LABOR STRUGGLES AMID THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 003164 SIPDIS NSC FOR CBARTON USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2014 TAGS: PGOV ELAB PHUM VE KEDEM SUBJECT: LABOR STRUGGLES AMID THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for reason 1.4(b). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The assimilation of organized labor into the Bolivarian Revolution continues to elude supporters of President Hugo Chavez. Two rival labor confederations -- the anti-Chavez Venezuela Workers Confederation (CTV) and the pro-Chavez National Workers Union (UNT) -- plan to hold elections in early 2005. The CTV wants to get fresh leadership and dispel the cloud left by current president-in-exile Carlos Ortega. UNT has hobbled along since 2003 with 21 national coordinators who have digressed into factionalism. The two electoral processes could shed light on which labor camp is strongest in Venezuela, though the "revolutionary" Chavistas ru a high risk of revealing their lack of support mong the working class. End summary. -------------- A Tale of Two Labor Conederations -------------- ¶2. (U) After the pro-Chavez Bolivarian Workers Forc (FBT) lost the elections for the Venezuelan Worers Confederation (CTV) in October 2001, Presidet Hugo Chavez continued to battle the CTV and heped create a parallel labor confederation. Dissdent CTV leaders and ndependents founded in Apri 2003 the National Workers Union (UNT) with the ope of supplanting the CTV as Venezuela's largest rade union group. Since then, the CTV and UNT hve competed for union membership along pro-Chave/anti-Chavez lines, and it is now unclear how man workers each confederation represents. Both grups face the possibility of elections for top pots next year that could help bring the labor picture to sharp relief. -------------- CTV: Elections A Chance For A New Mandate -------------- ¶3. (U) CTV President Carlos Ortega (currently in exile/hiding and facing criminal charges related to the national strike) and Secretary General Manuel Cova (now the CTV's de facto leader) received four-year terms in what was the first direct election of confederation leaders in CTV history. Ortega and Cova were backed by a coalition of opposition parties, most notably Accion Democratica (AD). The FBT charged fraud, and the GOV did not recognize the current CTV leadership. At the same time, federations and individual unions affiliated with CTV were elected to three-year terms, which expire at the end of October 2004. By law, unions have three months to hold new elections after the end of the term. Rather than operate one more year with a president-in-exile, some CTV leaders (including Cova) are pressing to hold CTV elections at the same time as federation and union elections. Voter turnout is also a factor, with workers more likely to vote for local union leaders than for national labor leaders. -------------- UNT: Plagued By Factionalism -------------- ¶4. (C) In the wake of the national strike, dissident CTV officials and pro-Chavez labor leaders formed the UNT, naming a board of 21 "national coordinators" representing diverse groups. Some national coordinators have ties to pro-Chavez political parties Patria Para Todos (PPT),Podemos, and Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR). Others have ideological ties, such as to the Socialist League or Trotskyites. Some are "independents" from the Christian Democrats (COPEI), though critics refer to them as "opportunists." National Coordinator Orlando Chirino, a Trotskyite former regional CTV chief in Carabobo State, told poloff September 8 the concept of UNT was to practice "collective leadership" and thereby break from traditional Venezuelan union models. The collective arrangement proved inadequate to manage a national labor movement, however, said Marcela Maspero, a former CTV executive council member from COPEI. Maspero told poloff the full board of coordinators stopped meeting after only a few months, dwindling down into factions. Maspero said the time had come for labor central to elect a president, which UNT leaders hope could take in February 2005, if electoral rules can be adopted in time. ¶5. (C) There are two principal factions within UNT. Maspero and Chirino lead one sect that is reported to have close contacts with Minister of Labor Maria Cristina Iglesias. A member of the PPT party, Iglesias' support is crucial for registering new UNT-affiliated unions, and unions with ties to Maspero and Chirino reportedly fare better with Iglesias than do other UNT factions. Maspero demurred when poloff asked in the presence of Chirino which of them would be their faction's candidate for UNT president. It will be decided later, Maspero responded. ¶6. (C) The second principal faction is formed by Ramon Machuca, leader of the union at the GOV-owned steel plant, SIDOR, in Bolivar State. Machuca was a founder of UNT and had hoped to be named its first president; when the collective model was adopted, Machuca's interest in UNT cooled. Earlier this year, Machuca lead a successful strike at SIDOR. If the UNT holds elections, Muchaca is likely to be a candidate. He is supported by fellow national coordinators Franklin Rondon, who leads the large pro-Chavez public worker federation, and Francisco Torrealba, the former head of the Caracas Metro union. Torrealba told poloff September 28 his faction has poor relations with the Minister of Labor, who clashed publicly with the metro union in September over its collective bargaining agreement with the GOV. Both faction agreed that other groups exist within UNT that, if motivated by the elections, could field serious candidates as well. -------------- The CNE Wrinkle -------------- ¶7. (C) Venezuelan labor analyst Rolando Diaz told poloff September 22 that elections for both confederations will be a measure of their respective strengths. Workers affiliated with each central will vote -- confederations draw up their own voter rolls -- and thus give an indication of overall membership of each. Another factor in the elections is the role of the National Electoral Council (CNE),which was empowered by the 1999 Constitution to oversee union internal elections. Both the CTV and UNT oppose this provision, which they view as a violation of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on the freedoms of association and to organize. There are widespread concerns as well that the CNE, which routinely cows to GOV interests, will give disparate treatment to the CTV, whose 2001 elections the CNE has yet to recognize. Torrealba expressed concern that the CNE will be biased in favor of the UNT faction competing against his. He said his faction might seek a Supreme Court injunction to void the CNE's authority to intervene in union elections. Diaz was confident that in a fair contest the UNT would be shown to have fewer workers than the CTV. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) President Hugo Chavez has been unable to capture wide support among organized labor and has instead caused its fragmentation. He can only count on nominal support from the UNT leaders, who are united more by their disgust for the CTV than for their affection for Chavez. The CTV and UNT elections could overlap next year, creating some potential pitfalls for Chavez. A relatively big turnout for CTV over UNT would signal low Chavez support in the formal economy working class. Involving the rarely impartial CNE could open the institution to further erosion of its credibility, which Chavez needs to preserve for next year's legislative elections. Taken in the context of high unemployment/underemployment and flagging worker salaries and benefits, labor politics will at least present a major headache for Chavez in the coming year. Brownfield NNNN 2004CARACA03164 - CONFIDENTIAL