Taking On the President's Family
Legislator Accuses Cha¡vez Relatives of Stealing From State
By Juan ForeroWashington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, April 9, 2008; A08
BARINAS, Venezuela -- Wilmer Azuaje is baby-faced, and his house here in this provincial capital is decorated with kitsch, including a giant painting of a voluptuous, naked blonde.
He could easily be mistaken for a party-going university student. The compound where his home is located includes a pool and a disco, and beer flows freely for friends who visit.
But the festive atmosphere belies Azuaje's seriousness, as well as the fact that he has become a political menace. The 31-year-old congressman, who is running for governor in this cattle-producing state, is taking on Venezuela's most famous family: that of President Hugo Chávez.
Azuaje has alleged that four of the president's brothers and their father, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez, who is currently governor, have made a personal fiefdom of this state, which, like the capital, is called Barinas. The congressman is among a host of critics who say members of the Chávez family have been buying large farms and hiding their stakes in them, possibly because the properties were purchased with public funds.
"The president's brothers act like they're the owners of Barinas," said Azuaje, whose remarks have been particularly stinging because he is a member of the president's ruling party. "They act like this is a hacienda that belongs to them."
Such accusations have shined a light on what opposition groups and some government officials call a plague of graft tarnishing Chávez's self-styled revolution. Though the president has frequently railed against corruption in governments that preceded his, accusations of malfeasance are increasingly dogging those close to him.
By Juan ForeroWashington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, April 9, 2008; A08
BARINAS, Venezuela -- Wilmer Azuaje is baby-faced, and his house here in this provincial capital is decorated with kitsch, including a giant painting of a voluptuous, naked blonde.
He could easily be mistaken for a party-going university student. The compound where his home is located includes a pool and a disco, and beer flows freely for friends who visit.
But the festive atmosphere belies Azuaje's seriousness, as well as the fact that he has become a political menace. The 31-year-old congressman, who is running for governor in this cattle-producing state, is taking on Venezuela's most famous family: that of President Hugo Chávez.
Azuaje has alleged that four of the president's brothers and their father, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez, who is currently governor, have made a personal fiefdom of this state, which, like the capital, is called Barinas. The congressman is among a host of critics who say members of the Chávez family have been buying large farms and hiding their stakes in them, possibly because the properties were purchased with public funds.
"The president's brothers act like they're the owners of Barinas," said Azuaje, whose remarks have been particularly stinging because he is a member of the president's ruling party. "They act like this is a hacienda that belongs to them."
Such accusations have shined a light on what opposition groups and some government officials call a plague of graft tarnishing Chávez's self-styled revolution. Though the president has frequently railed against corruption in governments that preceded his, accusations of malfeasance are increasingly dogging those close to him.
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