BOLIVARIANS IN THE OLD COUNTRY: CHAVEZ DOES EUROPE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 001449

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2021
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM VE IT IZ AU AG UK VT
SUBJECT: BOLIVARIANS IN THE OLD COUNTRY: CHAVEZ DOES EUROPE

REF: A. VATICAN 00078


B. WELLS/GENNATIEMPO EMAIL 05/19/06

C. VIENNA 01419

D. LONDON 03371

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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) President Hugo Chavez conducted an array of state
business and outreach to sympathizers during a six-country
swing through Europe and North Africa, May 10-18. The trip
began with Chavez getting a stern message on human rights
from Pope Benedict XVI. In Rome, Chavez met with communist
Italian legislators but did not meet President-elect
Napolitano as had been previously announced. In Austria,
Chavez heard some stinging words on the need for open markets
during the EU-LatAm Summit but got his own licks in on
capitalism at the parallel "People's Summit." Visiting
London at the invitation of Mayor Ken Livingstone (and not PM
Tony Blair),Chavez attended a series of press conferences,
an academic forum, and various rallies. Moving on to Africa,
Chavez met with Algerian President Bouteflika, followed by a
stopover to meet President Qadhafi in Libya, which one day
earlier had been removed from the USG's state sponsor of
terrorism list. Chavez' message, as usual, was anti-U.S.,
anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist. At nearly every stop
he offered funding (including heating oil for poor Europeans)
or signed vague cooperation agreements. There was plenty of
Bolivarian-financed hoopla for Chavez to feel loved, leaving
us doubting Chavez will realize that the serious
interlocutors and media on his agenda were taking a tougher
line with him than in the past. End summary.

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Holy Father Not So Merciful With Chavez
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2. (C) Chavez' trip began with a visit to Pope Benedict XVI
on May 11. The trip had been scheduled for last year's
European tour, but the pope's schedule was not agreeable.
Press reports and ref a say that the pontiff expressed
concern to Chavez over state reforms in Venezuela, the status
of religious education, the importance of continued Catholic
mass media, and the need for more cooperation on the
appointment of bishops. The pope then took the highly
unusual step of presenting Chavez with a letter re-stating
these concerns. After the meeting, Chavez and the Bolivarian
propaganda machine spun the meeting as a new high in
Venezuelan church-state relations.

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When In Rome, Blame The Empire
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3. (U) While in Rome, Chavez met with Refounded Communist
Party leader Fausto Bertinotti and a group of 40 other
persons, according to press reports. Chavez also held an
exhaustive press conference in which he plodded through
explanations of Venezuela's recent international spats,
promising that he would fix things up with Peru and Mexico
once their current presidents had left office. He attributed
Venezuela's international conflicts to "orders from the
Empire." There was also an early official media report that
Chavez would meet with President Giorgio Napolitano, but
there was no subsequent mention of it. Embassy Rome reported
that Chavez also sought a meeting with PM Romano Prodi but
did not receive it.

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Austria: EU-Latam Summit and Counter-Summit

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4. (U) At the IV European Union-Latin American Summit May
10-12, international press played up the pro-market,
anti-populist statements by European and Latin American
leaders, clearly intended for Chavez and Bolivian President
Evo Morales. Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel spoke of
the developing countries having two possibilities: either
wanting open markets or not wanting them (ref b). Open
markets perform better, Schuessel concluded. Mexican
President Vicente Fox, who has a habit of sparring with
Chavez at summits, attacked Chavez' populism, calling it a
"false exit from poverty." Peru's Alejandro Toledo played
off the point, calling populism a great party overnight but a
great headache in the morning. Chavez told reporters there
that Latin American leftists were rising up in peace, not
with rifles in hand, and that Europe ought to listen and
support them.


5. (U) Shedding the subdued tones of summitry, Chavez also
spoke at an "alternate summit" of some 3,500 youth leaders of
socialist groups organized by the "Hands Off Venezuela"
movement. Arriving three-and-a-half hours late, Chavez said
Venezuela and Cuba would not be scared by U.S. military
maneuvers in the Caribbean (a reference to the USS George
Washington). Chavez spoke of the eventual overthrow of "the
Empire" through the weapon of public opinion. "Every pig has
his Saturday," Chavez said in reference to the USG, using a
Caribbean variation of "what goes around comes around." His
speech was classic Chavez, replete with quotations of Sartre
and sung lyrics by John Lennon. He also shared the stage
with the daughter of Che Guevara and "Chavez Code" author Eva
Gollinger. Even the "Uh! Ah! Chavez no se va!" chant was
borrowed for the occasion. On the Internet, "Hands Off"
organizers thanked Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV)
officials profusely for help in organizing the event, the
including Bolivarian Peoples' Congress (a BRV-financed
international movement),suggesting the BRV was heavily
involved in setting up the rally.

