Critics also compare his ideas to those the early days of Hugo Chávez's government in Venezuela.[74] In response to the attacks, he signed a public document on 18 April in which he pledged not to carry out any type of expropriation if elected.[75] During a presidential debate hosted by El Tiempo on 14 March, candidates responded to a question about relations with Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro. Whilst other participants responded by stating Venezuela is a dictatorship and expressing reluctance toward restoring relations, Petro replied, "if the theory is that with a dictatorship you can't have diplomatic relations, and Venezuela is, [then] why does this government have relations with the United Arab Emirates, which is a dictatorship, perhaps worse [than Venezuela]?"