Mr. Chair, I only have the opening question, and then my colleague Mr. Hiebert will take the rest of the time.
I'm very grateful to Mr. Graham and Madam Burns for being here and for their testimony.
I have to admit--and Mr. Marston referred to some of the testimony--that we had an organization called Hands Off Venezuela. I understand that there are 30 chapters around the world.
You used the term “painting” a portrait of what the reality is today. It seems to me....
This is a question; I don't want to put words in your mouth.
It seems to me there was some initial movement on social programs and on health care. It was short-lived, and now what the people are paying for that, at least from your description, is a complete erosion as far as any type of separation between the judiciary and the executive. There's a complete erosion as far as any type of independence for municipal authorities. The mayor of Caracas losing 95% of his budget is, I would say, a gross manipulation.
So is this the case, that you have a government here who's trying to paint a picture that they're moving forward but in fact, as you said, they have a real issue with incompetence; and that the only notion to them, in this Bolivian democracy, of being democratic is simply for those people who support the regime?