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Monday, 3 December 2007, 10:42 GMT

In pictures: Chavez referendum defeat

Opponents of Hugo Chavez in Caracas on Monday 3 December

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Venezuelan voters have narrowly rejected, by 51% to 49%, President Hugo Chavez's constitutional reforms. His opponents pictured here anxiously awaited the referendum result.

Opposition members at Altamira Square in Caracas

Opposition members at Altamira Square in Caracas

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Opposition members cheered, beeped car horns and waved flags at Altamira Square in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

Chavez supporter in Caracas

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But supporters of the president - who has set about redistributing Venezuela's oil wealth to poorer farmers in rural areas - were inconsolable.

Opposition members celebrate in Caracas

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Opponents said the result would put a brake on the "Socialist revolution" led by Mr Chavez, whose constitutional reforms sought to remove limits on presidential terms.

Mr Chavez in Caracas

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Overlooked by a portrait of his hero, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar, Mr Chavez conceded as he compared the current charter with its proposed substitute.

Chavez supporters in Caracas

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The president urged his grim-faced supporters to accept the result and reassured them he would continue to battle for change.

A couple kiss in Caracas

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Analysts say many voters - in a country with a history of dictatorships - were reluctant to give Mr Chavez too much power.

Chavez supporters in Caracas

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The result marked the first electoral reverse for Mr Chavez, who won power in 1998 and was re-elected with 63% of the vote last year.

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