Venezuela's outspoken socialist president, who has led opposition to U.S. influence in Latin America and has put all oil fields under the control of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), said the proposed changes to the Constitution would return power to the people but opponents accuse him of usurping power.
The left-wing president, who is advocating the "21st century socialism," repeated on Saturday a threat to stop oil supplies to the United States, if the North American neighbor tried to disrupt the referendum in the oil-rich Latin American country.
The package of constitutional reforms also includes proposals to give the president control over the central bank and foreign currency reserves, extend the presidential term from six to seven years, allow the head of state to appoint regional and municipal officials and reduce the voting age from eighteen to sixteen years.
