Sore loser

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On the night of his first electoral loss in nearly nine years in office, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez conceded defeat and suggested that his opponents go home calmly and ‘enjoy your triumph.’ Today, three days after his Sunday loss, Chavez was singing a different, uglier tune.

At a press conference with armed services commanders, he said the opposition had won a ‘triumph of [excrement]’ and that he would soon repropose the constitutional changes voters had rejected. The apparent purpose of the press conference was to refute published reports that Chavez conceded only because military leaders had urged him to so as to avoid violence.

Amid rising tensions, the National Electoral Council waited nine hours after the polls closed Sunday to deliver the first bulletin of results from the electronic balloting.

The tenor of Chavez’s talk Wednesday quickly dashed hopes that he might take a conciliatory tack. Praise earlier in the week from Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, for showing ‘enormous valor’ in conceding defeat suddenly rings hollow.

Posted by Chris Kraul in Caracas