El Sistema: A Model of Tyranny?

Geoff Baker, in the Guardian:

I went to Venezuela in search of the program’s secret. But to my surprise, Venezuelan musicians and cultural observers told me privately about a different Sistema, one that bore little resemblance to the heart-warming story told by the institution itself and the international media.

I don’t know very much about the system, but this article paints it in a grim light. Inevitably, we’ll be hearing another side to the story within the next few days.