Chávez slows to a trot

Chávez slows to a trot
CARACAS From The Economist

Socialism, but for a while only at the speed of a donkey
Illustration by Peter Schrank
SMARTING from his first-ever electoral defeat last month, Hugo Chávez has begun the year by shifting his leftist revolution into lower gear. “The main motor seized up, so we'll have to go by donkey instead,” he said on his weekly television show, “Aló Presidente” (“Hello President”), on January 6th. The “motor” was a reform of the constitution aimed at turning Venezuela into a socialist state and giving the president the chance to stay in power indefinitely. By a narrow margin voters rejected this in a referendum on December 2nd, leaving the revolution coasting in neutral.
“I'm obliged to apply the brakes,” said the president, admitting that his mistake had been to get too far ahead of what Venezuelans were prepared to accept. With five years of his presidential term still left, he has the luxury of reconsidering the method while retaining the same goals. So he has announced a period of what he calls “the three Rs”— the “revision, rectification and relaunching” of the revolution.