OFFER OF ASSISTANCE WITH POLITICAL RECONCILIATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 002904 SIPDIS CARACAS FOR AMBASSADOR BROWNFIELD STATE FOR WHA DAS CHARLES SHAPIRO E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2014 TAGS: PGOV PREL AR VZ SUBJECT: OFFER OF ASSISTANCE WITH POLITICAL RECONCILIATION IN VENEZUELA REF: BUENOS AIRES 02866 Classified By: Ambassador Lino Gutierrez for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) On October 13th, Ambassador accompanied by POLCOUNS and POLOFF met with leading Argentine pollster Graciela Romer. She has long been a helpful contact of the Embassy. (SEE REFTEL) Romer is active in opinion polling and political consulting in many parts of Latin America, and has completed several recent studies for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Venezuela. Graciela Romer told Ambassador she would like to offer her services to Embassy Caracas and/or WHA to help facilitate the political reconciliation between the Venezuelan opposition and the GOV. ¶2. (C) With the recall referendum decided, Romer argued that the focus needs to be on political reconciliation and governability and would like to use her firm to help this process. In her view, the Carter Center and the OAS have been discredited in the eyes of the opposition, and so are unable to perform the role of mediator. She felt that other groups, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),and private organizations, such as her firm, would be better equipped to initiate dialogue between the Venezuelan opposition and the more moderate elements associated with President Chavez. Romer mentioned that she has contacts within both the opposition and the government, and also relayed her impressions of her recent meeting with President Chavez. GUTIERREZ