Explanation: By referendum, the Venezuelans gave Hugo Chavez the power to rewrite the constitution as well as implement Socialism. Around the 1998 elections, more than half the Venezuelan populace was below the poverty line, with oil prices in steep decline.
Chávez’s political platform promised to rid the country of corruption, help the poor, and reduce the power of elites. He pledged to write a new constitution and remake Venezuelan democracy. In mid-1999 Venezuelans elected an assembly dominated by pro-Chávez delegates, and voters soon approved a new constitution by referendum.
