Chavez for life? Venezuelans to vote on re-election

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans voted in a tightly contested referendum Sunday on whether to allow left-wing President Hugo Chavez to stay in power for as long as he keeps winning elections or hand him his first defeat at the polls.

The anti-Washington firebrand, who has easily won one election after another against a fragmented opposition, is in the hardest campaign of his life as he moves to deepen his self-styled revolution by reforming the constitution.

He predicts he will win by 10 percentage points but most polls show a neck-and-neck race between backers of the referendum, which Chavez says will usher in "21st century socialism," and those who call it an assault on democracy.

Voters were awakened by a predawn state-ordered bugle call mixed with sirens and fake cannon fire to prompt them to head out to their polling stations.

With campaigning marred by violence, many Venezuelans fear political turbulence in the OPEC member nation if the losing side refuses to accept the results of Sunday's vote. But early voting appeared to be orderly and under sunny skies.

Faced with concerns from even moderate supporters that the reforms will give Chavez too much power, he has tried to portray the vote as a plebiscite on his rule.

Government worker Yelitza Rodriguez, 37, told Reuters she voted for the referendum as a step toward creating a more equal society, despite her misgivings about indefinite reelection.

"Most of the reform favors the people," she said.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who has led Venezuela since 1999 and is a close ally of Cuba and Iran, also has escalated his verbal attacks on the U.S. government and opponents at home to rally followers behind him.

"Whoever votes 'Yes' is voting for Chavez and whoever votes 'No' is voting for George W. Bush, president of the United States," Chavez told supporters at a massive rally in Caracas Friday.

PRESIDENT FOR LIFE?

A "Yes" vote would scrap limits on how long Chavez can rule as president and he has said he will stay on for decades if Venezuelans keep voting for him.

The reforms also would give him control over the central bank and foreign currency reserves bloated by high oil export revenues, reduce the workday to six hours and extend social security benefits to self-employed workers like street vendors.

Chavez loyalists already control Congress and critics say he has stacked the Supreme Court and the election council with followers. Opponents believe he would use the new powers to impose dictatorial rule.

Many of Chavez's own supporters are unenthusiastic about the reforms and are more concerned about jobs, crime, housing and recent shortages of basic foods.

The opposition has long been divided but was boosted by an anti-Chavez student movement that emerged earlier this year when he shut down Venezuela's most-viewed television station.

"The reform does not aim to resolve the fundamental problems of the population. It will deepen divisions and polarization," said Jesus Ghersi, 25, an engineering student serving as an official poll watcher for the opposition.

Chavez, 53, leads a growing anti-U.S. bloc in South America and his leftist allies in Ecuador and Bolivia also are trying to use constitutional rewrites to increase presidential powers and extend state control of energy resources.

Chavez accuses the Bush administration of planning to meddle with the referendum vote and threatened to halt oil exports to the United States.

He froze relations with Spain after King Juan Carlos publicly told him to "shut up" at a recent summit, and he threatened Saturday to expel Spanish oil company Repsol from Venezuela if a right-wing party returns to power in Spain.

He has also cut diplomatic ties with neighboring Colombia after its conservative president, Alvaro Uribe, ejected Chavez from his role as mediator in talks aimed at freeing hostages held by left-wing Colombian guerrillas.

(Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez)

(For more on Venezuela's referendum, click on http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/venezuela) (Editing by Vicki Allen)