NGO HIGHLIGHTS BRV'S USE OF ELECTORAL BLACKLISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001207

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: NGO HIGHLIGHTS BRV'S USE OF ELECTORAL BLACKLISTS


CARACAS 00001207 001.2 OF 002


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

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Summary
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1. (C) Opposition NGO Ciudadania Activa (Active Citizenry)
produced the documentary "La Lista Tascon" ("The Tascon
List"),a film that dramatically portrays the Venezuelan
government's systematic persecution of persons who signed
petitions against President Hugo Chavez in 2002-2004. The
organization is preparing the English version of the
documentary and hopes to premiere it soon in the United
States. Ciudadania Activa (CA) officials believe the Tascon
List, now called the Maisanta Program, will soon be
integrated with tax and property registries, creating a super
database of information, rumored to be managed by Cubans,
that could be used to track many aspects of individuals'
lives -- and ensure Bolivarian persecution of
"counter-revolutionaries" and their family members. While CA
is a small organization, it has demonstrated a rare talent
for exposing Bolivarian foibles. End summary.


2. (C) Rodrigo Ayala, General Coordinator for Ciudadania
Activa, told Poloff May 2 that his small organization was
founded in January 2002 just as Venezuela was headed into a
political crisis. Opposition leader Elias Santana began the
group, but has dedicated increasingly more time to the
electoral NGO Queremos Elegir ("We Want to Choose"). Ayala
is a stock broker who splits his time between work and
political activism. Ayala said the group participated in the
Coordinadora Democratica, which oversaw the opposition's
failed recall attempt in 2004, but did so in support of a
constitutional solution to Venezuela's political crisis and
not in support of a specific political party or candidate.
Ayala admitted, however, that two of CA's directors, Carlos
Oteyza and Maria Oteyza, are also working for Teodoro
Petkoff's presidential campaign. CA's mission, Ayala said,
is to promote citizen participation in politics and
strengthened democratic institutions, which Ayala said
translates into training workshops and media presentations on
Venezuelan politics.

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Documenting the Dictatorship
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3. (C) CA has produced several documentaries, sometimes in
partnership with other groups, about Venezuela's political
situation. All have a markedly pro-opposition tilt. Subject
matter has included a graphical depiction of deteriorating
social conditions during the Hugo Chavez regime; a
blow-by-blow of Chavez' infamous split-screen broadcast April
2002 coup attempt; and a catalog of the mass marches of
2002-2004. The newest documentary, "La Lista Tascon," ("The
Tascon List") relates the persecution experienced by persons
who signed the petitions in support of the
constitutionally-accepted recall referendum process against
Chavez. The film describes in detail how Fifth Republic
Movement (MVR) Deputy Luis Tascon secured the names and
identity numbers of millions of signers, with a request
letter signed by Chavez, from the supposedly impartial
National Electoral Council (CNE). Tascon then posted the
data on his website, where it quickly became a ready
reference for Chavistas in determining the loyalties of
citizens, then victimizing those who did not support Chavez.
Most hard-hitting in the documentary are the emotional
testimonials of persons telling how they were fired from
their jobs, often under humiliating circumstances. The
documentary was recently submitted in support of several
petitions to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
regarding the unjustified firings.

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Going Global

CARACAS 00001207 002.2 OF 002


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4. (C) Ayala said an English-subtitled version of "The Tascon
List" would soon be complete. He hoped to take the film on
the road, arranging forums in universities in the United
States and Europe to counter some of the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela's (BRV) international propaganda effort. Ayala
said he was planning to go to Brussels (to the EU
Commission); London (to present at Oxford University, where
Chavez is rumored to be lobbying for an honorary degree);
Prague; Germany (with the help of the Konrad Adenauer
Foundation); and Madrid (to meet with Judge Baltazar Garzon).
In the United States, Ayala said the film had already been
shown in Spanish at Princeton, Stanford, and Berkeley, but he
hoped for a much wider viewership than just universities with
the English version. While noting CA's policy not to accept
any funds from the USG, Ayala did request support in "opening
doors" with interested institutions in the United States.

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Programa Maisanta 2.0, Made In Havana?
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5. (C) Ayala said that since producing the documentary he had
received new information (much of it admittedly speculative)
about the BRV's plans for deepening its use of the infamous
political blacklist. As the documentary points out, the
Tascon List in early 2006 was combined with lists of
participants in the BRV's social missions and CNE voting
records, creating a program, called Programa Maisanta (the
Maisanta Program) that not only identified the political
orientation of individuals, but also attempted to
characterize the degree of their revolutionary dedication.
(For example, someone who did not sign in the referendum --
apparently pro-Chavez -- but did not vote in the
sparsely-attended 2005 legislative elections could still have
his Bolivarian credentials questioned.)


6. (C) Ayala said the new rumors are that Programa Maisanta
will soon be combined with the recently modified land and
property registry and SENIAT tax records. (Note: Tax rules
now require consumers to give name and identity numbers for
most retail purchases.) Ayala recalled that Minister of
Interior and Justice Jesse Chacon announced March 29 that a
Cuban company, Copextel, S.A., would oversee the
implementation of the new national identity system and the
overhaul of the property registry. Ayala said he had heard
rumors that this new super database to track citizen
purchases, possessions, and political leanings would be based
in Cuba.

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Comment
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7. (C) Ciudadania Activa is not a power player even among the
moribund opposition sector. It is illustrative, however, of
what the "Venezuelan opposition" has become: boutique groups
that often share members across different organizations.
This group, however, has scored a hit with "La Lista Tascon"
and leaves us thinking here that Luis Tascon and his cohorts
ought to be classified as first-class human rights violators.
We believe "opening doors" in the United States for CA's
documentary is worthy undertaking for both the Embassy and
the Department.

BROWNFIELD