Chavez May Strengthen Grip on Venezuela

Seriously , What else can he take Away ?

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, after suffering his worst setback at the ballot box since taking office in 1999, may seek to strengthen his grip on the economy and undermine opponents ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, while securing 98 of 165 seats in National Assembly elections Sept. 26 after the redrawing of electoral districts, lost the two-thirds majority needed to pass key legislation by itself. The opposition took 65 seats and says it won 52 percent of the popular vote. Authorities didn’t release the overall vote count.

Chavez has experienced defeat just once before in 12 elections and could look to increase state control of the economy, boost spending on social programs and crack down on opponents to regain political momentum, analysts at Barclays Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

“It’s not in Chavez’s nature to take this threat lying down,” said Ray Walser, a Latin America analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. “He will likely take a retaliatory step.”