I don’t have a lot new to say about what’s going on in Venezuela, so here’s some excellent links to pull us through the morass of bad US coverage about the Bolivarian revolution occurring right now in America Latina.

• Article by Eva Golinger: Confused about Venezuela?
• Article by Teresa Arreaza about ALBA, the new solidarity-economy trade pact initiated by Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.

Obviously the results of Sunday’s referendum on the proposed constitutional amendments is a blow to Chavez’ momentum, but we can only hope that the core of his reforms – structural economic changes that will benefit the nation’s poor, and emergence from under the shadow of US hegemony – will indeed continue. It’s actually in the long-term interest of us all, regardless of our particular piety to charismatic leaders such as Hugo Chavez, that reforms of this type are successful. As could be expected, coverage in the U.S. press of the referendum results is very narrow. On the drive home tonight, National Public Radio led with a quote from the Bush administration congratulating the Venezuelan people for voting against the reforms. Meanwhile, several news sources are reporting CIA involvement in the right-wing opposition. Given the history of the US in the Americas, one can hardly be surprised.