Hugo Chavez Dictator Countdown Watch

Chavez is floating the notion of running Venezuela into the ground. He calls it governance. I call it yet another sign that Chavez is a dictator using a rigged vote as a prop, and the US will be inevitably involved because Venezuela sits atop a huge deposit of oil and Chavez wants to leverage that into regional domination:

"I am going to ask you, all the people, if you agree with Chavez being president until 2031," he said.

It was not clear if Chavez was talking about holding a legally binding vote to eliminate term limits or proposing a plebiscite.

Chavez said Friday that he said he might seek "indefinite" re-election through a referendum if the opposition boycotts the presidential vote.

"I would call a national referendum to have the people decide if I can continue here indefinitely or if I have to go after six years," he said.

Opposition leaders accuse Chavez, a former paratroop commander first elected in 1998, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and opening dangerous divisions along class lines in Venezuela — the world's fifth largest oil exporter.

Despite what Jimmy Carter might say, Venezuela's recent elections have been marred by corruption and vote-rigging and intimidation. Chavez may have won an election, but it wasn't free or fair.

Others blogging: Sweetness and Light, Aggie Pundit, and XRLQ