Be careful what you wish for

Mr Chavez may now be regretting winning the referendum last month, which allows him to stand for re-election.

Populism like any ideology has a sell-by date and now that he is faced with mounting
social and economic problems (not least the rapid decline in oil revenues), Chavez will not be able to use side-swipes at the Western world to try and solve them, but rather legislation and strengthening and modernising social institutions (such as the police).

(for more on this story see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7957536.stm)