The World - Latin leaders mum on Chavez's proposals - Many commentators see the Venezuelan president's bid to boost his power as a threat to democracy.
MEXICO CITY — The president of Venezuela was on the front pages of most newspapers here Thursday, with headlines expressing astonishment at what he had done the night before.
"Hugo Chavez Forever," declared Excelsior, referring to his proposal Wednesday to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution and liberate himself from term limits.
But from the offices of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, there was only silence. He would not comment on the "matters of Venezuela's national sovereignty," a spokeswoman said.
Venezuela: An article about proposals by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for constitutional changes in the Aug. 17 Section A incorrectly attributed remarks to Roman Ortiz, a scholar in Bogota, Colombia, who is an opponent of Chavez's regime. The statements, that there have been times when a democracy doesn't want to see a leader leave the stage and that "people sometimes see a leader as essential to getting through an emergency or fixing a structural problem," were made by Alexei Paez, an international relations expert in Quito, Ecuador, not by Ortiz.
Across Latin America, commentators expressed concern that the region's most colorful and controversial leader was undermining democracy here. But democratic leaders from Mexico City to Buenos Aires chose not to comment.
Chavez has become Latin America's most polarizing figure. His supporters at home and abroad hail him as a bold leader who has challenged Venezuela's elite and countered the U.S.
Others see his proposals, outlined in a five-hour speech Wednesday that promised to move the country toward "a 21st century socialism," as confirmation that he is a dangerous demagogue.
"He's gone beyond even Darth Vader," reader Enrique Martinez wrote in a comment on the website blog of Mexico City's Reforma newspaper. "Only in movies do you see these things. He's truly crazy."
In El Salvador, Ernesto Rivas Gallont, a former ambassador to the United States, said, "What Hugo Chavez is doing is robbing the Venezuelan people of the sacred right of democracy. He has millions of dollars in oil money . . . and he's used that to purchase the will of the people."
Among the 33 constitutional changes Chavez proposed are increasing the six-year presidential term by one year and eliminating the two-term limit. He also wants to institute a six-hour workday, eliminate the autonomy of the central bank, and broaden his power to expropriate property and militarize some regions of Venezuela.
Chavez, who was granted power to rule by decree by the National Assembly in January, defended his proposal as "a transfer of power to the people." The constitutional revisions must be approved by the National Assembly before being put to voters in a referendum.
The proposals run counter to the trend of open markets and non-military government in other Latin American nations, including Chile, Colombia and Mexico. But Thursday, even those governments chose not to challenge the Venezuelan leader.
