The return of Nelson Merentes to the Ministry of Finance demonstrates clearly the empty words of the Chavez revolution. While opposition members are indicted for minor infractions, such as removing road signs illegally, Chavez appoints again to that position one of the few Venezuelans that has been found guilty of violating the anti-corruption law called the “Law for the protection of the public assets”. Indeed Merentes was found guilty of numerous violations of that law by the pro-Chávez National Assembly when it investigated the “missing” funds (somewhere between 2 and 6 billion US$) of the macroeconomic stabilization fund (FIEM). But of course, you need a Prosecutor to accuse and the current one will never accuse one of his own, with so many easy targets in the opposition to harass.
Interestingly enough, Merentes was also part of the first accusations by the then pro-Chavez press against a Chavista figure when he was accused in 1999 of using funds from the technology and science fund of Universidad Central de Venezuela to buy jewels for his employees. The now Minister of Finance defended the actions as being parts of the “perks” of working for that fund. I love revolutionary logic!
The Devil's Excrement 
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