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Former allies of Hugo Chavez blow the whistle on 'corrupt' dynasty
The Telegraph ^ | 4/19/2010

Posted on 04/23/2010 1:55:43 AM PDT by bruinbirdman

Former ally of Hugo Chávez has turned on the Venezuelan president, claiming that his administration is more corrupt that the ruling class that it usurped.

Wilmer Azuaje joined Mr Chávez's revolution a decade ago and worked with the president's family to turn their home state of Barinas into a hotbed of political change.

He is now the Chávez family's most outspoken foe. "They turned out to be the most corrupt ever. They betrayed us," he told the Guardian.

Mr Azuaje claims that in Barinas farms, businesses, banks and government contracts have been taken over by the president's parents and five brothers.

The Chavez dynasty certainly has a tight hold over the region. Mr Chávez's father ruled as governor of Barinas, a showcase of the revolution, for a decade until handing over to the president's brother, Adán, in an election marred by fraud allegations.

Other brothers are also doing well. One is mayor of nearby Sabaneta; one is a senior banker, one is planning his own election campaign. Meanwhile the family travel in convoys of 4x4s and president's once-matronly mother, Elena, has undergone plastic surgery and now sports designer clothes and expensive jewellery.

The allegations of nepotism and corruption come amid growing concern that the revolutionary socialist movement has been hijacked by money-driven opportunists inside, or close to, the government, the paper reports.

Nationalisations, new state enterprises and new price and currency controls have generated a host of well-connected millionaires.

Venezuela is now 162nd, alongside Angola and Congo, out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index.

Mr Chávez seems to have acknowledged that his popularity has suffered as a result of the corruption claims. "This party has to tighten the moral belt," he said in December last year.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 04/23/2010 1:55:44 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
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To: bruinbirdman

Is it just me or does this read almost like an Obozo bio?


2 posted on 04/23/2010 2:21:29 AM PDT by Hitlerys uterus (I have just about had it up to here with foreigners.)
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To: bruinbirdman

Who could have ever predicted this?


3 posted on 04/23/2010 2:32:42 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: wastoute

sorry, forgot /sarc


4 posted on 04/23/2010 2:32:58 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: Hitlerys uterus
the revolutionary socialist movement has been hijacked by money-driven opportunists inside

Har Har...Hardee Har Har!

5 posted on 04/23/2010 2:45:42 AM PDT by gr8eman (Everybody is a rocket scientist...until launch day!)
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To: bruinbirdman

...the hope and change thing...Gonna try to change to socialism and hope they don’t notice.


6 posted on 04/23/2010 2:53:34 AM PDT by Doogle (IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN....PLEASE donate, because it's the RIGHT thing to do)
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To: bruinbirdman
GOMER SEZ:

SURPRISE SURPRISE

7 posted on 04/23/2010 4:13:02 AM PDT by DeaconRed (I have had all I can stands and I can't stands NO MO--Call me popeye)
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To: Hitlerys uterus
"Is it just me or does this read almost like an Obozo bio?"

It's not just you and it shows the corruption of the merging of government and business. Obama's government, the Chicago Way, is a type of Fascism. Business is being given an offer they can't refuse and corruption will be epidemic.

8 posted on 04/23/2010 4:56:39 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: bruinbirdman
do I really have to say it???

9 posted on 04/23/2010 5:00:24 AM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: bruinbirdman

“his administration is more corrupt that the ruling class that it usurped.”

George Orwell said that would happen. (See his book “Animal Farm”)

Now see Barack Hussein Obama become more corrupt than the Bush administration that he (his playmates) whined about.


10 posted on 04/23/2010 5:29:22 AM PDT by RoadTest (Religion is a substitute for the relationship God wants with you.)
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To: bruinbirdman

To paraphrase that mouth-breathing environmentalist huckster - “They betrayed us! They PLAYED ON OUR FEARS!”


11 posted on 04/23/2010 5:43:36 AM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Enjoy nature - eat meat, wear fur and drive your car!)
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