In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has unofficially kicked off a new campaign to win voter approval to stand for re-election. Chavez wants voters to let him run for re-election after his term expires in 2013.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: “This is a revolution, a permanent revolution, a revolution inside of a revolution. And the revolution is based on the sovereignty of the people, in the power of the people’s assembly. Here, there is complete democracy. Look, this is democracy’s greatest strength, the strength of free people freely expressing their will, their love, their faith, their hope.”

Chavez narrowly lost a previous effort to abolish term limits in a referendum last year, but the proposal was lumped along with several others that critics said would have granted him too much power.