CITIZENS ASSEMBLIES: CIVIL SOCIETY GETS ORGANIZED

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002389

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2014
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CITIZENS ASSEMBLIES: CIVIL SOCIETY GETS ORGANIZED


Classified By: A/DCM ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Venezuela's Asambleas de Ciudadanos (Citizen
Assemblies),as outlined in Article 70 of the 1999
Constitution, are a means through which civil society can
organize itself to address political concerns and attempt to
establish government accountability. The opposition's answer
to President Chavez's grassroots organizing, the Asambleas
have become a functional component of the Coordinadora
Democratica's (CD) campaign to recall President Chavez in the
August 15 referendum. The Red de Asambleas (Network of
Assemblies),the central leadership structure for the
Asambleas de Ciudadanos, is currently working to marshal
opposition support for the recall referendum. End Summary.

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FORM AND FUNCTION
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2. (C) Article 70 of Venezuela's 1999 Constitution provides
the legal foundation for the creation of Asambleas de
Ciudadanos (Citizen Assemblies). Maxim Ross, editorialist
for "El Universal" and key founding organizer for the
Asambleas told poloff July 16 that the Asambleas de
Ciudadanos were designed to serve as an instrument through
which civil society could attempt to establish government
accountability. Asambleas exist predominantly in the major
metropolitan areas throughout Venezuela. There are
approximately 130 to 150 Asambleas in Caracas. While there
are no prerequisite conditions to start an Asamblea de
Ciudadanos, each Asamblea produces a charter to formalize its
existence. An elected coordinator and alternate coordinator
head each Asamblea. The general agenda for an Asamblea
meeting is one hour of comments by guest speakers followed by
one to two hours of open floor dialogue.


3. (C) Thus far, opponents of President Hugo Chavez have
been the only sector of the population to invoke the
constitutional right to organize Asambleas de Ciudadanos.
Irene Romanchuck, the Red de Asambleas representatives to the
Coordinadora Democratica (CD),told poloff July 22 that the
Asambleas are the opposition's counterpart to Chavez's
Circulos Bolivarianos and grassroots organizing. While
Asambleas are political entities, they are not dominated by
any one political party. The Asambleas organized
mobilization campaigns for the opposition signature drive and
the appeals process, and are currently working to marshal
electoral participation for the August 15 recall referendum.

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RED DE ASAMBLEAS
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4. (C) The Red de Asambleas (Network of Assemblies) is the
central leadership structure for the Asambleas, and is
comprised of the coordinators from each of the Asambleas.
The Red meets weekly and collectively works to set the
thematic agenda of the individual Asamblea meetings. The Red
serves as an intermediary between civil society and the CD
and the government. The Red has one official representative
in the leadership structure of the CD. Maxim Ross told
poloff that the Red also has lobbied members of the National
Assembly on behalf of civil society to protest the new
organic law governing Venezuela's Supreme Court.

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ASAMBLEAS AND THE CD
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5. (C) The relationship between the CD and the Asambleas de
Ciudadanos is strong but unbalanced. Irene Romanchuck told
poloff that the Coordinadora Democratica continuously uses
the Asambleas as an audience for opposition leaders and a
forum to disseminate information and propaganda, but does not
permit the Asambleas representation to have a voice in

opposition's campaign agenda. Romanchuck also commented that
the Asambleas are committed to opposition's campaign to
recall President Chavez, but tensions exist between the Red
de Asambleas and the leadership of the CD.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) The Asambleas are valuable to the CD as a means to
publicize and generate grassroots support for its campaign to
recall Chavez. While the Asambleas tend to only attract
those individuals who were already faithful to the
opposition's agenda, they are still provide a legion of
willing volunteers who will take the campaign to the streets
to rally participation for the recall effort.
McFarland


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2004CARACA02389 - CONFIDENTIAL