Venezuelanalysis’ analysis of the referendum

The fact that ideological opponents of the President grossly misrepresented key features of the referendum does in no way detract from the other fact that many features of the complex set of proposals were authoritarian and anti-democratic, and in the wrong hands at some future date could have had most disastrous consequences. Some of the proposals would have moved the constitution in a progressive direction, others were simply old fashioned and unworkable centralist state control mistakenly identified with socialism. Venezuelanalysis would have better served the interests of the President and the people if it had offered a constructive in depth line by line analysis of the proposals in advance of the vote.