Discouraged by inroads made by his political opponents in regional elections last week, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela said Sunday that he would seek changing the Constitution that would lift his term-limits, permitting him to run for indefinite re-election.

The International Herald Tribune reports that, “the move, which would have to be approved by a nationwide referendum, is expected to polarize this country further, coming a year after voters rejected a broad constitutional overhaul that included a similar measure.”

In televised comments, Chavez threatened to remain president until he dies, because allegedly, God wants him to stay in power. Currently, he is banned from running again when his current term expires in 2013.

Chavez described the newly-elected opponents as “fascists.” He claimed his proposal should be debated by his party, recognized by its initials as the PSUV, and by Venezuelan society.

Chavez’s announcement occurred at a crucial time for his government, with challengers winning support last week in regions like Petare, a sprawling patchwork of slums in Caracas. Oil income is also plunging, which limits Chavez’s ability to strengthen the scope of his social welfare programs, known as missions.

Venezuela’s president is faced with intensifying problems like a jump in homicides and Latin America’s highest inflation rate at more than 30 percent. Chavez is paying attention to other political matters in addition to the re-election push. He requested on Sunday that Colombia withdraw its consul in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city, after accusing him of a strategy to destabilize the government.

According to the IHT, “the move came after state television here broadcast recordings reported to be of a telephone conversation between the consul, Carlos Galvis Fajardo, and Jose Obdullo Goveria, a senior aide to President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. In the conversation, Galvis referred to ways of working with opposition politicians elected to the mayoralty of Maracaibo and the governorship of the surrounding oil-rich state of Zulla.

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