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Article: Chavez' New Constitution Draws Fire
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- June 30, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Associated Press. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Associated Press. (Hide copyright information)
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BART JONES, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
06-30-1999
Chavez' New Constitution Draws Fire
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Hugo Chavez is closing in on the main goal of his first year as Venezuela's president: Writing a new constitution he says will help clean up one of the most corrupt political systems in the world.
But with elections for an assembly to rewrite the constitution less than a month away, Chavez's detractors say the former coup leader is also on the verge of turning one of Latin America's longest-running democracies into a military-backed dictatorship.
Chavez is defying election campaign laws, donning military uniforms, issuing veiled threats to carry out a ``self-coup'' and ...