AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH EVANGELICAL COUNCIL LEADER

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002371

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH EVANGELICAL COUNCIL LEADER

Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION JOHN CREAMER FOR REASONS 1.4 (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Ambassador met with Evangelical Council (CEV)
leader Samuel Olson (dual national AmCit) July 29. Olson
told the Ambassador the CEV was beginning to emerge as a
public voice, and that plans were underway to
institutionalize this development. Olson said that after
years of operating under the political radar, Evangelicals
felt compelled to speak out because recent GOV legislation
threatened their organization. He classified the CEV's recent
stand against the National Assembly's move to decriminalize
abortion as a success and said it was the first time the CEV
had spoken out on a political issue. The council was equally
concerned by the proposed Education Law and the Law of
Religions; the CEV was reaching out behind the scenes to make
its opQion known to the GOV. The Ambassador encouraged the
CEV's nascent political activism and offered the Embassy's
support on social projects. Olson welcomed Embassy
involvement with Evangelical community outreach partners, and
provided suggestions for getting a positive U.S. social
message out to a broader audience. End summary.


2. (C) Olson told the Ambassador that the Evangelicals had
become a stronger public voice over the last few years. He
classified the CEV's recent stand against the
decriminalization of abortion as the first time the
Evangelicals had spoken out on a political issue, and
described council opposition to the measure as a
confidence-builder for future activity. He said the CEV had
distributed a document outlining its opposition to
decriminalization to political deputies, and had hosted a
conference at which two MVR deputies spoke. Olson told the
Ambassador that the council had decided to decentralize its
control over organization communications to encourage future
involvement, and was creating regional alliance chapters to
speak out on local issues. Olson said that 22 local alliance
chapters currently existed in the country, and estimated that
this number would increase to approximately 40 chapters by
the year's end.


3. (C) Olson said Chavez's message of anti-corruption and
concern for the poor resonated deeply with Evangelicals.
Many still believed in the "dream", even as reality about
Chavez set in. He noted that the poor were learning how to
access the GOV's largesse in the barrios to help themselves
temporarily, even if Chavez's economics would not flatten
social inequity over the long-term. An Evangelical community
activist had recently been given a large warehouse to build
an indigent center by the Mayor of Caracas Freddy Bernal. He
said that many Evangelicals were becoming more indebted to
the new system, despite emerging doubts about Chavez's
long-term goals.


4. (C) Olson said past political failures, including a failed
political party, made many Evangelicals wary of taking on a
larger political role. Evangelicals who reached out to the
GOV as intermediaries lacked a strong Evangelical support
base and could not credibly claim to speak on behalf of the
community. Still, he noted a shift in the community's
willingness to let organization leaders speak out on
political issues. He also noted that the potential adverse
impact of GOV legislation on education and religion on
Evangelical institutions was spurring greater Evangelical
political activism.


5. (C) Olson told the Ambassador the Education Law would do
away with theological education in the country by prohibiting
the existence of educational institutions. According to
Olson, this law would impact the Catholic church as well
because it eliminated seminaries. He said the Education Law
would also do away with a Ministry of Education agreement
which allows volunteers to teach Christian values in schools.
Olson said the CEV was heavily invested in this program and
had approximately 4,000 volunteers trained to participate.
Olson told the Ambassador that the immediate fallout from the
Law of Religions was not as serious, but noted that it could
be used to create a council of religions such as exists in
Cuba.


6. (C) Olson outlined a behind the scenes communications

strategy for approaching GOV leaders on legislation. He said
the CEV wanted to stay out of the public eye as much as
possible so as to appear "unthreatening." The council would
try to reach out to the GOV as much as possible behind closed
doors. The Ambassador emphasized the importance of religious
institutions as a counterbalance to the GOV, and encouraged
the CEV's nascent political initiative. He offered Embassy
support for Evangelical social projects.


7. (C) Olson welcomed Embassy support for community outreach
projects run by Evangelical partners, and offered suggestions
for getting a positive U.S. social message out to a broader
audience. Olson classified the U.S. message highlighting
support for social projects as "strong and meaningful."
However, he listed the public's suspicion of underlying U.S.
motives as well as the difficulty of reaching the bulk of the
population which relies on word of mouth for information as
two obstacles to conveying this message. Olson suggested
bigger, more impactful projects and Ambassadorial surprise
visits to community outreaches as two potential means of
overcoming these obstacles.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The CEV's willingness to play a more political role is
a positive step. Still, the organization's overall impact as
an opposition voice will be limited by its desire to keep a
low profile and its inherent vulnerability to GOV pressure.
The council is fragmented by competing internal groups and
lacks a strong international support system. Still, the
Evangelicals represent a sizable, growing percentage of the
Venezuelan population and their emerging political
involvement should be encouraged. Post will continue to
reach out and foster Evangelical initiatives in the political
sphere.


9. (C) AMBASSADOR'S COMMENT. Right now, the Catholic Church
and the Evangelical movement are probably the only two
institutions capable of challenging Chavez in his political
base of the poor. The Catholic Church has less credibility,
but is better organized. The Evangelicals are growing in the
poor neighborhoods, but are less organized and uncertain
about their political role. Both are key institutions. We
have to work with them if we want to penetrate Chavez'
political support base.
Brownfield


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