The folksy leftist leader was unusually conciliatory at his presidential palace. He told supporters not to be sad and wished all Venezuelans a merry Christmas.
“I have listened to the voice of the people and I will always be listening to it,” he said.
Nicholas Burns, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, said Chavez’s defeat showed that Venezuelans wanted democracy.
“This was positive news to see this victory by the citizens of Venezuela because we felt that this referendum was a referendum to make Chavez president for life and that’s not ever a welcome development in a country that wants to be a democracy,” Burns said in Singapore, where he was attending a seminar.
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