Domingo Felipe Maza Zavala
He is one of the directors of Venezuela's Central Bank. A celebrated economist, he has written a number of books on economic theory.
Why watch him?
Maza is the most influential and most independent-minded of the Central Bank's
seven directors. Unlike the president of the bank, who is elected for a
seven-year term by the president of the republic and approved by congress, the
directors are not chosen by the executive. As they are responsible only to their
fellow directors, they have more freedom to criticise the government's economic
decisions.
Born: 1922
Place of Birth: Barcelona, Anzoátegui, Venezuela
Educated: He completed both his undergraduate degree and doctorate at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV).
Public Life:
Maza worked as a professor of economics at UCV, the Universidad Santa Maria and
the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. Outside of academia, he has also been
the president of the national academy of economic sciences, a member of
presidential commissions for both the reform of the state and the
nationalisation of the oil industry as well as a columnist on economic affairs
for El Nacional. He has been married, to Alicia Margarita, for 54 years.
Timeline
1949: Graduated in social and economic sciences from UCV.
1949-1963: Columnist on economics for 'El Nacional'
1958: Worked on a commission which studied the problem of agrarian
reform.
1962: Gained his doctorate from UCV.
1963-1968: Became a teacher of economics at UCV as well as the director
of the institute of economic and social investigations.
1972-1975: Deacon of the faculty of social and economic sciences.
1974-1975: Member of the presidential commission on the nationalisation
of the oil industry.
1976: Publishes first major work, Macroeconomic analysis
1985: Member of the presidential commission on the reform of the state.
1988-1996: Publishes a number of well-received books on economic theory.
1996: Becomes a director of the Central Bank.
Strengths
A self-proclaimed poet, journalist, literary critic and "economist through
necessity", Maza is a popular and well-respected public figure in
Venezuela, and his economic work is studied throughout Latin America. Although
all seven central bank directors have been critical of some of Chávez 's
decisions, such as the strict currency exchange control instituted in February
2003, Maza is the most prominent and outspoken.
Weaknesses
At the age of 83, Maza is clearly not going to remain a public figure for much
longer. Although the anti-chavista press is quick to report Maza's scepticism on
government economic policy, he does not represent any particular political
constituency. His criticism of the Chávez administration, therefore, does not
constitute serious, effective political opposition.
Prospects
Maza's comments on the state of the economy often stand in stark contrast to the
government's sanguine assessments. Throughout 2004 he argued that the stellar
growth registered by the economy was not in fact growth at all, but merely the
making up of ground lost during the previous two years of recession. In early
March this year he made the headlines by saying that despite President Chávez 's
claims to be forming a socialist republic, Venezuela was still a capitalist
country. "To create a socialist system, you would need to change the
institutions, the approach of the government and of the private economy. Just
the words of the president don't convert us into socialists," he said in
March 2005