The Costa Rican government yesterday congratulated the people of Venezuela for completing the “democratic exercise of a referendum,” a vote which resulted in an unprecedented, albeit narrow, defeat for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

“Costa Rica experienced something similar last month,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry, pointing to the country's referendum on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Costa Rica's Oct. 7 vote, however, ended in a victory for the nation's President, Oscar Arias, who has made CAFTA a centerpiece in his administration's agenda.

In the hopes of pushing through reforms of Venezuela's constitution, Chávez has been less fortunate.

In one of the first majority thumbs-down in the leftwing president's rule, 50.7% of participants rejected Chávez's proposed reforms, which called for a lift on presidential term limits and other changes viewed as pushing forward a 21 st century socialist revolution.

The 49.2% in favor was not enough to buoy Chávez's plan; 44% of voters abstained.

Among the proposals rejected were plans to shorten the working day and lower the voting age from 18 to 16. However, Chávez's bid for indefinite presidency stirred the most controversy, at home and abroad.

Opposition in Venezuelan society to reforms, and even growing dissent from within the president's own political camp, could be what tipped over the vote, commentators said.

“We believe strongly, those who voted against this constitution, that it would have excluded a large section of this country,” student leader Francisco Hernández told the BBC. “The victory was only possible today because Chavistas (Chávez supporters) voted against these reforms.”

However, despite losing at the polls, Chávez appeared calm and collected in a televised speech to announce the outcome of the referendum.

“This is not a defeat,” Chávez said, and pledged to “continue working toward socialism within the framework of our (current) constitution.”