''Venezuela would descend into chaos without Chavez,'' Gomez said Sunday in explaining why he voted to amend the constitution and allow unlimited releection for all elected officials.

A one-time army lieutenant colonel who catapulted to prominence in 1992 when he led a failed coup against Venezuela's democratically elected president, the 54-year-old Chavez said in the weeks that he needs at least 20 years in power to create Venezuela in his own image.

By 2012, when he will run for re-election for another six-year term, he will have already been in office for 14 years.

With Sunday's victory, Chavez joins two leftist allies -- Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa --who in the past year have pushed through constitutional changes to allow presidential relections.

Chavez was elected president in 1998 in the midst of an economic downturn and has worked tirelessly to demonize Venezuela's traditional ruling elite while showering billions of dollars of oil-income on programs for the poor. He succeeded in halving poverty in Venezuela during his 10 years in office.

Pedro Siolo, a 41-year-old taxi driver, said he voted for Chavez's proposal on Sunday because the government gave him an apartment for free and lent him $25,000 at low interest rates to buy a taxi.

''Chavez is doing a good job,'' Siolo said.

So-called ''missions,'' often led Cuban personnel, provide allow adults to get high school and college degrees for free.

Another popular program provides free health care by Cuban doctors for the poor. Dayana RamÏrez, a 19-year-old studying business at a government institute, said this program operated on her father for free.

Yet another program sells packaged goods below-cost in poor neighborhoods. Erica Zapata said she saves 40 percent when she makes her monthly trip to the subsidized market.

''I like the things the president has done,'' Zapata said on Sunday.

Chavez opponents had feared that government supporters would engage in vote fraud as the polling stations closed. That didn't happen at the Jose de Jesus Arocha school in the populous working-class district of Petare in Caracas.

Lt. Col. Carlos Osorio, in charge of guarding the vote there, took his megaphone and at 6 p.m. precisely announced to the street that anyone wishing to vote should come forward. When no one did, the polling station closed in an orderly fashion.

A rowdy group of a dozen people, some in Chavez t-shirts, showed up five minutes later and angrily demanded to be allowed to vote.

''It's only 6:20,'' complained 22-year-old Yenifer Palomino. ''They always wait for us, but this time they didn't.''

In this deeply polarized country, the climate of fear could be seen in the answer of Nestor Moreno, a 58-year-old construction worker, when asked how he voted.

''I voted yes because I didn't want to face reprisals for voting no,'' said Moreno. ''People lose jobs because they don't agree with the Chavez regimen.

''Chavez is very authoritarian,'' Moreno added. ''He needs to be more democratic. Things have to be done his way or the highway.''

Miami Herald special correspondent Phil Gunson contributed to this report.