able to stay in power, now potentially indefinitely.But for the opposition, this is not the end of the road. They lost. They lost clearly. But, first of all, Hugo Chavez lost a certain percentage, just about 10 percentage of the vote, from when he won the election. So obviously he's becoming less popular.But, second, the opposition will get several more times to be able to compete in the elections. You've got the national assembly elections coming up, and then, of course, there will be the presidential elections of 2012. And with the way the economy is going, I think they're going to be in a much better position to compete in those elections, especially if they have really a coherent front to compete electorally.