(El Universal) - "Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos endorsed the way Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez proposed his constitutional reform, branding the move as legitimate.

In a hearing before the Senate, the Spanish diplomat reminded that Venezuelan opposition parties gave up their seats at the National Assembly, as they boycotted elections in December 2005, DPA reported.

'In Venezuela there is democracy,' Moratinos stated, stressing that 'Chávez has been democratically elected, and the reason why Parliament is one-colored is because the opposition or the political groups sabotaged elections,' a move the official called 'a mistake.'

If they had participated in that vote, he added, the Venezuelan opposition now would be in a position to 'correct, change, participate, and talk' in the debate on the constitutional reform under which Hugo Chávez is trying to set up socialism in Venezuela.

'They rather boycotted elections and that now paves the way for the party having a representation in the Venezuelan party to present their modifications the way they deem adequate,' Moratinos stated, without elaborating on such modifications (.)".