SCENARIOS: What Chavez referendum may mean for Venezuela

(Reuters) - Venezuelans voted on Sunday in a referendum on scrapping term limits and allowing socialist President Hugo Chavez to stay in power for as long as he keeps winning elections.

The self-styled revolutionary this month celebrated a decade at the helm and says he needs another 10 years to continue his anti-poverty campaigns. Opposition leaders call him a fledgling tyrant who wants to stay in office for life.

Polls show Chavez, who should leave office in 2013 if he loses, with a slim lead.

The following are scenarios for Sunday's vote:

CHAVEZ WINS

A victory in the referendum would strengthen Chavez's mandate and give him greater confidence to expand his drive toward Cuban-inspired socialism that has included nationalizations and increased state control over the economy.

He is likely to interpret a clear victory as a license to push forward with policies such as strengthening state-backed community councils that could supplant opposition politicians and advancing land redistribution reforms.

Winning the vote would give him leeway to take unpopular economic measures such as spending cuts or new taxes. The OPEC nation faces declining oil income and slower growth amid the global financial crisis.

It may also bolster him to be more combative as the economy worsens, meaning the government could be given a freer hand to take over businesses that become too insolvent to pay their workers or refuse to abide by government price controls. Chavez launched a wave of aggressive nationalizations after his last election vote victory in 2006.