University student protests and opposition from former allies helped fuel the defeat, but the referendum results and the 44% abstention rate suggest that support had also waned among Chávez's traditional base of Venezuela's poor.

[2] The proposal was hailed by government supporters as "the start of a new era towards socialism", but Podemos, a pro-government party, expressed disagreement and claimed Chávez was seeking lifelong power.

[20][25] The Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), created by former members of Otpor, contributed to the movement and provided training for students in Belgrade.

[26][27] The student movement has played a large role in the Venezuelan political process, having gained a prominent position during the RCTV broadcast license expiration protests.

[3] Raúl Baduel, former Minister of Defense and one of the four founding members of Chávez's Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, expressed his concern by describing the reform as "nothing less than an attempt to establish a socialist state in Venezuela ... [which] is contrary to the beliefs of Simón Bolívar and it is also contrary to human nature and the Christian view of society, because it grants the state absolute control over the people it governs".

[30] Other leaders and former Chávez supporters who distanced themselves from the proposal were Ismael García, a deputy in the National Assembly, and Ramón Martínez, governor of Sucre State.

[31] Venezuela's state television network broadcast coverage prior to the referendum of a memo written in Spanish, claiming it evidenced a plan by the CIA to destabilize Chávez[23] —an allegation referred to as Operation Pliers.

[40] Chávez conceded defeat by saying "for now, we couldn't" ("por ahora no pudimos"),[41][42] echoing the phrase he used after the failure of the February 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt.

[39] Latin American media responses included special reports that highlighted Chávez's first electoral setback in nine years and his ethical acceptance of defeat.

[39] Spain's Foreign Affairs minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, said that "free expression of people's sovereignty has been accepted by all sides including those who had promoted the referendum".

[39] A response characterized by Mercosur as "blunt" came from Cuban Foreign Affairs minister Felipe Perez Roque: "those who have organized plots to destabilize Venezuela, to abolish its democratically elected government and even attempt a coup against President Chávez are active and we hope that they quit and let the Venezuelan people build their future in peace".

A National Security Council spokesman said, "We congratulate the people of Venezuela on their vote and their continued desire to live in freedom and democracy".

"[43] A leader of the student movement, Yon Goicoechea, was awarded the Cato Institute's $500,000 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize in 2008 for his "pivotal role in organizing and voicing opposition to the erosion of human and civil rights" in Venezuela.

[45] The Organization of American States Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza called the results of the referendum an "exemplary development" on the part of the Venezuelan government and people, saying that democracy in the Americas "passed a difficult test and emerged stronger, showing clearly its consolidation.

[47] The day after the referendum, financial markets were buoyed by Chávez's defeat; Venezuelan bonds rose and the stock index in Caracas surged 4% following a year-to-date 24% decline.

During a press conference with the military high command, he expressed on Venezolana de Televisión the possibility of bringing the proposal back in "the same form, transformed or simplified" in a future referendum and the creation of the Bolivarian militias by modifying the laws regarding the armed forces.