Chavez May `Radicalize' Revolution on Gains by Venezuelan Foes
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, after suffering his worst setback at the ballot box since taking office in 1999, may lead to a further “radicalization” of his socialist revolution ahead of the 2012 presidential election, analysts said.
Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, while securing 98 of 165 seats in the National Assembly after the redrawing of electoral districts, lost the two-thirds majority needed to pass key legislation by itself. The opposition took 65 seats and says it won 52 percent of the popular vote. Authorities haven’t released the overall vote count.