Chavez turns Venezuelan coat of arms to the 'Left'

CARACAS
Venezuela's Congress, dominated by allies of socialist president Hugo Chavez, has approved a revamp of the national coat of arms to ensure its white horse gallops left instead of right.

Dismissed by critics as a whim of the Venezuelan leader, the approved changes to the official yellow, blue and red flag also add an eighth star sought by Chavez as a tribute to South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar.

Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, says Bolivar inspired his so-called Bolivarian revolution and the national icon often features in his lengthy public speeches.

Last year Chavez dismissed the horse image saying "it's not even Venezuelan, it's an imperialist horse" after researching that it was originally designed by a British diplomat.

But he cited historical reasons for the change.

"The horse now faces left with its head forward to the future, a white, free, untamed horse, as our nation is free as never before," lawmaker Cilia Flores said late on Tuesday after the law was passed.

A machete, a bow and arrow and tropical fruits and flowers were also added to the coat of arms to represent Venezuela's rural peasants and indigenous people.