That is quite true. I did not read documents I brought concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms statistics. As the term states, it is, of course, fundamental. As you mentioned, and as I tried to say right from the start, it is also essential to talk about what we can call the right to an adequate standard of living, acceptable living conditions, human dignity and so forth.
To come back to your question, the current situation is not ideal, as to be expected. However, it is important to compare this to a previous time, even if Venezuela did not undergo a military dictatorship in the 1960s or 1970s as was the case almost everywhere else in that part of the south, including Argentina—my home country—Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, etc. Obviously, a majority of Venezuelans, during this previous era, found themselves in a very unenviable position in terms of respect for human rights as well as in the broader sense of human rights: access to education, health care, etc. It cannot be denied, the Chávez government has made considerable progress. With regard to the social dimension of rights, everyone recognizes this. It is important to stress this.
For example, was social protest illegal before Chávez? Of course. Did the prison conditions, police brutality, military action in domestic operations exist before Chávez? Of course. That is why I want to highlight this context. We must take into consideration the previous situation, as you mentioned, in order to better understand what is happening today in Venezuela. I also want to talk about another dimension in Latin America, and Venezuela is part of that regional reality: this is the most unequal continent in the world. This means that the majority did not have access to all kinds of rights, including political rights, until the advent of democracy. Venezuela has made major progress with regard to the rights of the lower classes.
It is important to understand that the political and ideological division within Venezuela is also, to some extent, a class division. The lower classes support Chávez because their living conditions have substantially improved. Today, is the situation perfect or ideal in terms of fundamental freedoms? No, we have just seen that there are troubling incidents and trends. However, if we draw the comparison with Colombia, of course you are quite right. Once again, without denying the existence of problems evident in Venezuela, it is important to also look at what is happening in Colombia, Honduras and elsewhere, in Argentina and Chile. Sometimes there is a so-called left-wing government sometimes it is a so-called right-wing government. I want to stress that the situation in Venezuela is troubling and of concern, but is not abnormal in relation to other contexts. Targeting Venezuela because of its government's ideology seems to be at the very least unfair, in my mind.