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Chavez vs. Capriles: Corruption takes center stage in Venezuela's election
Chavez vs. Capriles: Corruption takes center stage in Venezuela's election
Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski expelled a top aide last Thursday amid corruption charges that could prove damaging to his campaign less than a month before Election Day.
Deputy Juan Carlos Caldera was filmed receiving a cash payment from a blurred-out figure, which Mr. Caldera claimed was a donation for his own mayoral campaign. Government officials are alleging the money was a bribe for political favors related to Mr. Capriles’ campaign, however.
President Hugo Chavez's challenger quickly distanced himself from the episode and denounced the act: "I’m never going to permit anyone [to] use my name for their own personal benefit,” Capriles said.
...
"Corruption in Venezuela has definitely increased," says Mercedes de Freitas director of the anti-corruption NGO, Transparencia Venezuela. “The size of the state has increased, public workers and funding have increased. However, the systems of control and penalties have not." Venezuela currently ranks 172 out of 183 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, the lowest rated country in the region except for Haiti.
Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski expelled a top aide last Thursday amid corruption charges that could prove damaging to his campaign less than a month before Election Day.
Deputy Juan Carlos Caldera was filmed receiving a cash payment from a blurred-out figure, which Mr. Caldera claimed was a donation for his own mayoral campaign. Government officials are alleging the money was a bribe for political favors related to Mr. Capriles’ campaign, however.
President Hugo Chavez's challenger quickly distanced himself from the episode and denounced the act: "I’m never going to permit anyone [to] use my name for their own personal benefit,” Capriles said.
...
"Corruption in Venezuela has definitely increased," says Mercedes de Freitas director of the anti-corruption NGO, Transparencia Venezuela. “The size of the state has increased, public workers and funding have increased. However, the systems of control and penalties have not." Venezuela currently ranks 172 out of 183 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, the lowest rated country in the region except for Haiti.
