YOUNG POLITICO CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 001059

SIPDIS


SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KDEM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: YOUNG POLITICO CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION


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Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) Alexandra Belandia Ruizpineda is a 35-year-old leader
of the small Caracas-based Grupo Cambio ("Group for Change")
that gained notoriety in September 2005 for surreptitious
placement of paper skeletons to protest Venezuela's
deteriorating security environment. While the skeletons
incident resulted in her being investigated for terrorism,
Belandia believes the real reason for her persecution is the
success of her youth-based movement's social work in poor
Caracas neighborhoods, the supposed exclusive turf of the
Chavistas. Belandia has also run afoul of traditional
opposition politicians for her efforts to force the
pre-candidates against Chavez in the upcoming elections to
agree to a primary. Belandia, though still not a major
opposition player, could potentially become a major target
for the Chavez administration if her unorthodox movement gain
strength. End summary.

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Impeccable AD Credentials Open Doors
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2. (C) Poloff met with Belandia April 12, after she had
de-briefed PAS on her recent participation in a PAS-sponsored
short-term fellowship at Georgetown University. Belandia's
grandfather, Leonardo Ruiz Pineda, was a founder of the AD
party, a communications minister for the "triennio" of Romulo
Gallegos, and later resistance leader during the dictatorship
of Perez Jimenez. Ruiz Pineda was assassinated by state
security police in 1952, driving the Ruiz Pineda family into
exile until AD's eventual assumption of power. Belandia's
mother, Natacha Ruizpineda (taking the combined name of her
famous father) ultimately pursued a career in politics,
serving as a Caracas council member representing the western
(and largely poor) parts of Caracas. While the Ruizpineda
family was financially ruined while resisting the
dictatorship, Belandia's father built a successful real
estate company, making her part of Venezuela's new rich
class. Belandia's family traveled the country during her
childhood proselytizing on behalf of AD. Belandia obtained a
degree in Speech Communication from Boston Univeristy in

1995. She returned to Caracas in 1996 to pursue a political
career, but quickly concluded that AD had become corrupt and
had lost touch with the masses. She worked as a professor of
communications at Santa Maria University, making contact with
many students who would later become journalists. During
this period, she began working on social projects in poor
neighborhoods to build a network. She supported the Salas
Roemer campaign against Hugo Chavez in 1998. She was present
in the opposition marches of 2001-2002, including the tragic
day of April 11, 2002, during which 17 people were killed.
After Chavez won the August 15, 2004, recall referendum,
Belandia, working with the Coordinadora Democratica, said she
advocated taking to the streets to claim fraud the following
day, but was dismissed by Coordinadora leadership. She
subsequently decided, as many opposition leaders, to forsake
unity and organize her own movement.

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Grupo Cambio
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3. (C) Belandia launched Grupo Cambio in 2004 with the
mission of establishing a free and fair society in Venezuela.
Recognizing that Chavez' rise to power was the result of
political errors of the previous regimes, especially
exclusion of the poor, the group began its work on a
volunteer public service program in hope of building support
in poor communities. Most of Cambio's members are of

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university age. Belandia also began giving training in
"non-violent theory" for opposition protests, arguing that
opposition street marches had become futile. (Note: It was
Belandia who organized the April 6 march to the Papal
Nunciate, during which the protesters sat down in the street
and held moments of silence, an uncommon Venezuelan protest
tactic. Cambio's website, www.cambioyfuera.org, contains
some of the non-violent techniques they advocate.) Belandia
said the majority of her 2,500 members come from western
Caracas, mostly due to her childhood contacts, and much of
Grupo Cambio's social projects are carried out in poor areas.
She said she does not seek any publicity for her activities
because it would undermine her credibility in the barrios
(and make her look like a carpet bagger). She added that she
believes the fight against Chavez is a long-term one,
requiring careful, low-profile work.

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Skeletons Propel Cambio To Fame
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4. (C) After three students from Santa Maria University were
killed while fleeing from a suspicious police checkpoint in
June 2005 (known as "Caso Kennedy"),Grupo Cambio members
placed paper skeletons at traffic lights throughout Caracas.
The "Skeletons" phenomenon, which peaked in September, was
intended to protest the lack of security in Caracas, Belandia
asserted. There were Skeleton copycats in other states, she
added, including in Zulia. When the government learned that
Cambio was responsible, Belandia said she began to receive
telephonic death threats from people identifying themselves
as members of the state security police (DISIP). She said
she had also identified a car apparently following her in
Caracas as having been rented by a DISIP employee. Then, on
October 20, Belandia's house was raided by members of
counter-terrorism unit of the technical police (CICPC) and
the prosecutor's office. She said the questions did not
relate to the skeletons, however, but rather to her group's
social work in the western part of the city. She claimed
that the prosecutor told her that his job was to "put her in
jail" and that the facts of the case were irrelevant.
Belandia said she now has CICPC investigations pending
against her, but because they are counter-terrorism cases,
she is not allowed to see the files.

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Flack From Traditional Opposition
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5. (C) Despite having good contacts with opposition players,
who largely accept her for her family background, Belandia
described a contentious relationship with traditional
opposition parties. For example, her group circulated an
open letter to the opposition pre-candidates advocating five
demands from the National Electoral Council (CNE) for clean
elections and a primary to pick the opposition candidate.
The letter, which Belandia said had some 8,000 signatures,
extended an invitation for the pre-candidates to attend an
April 22 assembly to sign a pact agreeing to the primary.
Belandia was surprised to learn, however, that former
Coordinadora Democratica leader Enrique Mendoza had called
for a march on the same day to the National Assembly, which
is currently debating the appointments of new members of the
CNE. When she questioned the safety of such a plan (the
National Assembly is squarely in pro-Chavez territory),she
claims that Mendoza said the opposition needed to "see some
blood." (Comment: Belandia probably exaggerated this point,
though in-your-face street demonstrations are a classic
opposition tactic from the mass marches of 2002-2004.)


6. (C) Cambio has a deepening working relationship with
Sumate. Belandia, for example, had coordinated her advocacy
for a primary with Sumate, the organization that would
presumably administer the unofficial vote (Venezuelan
electoral law has no provisions for primaries). For example,

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Belandia came out on April 17 after a meeting with Sumate and
leaders of Gente de Petroleo (comprised of former PDVSA
workers) to press for a unified candidate. Sumate leaders,
then, held a press conference on April 18 expressing their
readiness to facilitate the primary process.

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Comment
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7. (C) Belandia is politically savvy and confident but still
somewhat young by Venezuelan standards to be taken seriously
by most players. She may also overestimate her links to the
barrio, especially given her eastern Caracas look (read, of
European descent) and lifestyle. That said, she probably has
the right formula for Venezuela's new opposition:
low-profile social work coupled with long-term political
network-building. Of course, this formula makes sense to us,
but is so far little heeded in most opposition sectors. We
suspect that Belandia's focus on youth is troubling to the
Bolivarians, who like the traditional opposition struggle to
co-opt youth into today's political landscape. We also
expect that Belandia could get moved up to the Chavistas'
A-list for political persecution (and prosecution) if she
continues to rise in popularity.

BROWNFIELD