Chavez 'wants to be a Kadhafi' says Vargas Llosa



MEXICO CITY- Nobel Literature Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to embattled Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, saying both want to remain in power indefinitely.
In an interview with CNN's Spanish service during a visit to Mexico, the Peruvian writer welcomed the revolts that have been sweeping the Arab world in recent weeks, saying they are "as important as the fall of the Berlin Wall."



He condemned Chavez for supporting Libya's strongman but said: "It is in the logic of things. Unfortunately for Venezuela, he wants to be a Kadhafi."
Chavez "wants to remain in power forever. And the perpetuation of power always brings corruption and repression. Fortunately, the Venezuelans will not let him," the author, a longtime Chavez critic, said.
"I am hopeful. I think the semi-dictatorship of Chavez is not going to last for many more years."
Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2010, ran unsuccessfully for president of Peru in 1990 on a right-wing ticket.
Chavez has stood up for his longtime ally Kadhafi, calling for an international peace mission to mediate the Libyan crisis and prevent civil war.
The two leaders have paid each other visits in recent years, and ties are so close that Kadhafi was rumored at one point to have fled to Caracas.
Chavez, a longtime critic of US "imperialism," has claimed the United States is "exaggerating things and twisting things to justify an invasion" of Libya.
In the same interview, Vargas Llosa said he would proceed with plans to inaugurate the Spanish-speaking world's largest book fair in April despite a campaign to stop him by intellectuals in host country Argentina.
The critics, close to Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, have branded Vargas Llosa an "authoritarian" liberal because of his criticism of her and of the country's politics.
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Friday, March 4th 2011
AFP
           


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