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London: Red Ken But Not Blair
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6. (U) Chavez stopped in London May 14-15 at the personal
invitation of London Mayor Ken Livingstone, a left-wing
member of the Labour Party. Chavez, however, had no
interaction with PM Tony Blair or HMG officials (ref c).
Livingstone hosted Chavez for a speech and joint press
conference. The Bolivarian gentleman's thin-skinned nature
was much in evidence; when a reporter formulated a question
comparing Chavez to President Bush, Chavez exploded on her,
saying he had never been so insulted. Another reporter,
querying why Chavez didn't get to meet Blair or the Queen, as
he had done in a 2001 visit, was upbraided for asking a
"stupid question." Chavez also spoke at a meeting of the
Trades Union Congress, where he reminded Britons that
Venezuelan forefather Francisco de Miranda had once been
exiled to England. Later, Chavez spoke to an audience that
included several Labour MPs at the House of Commons. Chavez
impugned Blair's Third Way, stating that there is no third
way between socialism and capitalism and that humanity can
only move forward via socialism.

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North Africa: Algeria and Libya
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7. (U) Government sources said that Chavez would sign an
energy cooperation agreement with Algerian President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika on May 16, though it was not clear
whether it took place. Opposition press reported that Chavez
remained unexpectedly overnight in Algiers for a second
meeting with Bouteflika. Later, Chavez proceeded to Libya to

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meet with President Mohamar Qadhafi. The visit to Tripoli
came coincidentally on the heels of Libya's removal from the
state sponsor of terrorism list and Venezuela's addition as
not fully cooperative in the war on terrorism. Nevertheless,
Chavez announced upon leaving his first meeting with Qadhafi
that he had called on Libya and the rest of the world to take
a united stand against U.S. hegemony. Both in Algeria and
Libya Chavez discussed natural gas cooperation.

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Chavez' Mega-Talkers
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8. (U) All told, Chavez probably spoke to press and audiences
for nearly 20 hours during his trip. Messages did not appear
overly tailored to specific audiences. The key themes were:

-- The United States is an empire that has over-reached in
Iraq, the Vietnam of the 21st Century. Venezuela is leading
a new multi-polar movement to resist the United States. The
end is near for the United States.

-- High oil prices are the fault of the U.S. President.
"Every time Bush opens his mouth, the price of oil goes up."
A U.S. attack on Iran is imminent and it will drive oil above
$100.

-- All countries have a right to develop peaceful nuclear
technology. No country or organization may deny the
sovereign right of countries to develop such technology.
Iran is not developing nuclear weapons.

-- In Latin America, there is a new system of integration
forming based on the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
(ALBA) and "People's Trade Agreements," based on
"complementarity" instead of competition. The Andean
Community is dead. Energy will be the basis of this new
integration, as demonstrated by Petroamerica.

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"Boliverables"
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9. (U) At every stop, the Bolivarians either promised
assistance, announced they would be receiving help in
Venezuela, or signed vague agreements that were not released
to the public. What follows is Post's tally, though it is
not exhaustive:

-- Italian Industrial Power in Venezuela. The Venezuelan
Ambassador to Italy announced that five projects for
"endogenous industrial centers" were on the boards, with the
support of unnamed Italian companies.

-- Free Fuel for Poor Europeans. Chavez offered Livingstone
a CITGO-esque deal whereby poor Londoners would receive
discounted or free heating fuel. He made a similar offer in
Vienna to "Europe's most poor."

-- Social Fund in the UK. Chavez said he had just "completed
the idea" for a social fund that would be financed with
microcredits from wheat, wine, and fruit exports to
Venezuela. He gave orders publicly for his people to speak
with Venezuela's Finnish partners in two refineries in
England. Chavez also pitched a "People's Trade Agreement"
with city of London.

-- Commercial Treaty with Austria. Vice Foreign Minister
Jenny Figueredo announced progress but no signature on an
economic, commercial, environmental, industrial, and
technological agreement with Austria.

-- Skyride for Caracas. Chavez said he had reached an
agreement with Austria on a joint project for cable cars

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("telefericos") in Caracas' poor neighborhoods.

-- Chile in the Pipeline. In a side meeting in Austria with
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Chavez offered Chile
natural gas via the proposed 8,000-km natural gas pipeline
from Venezuela to the rest of the continent.

-- Agreements With Algeria. Advance reports said Chavez
would sign agreements on maritime transportation and
diplomatic exchanges, though there was no confirmation that
this occurred.

-- Something With Libya. The Libyan Foreign Minister said an
education and culture agreement had been contemplated, but in
the end only an "agreement of general cooperation" was signed
with no other details offered.

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Comment
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10. (C) This trip carried positives and negatives for Chavez.
On the upside, Chavez probably got more attention as a world
leader -- albeit a somewhat infamous one -- than on any other
previous trip. He was thronged by people and press wherever
he went, though we must discount much of this attention as
largely BRV-sponsored. Press coverage, too, is tricky
because many journalists are just looking for the one or two
sensational quotes that Chavez is guaranteed to deliver
during his sleep-inducing marathon press conferences. On
the downside for Chavez, however, is the seemingly growing
preoccupation expressed by more serious world leaders over
Chavez' antics, including none other than the pope. We
noticed as well that press coverage was not the romantic
doting that he normally garners from people not familiar with
Venezuela's political scene -- probably not helped by Chavez'
verbally abusing reporters like in London. We expect,
however, that this distinction will be lost on Chavez and he
will be encouraged in his man-of-destiny meddling in regional
and world affairs.

BROWNFIELD