Reform Proposal Loses in Venezuela by 1.4 Percent

esident Chávez has been speaking for the last 45 minutes. He expressed relief that the defeat was definitive even though not every vote had been counted, saying he didn't think the country could take waiting another day for the results.

We are in this for the long haul he said, and repeated his famous words after the 1993 military uprising: "for now, we couldn't. For now..."

He repeatedly congratulated the opposition, saying he felt that Venezuelans finally have faith in their institutions, and that he hopes his opponents will finally leave violence behind. And "how great it is that the opposition came out to defend out dear constitution," he joked - as the constitution itself was one of Chávez' first projects.

In general, it was a conciliatory speech, though not a resigned one. "I have to recognize it, there are some very audacious, unprecedented ideas in these proposals... This proposal is still alive, it hasn't died."

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