What is your view of anti-corruption efforts under the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez?
I appreciate President Chávez in some areas. He has made it in the fields of literacy, education and health. Sidelined sectors feel they are present in the State policies. But I think he is making mistakes he will eventually regret. The blows to freedom of expression are very serious mistakes. I think the president should dump all his advisors, look at himself in the mirror and weigh what he is building. All accomplishments go to the wastebasket when freedom of expression is attacked; the judiciary is taken over and looses autonomy and the Congress is in the government hands, partly because of opposition parties. You said that Chávez should weigh what he is building. I reckon that “what he is destroying” would be more accurate. That is Venezuelans’ business. I do not think that the balance is completely negative. Yesterday, I went for a walk in Caracas and it is clear that there are radical positions at odds, and that is bad for democracy. I think that the president should think over s
