http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-26298133

He's an utter arsehole but seemingly a clever one.

He's just following the template of disappointed presidents everywhere. They come to power with more authority, and fewer checks on their power than there ought to be, and effectively rule by fiat.

But, as with his counterparts in Egypt, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Argentina (maybe Russia and Turkey too) it turns out that as you further weaken the institutions that are supposed to keep you in check, you don't make smart decisions, and you don't get the sort of cooperation or adulation you expected. So you have to keep buying allies until it all becomes unmanageable. In effect, corruption takes the place that courts and parliaments should in circumscribing your power.

Once it stops working out, they always make lots of dark references to foreign powers. Even those few with the insight to recognise their own failings have usually left it too late.