Venezuela Election Checks Power of Hugo Chavez

Beginning of article

The Venezuela election on Sunday saw the political opposition gain more than one-third of seats in legislature, enough to stymie Hugo Chavez's future initiatives.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may have to learn to negotiate with opposition parties that he recently pledged to "pulverize." Sunday's elections saw his political opponents win more than 50 percent of the popular vote and more than one-third of seats in the country's legislature.

"The legislature can now can begin to debate," said Miguel Octavio, who writes the anti-Chavez blog "The Devil's Excrement," after the initial results were released at 2 a.m. "They can't approve anything important without …