In Venezuela’s local and state elections on Nov. 23, opposition leaders won in five of the 22 states as well as in the capital city, Caracas. The other 17 states elected allies of President Hugo Chavez.Previously, Chavez’s allies held 21 of the governorships.

“It’s possible that it will make Chavez and his party more careful, but it’s possible that it will have no effect on them at all,” said Assistant Professor of Political Science Maria Rosales.

Chavez campaigned for members of his party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), making it clear that a vote for his allies also meant a vote for him.

“President Chavez cannot trust any of his local candidates to be the face of this revolution,” Venezuelan electoral analyst Eduardo Semtei said to the BBC. “Chavez is the face, the leading figure and the image of the revolution. The revolution is him.”

Chavez led a failed coup d’état in 1992, after which he founded the Fifth Republic Party. He was elected president in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 and 2006.

This election was key for Chavez. Last year, he had several proposed changes to the constitution turned down, including an amendment that would have removed the cap on presidential terms and allowed him to run for re-election. Chavez is currently serving his second six-year term.

With his party’s overwhelming victories, Chavez will likely petition again for the removal of the cap.

“He is spinning the election as a win for him, so he’s going to reintroduce it while he’s still high off this win,” said Rosales. “It’s probably going to fail again. It failed last time. It seems like such a transparent grab for power for himself even though he says it’s for the sake of the socialist revolution.”

Additionally, this was the first election for the PSUV as a party. It formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of Chavez’s allies.

However, despite his allies’ losses, the Venezuelan government reports that Chavez’s approval rating is as high as 70 percent, indicating that while voters may be dissatisfied with their local leaders, they still support the president.

Sixty-five percent of the 17 million eligible voters turned out to the polls–two percent less than the percentage of eligible voters who participated in the United States’ presidential election this November.

Before the election, Chavez threatened to deny federal funding to states that elect “counterrevolutionary” leaders, a move that provoked much outrage.

“The constitution says very well and very clearly that 20 percent of the country’s taxes be distributed to the states and the mayorships in proportion to the number of residents each state and each mayorship has,” attorney and former General Assembly member Gerardo Blyde said to CNN. “They are not President Chavez’s resources. They are Venezuelan resources.”

However, Chavez remained confident that he has the support of the people.

“A new stage is beginning,” said Chavez. “For me, as the leader of the Venezuelan socialist project, the people are telling me: ‘Chavez, keep on the same path.