Mr. Chávez won the presidential vote by an overwhelming majority last year, but when he was sworn in as president in January, his rhetoric shifted.
Now that he's calling for a referendum to reform the Constitution, including eliminating term limits for heads of state, this country is seeing a migration of middle-class residents who say they are fleeing economic and political instability and persistent crime.
"We never thought of living anywhere else. Venezuela is the most beautiful country in the world, and we have everything there. But if he reforms the Constitution, Venezuela is going to be a very dark place, and there is nothing we can do about it," says Lissette, tearing up. (She and Mervin did not want their family's last name published because they haven't left Venezuela for good yet.) "The truth is we need another option." (boldface mine--Darren)
Freedom. It's not just for Americans anymore.
This may be the only reason that Bush is permitting an open border with Mexico-the fear that eventually Mexicans will wise up and rebel against an historically corrupt series of governments. But what happens then? I remember looking across the border on their election day and seeing the army on roofs with machine guns, just in case dissension broke out. Perhaps, and I have to say this is a slim chance, that is why President Bush has been so overwhelmingly appeasing to the Mexican government.
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