After joining the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), this Venezuelan journalist-turned-politician served as his country's Minister of the Central Office of Coordination and Planning.
Upon earning his bachelor's degree in economics from the Central University of Venezuela, he became a university professor, guerrilla combatant, and member of the Communist Party of Venezuela.
In 2000, he founded a political newspaper called Tal Cual.
He was born in Zulia, Venezuela, to a Polish-Jewish mother and a Bulgarian father.
Throughout his political career, he was a vocal opponent of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In 2006, he briefly joined Venezuela's presidential race, but ultimately took himself out of contention and supported Manuel Rosales' campaign against Chavez.
