by Rick Lowe
Well Chavez has won another term as president of Venezuela and this recently released study at the Cato Institute wonders if corruption will continue unabated.
The study was completed by Gustavo Coronel who "was a member of the Board of Directors of Petróleos de Venezuela (1976–79) and, as president of Agrupación Pro Calidad de Vida, was the Venezuelan representative to Transparency International (1996–2000)" so he should have some "inside" information.
The Executive Summary notes:
"The dramatic rise in corruption under Chávez is ironic since he came to power largely on an anti-corruption campaign platform. To truly fight corruption, the government needs to increase the transparency of its institutions and reduce its extensive involvement in the economy, something that has placed Venezuela among the least economically free countries in the world."
Unfortunately Chavez believes he is the worlds next Fidel Castro so we can expect things to get worse before they better in this bloggers not so humble opinion. Hopefully it won't take as long for Venezuela to shed his weight as it has taken the Cuban people to be rid of Fidel.
