1 of the constitution, which abolished term limits for the offices of president, state governors, mayors and National Assembly deputies.

[2] A proposal for an important change in the main structure of the Constitution, that included abolishing presidential term limits among major social, economical and political changes was rejected in 2007 when university students led protests and played a critical role in the result;[3] President Hugo Chávez had said the reform was needed to implement his socialist program.

Chávez conceded defeat by saying "for now, we couldn't" ("por ahora no pudimos"),[4][5] echoing the phrase he used after the failure of his February 1992 attempted coup d'état against the Carlos Andrés Pérez government.

[6] On 30 November 2008, six days after broadening support in regional elections, Hugo Chávez decided that it was the opportunity to seek continuous presidential terms,[2] announcing on television that he would be open to a new wave of discussion on the proposal for allowing the postulation without limits to presidential candidature.

They are amended as follows:[citation needed] Article 160: The governor shall be elected for a four-year term by the majority of the votes cast.

After viewing video of the protests, Chávez gave the order: "Throw lots of (tear) gas at them, and take them prisoner for me.

"[3][16] Tensions rose in advance of the referendum, with a group of 40 armed men taking over the Caracas city hall, to which an opposition mayor had been elected in November, and declaring the building "recovered for the revolution".

[20] The opposition also claimed that No campaign ads had their approval delayed and scheduling manipulated by the National Electoral Council.

[22] Following claims that US officials had met with Venezuelan opposition leaders in Puerto Rico (which the US denied),[23] Chávez accused U.S. President Barack Obama of meddling in the referendum, adding that "He's said I'm an obstacle for progress in Latin America...

"[3] In April 2009 NACLA reported that its observers had found that "the voting in Venezuela's 2009 referendum was, overall, fair, transparent, and clean.

"[24] The question elaborated by the National Electoral Council was:[25] Do you approve the amendment of articles 160, 162, 174, 192 and 230 of the Constitution of the Republic, as processed by the National Assembly, which increases the political rights of the people, with the purpose of allowing any citizen incumbent in an elected office, to be nominated as candidate for the same office, for the period of time established constitutionally, his or her possible re-election depending exclusively on popular vote?Opinion polls conducted on the measure in December 2008 varied widely, with results ranging from 32% approval (with 61% disapproval)[26] to 51% approval (with 39% disapproval).

Manuel Rosales, leader of the National Unity opposition coalition, said that it was an insult to call for another election because "the collectivity is overwhelmed by so many problems and also by the high cost of living and inflation" and also because the proposal had already been rejected a year ago.

[29] After the official announcement, other opposition parties such as Acción Democrática (AD), Primero Justicia (PJ), Copei, Podemos and MAS, rejected the proposal as well.

[30] Leaders of Radical Cause rejected the intention of reelection, considering it unconstitutional, although they also expressed that the best way to defeat it would be through the vote and demonstrations.