Venezuelan environmentalist Erik Quiroga believes the storms could help repair the damaged ozone layer and is campaigning for the entire ecosystem that produces the storms to be recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site.
To their credit, President Banzer, elected in 1997, and his vice-president, Jorge Quiroga, who is in charge of the reforms, waited until the new system was in place to appoint seven new judges to the 12-member Supreme Court.