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Article: Pot shots in Venezuela.(new constitution likely to be approved in Venezuela in spite of protests against it)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 11, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CARACAS
BANGING household pots and pans in an evening serenade is a characteristic form of anti-government protest in Latin America. But in Venezuela it had not been heard since the days of President Carlos Andres Perez, impeached for corruption in 1993. This month, the clanging began again in middle-class districts of Caracas. Its target is the current president, Hugo Chavez, a leftish, nationalist ex-paratrooper and former coup-leader, and his proposed new constitution, which opponents denounce as authoritarian.
This constitution will be put to the voters in a referendum on December 15th. Despite all the noise, and barring any last-minute surprise, ...