Hugo Chavez: President for life and beyond!

Today, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who was first elected in 1999, won a referendum to eliminate term limits.

The vote paves the way for him to run again in 2012 — and beyond — while broadening his vision of a socialist Venezuela. The Constitution was amended after his first election, allowing for the president to serve two six-year terms. He would have been barred from running after this term. Today’s vote was Chavez’s second attempt to alter the process. Voters rejected a broader referendum in December 2007.

With 94 percent of the vote counted, 54 percent had voted in favor of the constitutional amendment. Forty-six percent had voted against the measure to eliminate term limits on all public officials.

Venezuela’s leftist allies in Latin America have adopted this model. Both Ecuador and Bolivia have revised their rules regarding presidential re-election. Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinistas also plan to propose an amendment that would let Daniel Ortega run for another consecutive term. Chavez is a close friend of Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro.

In 2006, Chavez spoke before the United Nations spewing his anti-U.S. rant. While at the podium he called President Bush “the devil.” Referring to Bush’s own U.N. speech the previous day, Chavez said, “The devil came right here, and it still smells of sulfur today.” This past September, Chavez expelled Patrick Duddy, the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, giving him 72 hours to leave the country.

Despite this, President Barack Obama has scheduled a meeting with Chavez at the three day Summit of the Americas, April 17 -19, as reported on Hot Air.

Obama joins the loony-left-fringe of Hollywood — sometime/onetime celebs such as Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn, Naomi Campbell, Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover, all of whom have made pilgrimages to meet with the Marxist leader.

Now these anti-American fools can plan their South American travel at a more leisurely pace, since Venezuelan President Chavez doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

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