BOLIVARIANS READYING NEW ATTACK ON EDUCATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 001787 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2031 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KDEM SCUL VE SUBJECT: BOLIVARIANS READYING NEW ATTACK ON EDUCATION CARACAS 00001787 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(b). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV) is preparing new legislation that aims to increase State control over Venezuela's public and private schools. The law's most contentious issues are the requirement to include representatives of neighborhood "social organizations" on all school boards, recognize "missions" as part of the education system, and to restrict religious education in public schools. Insiders believe the BRV will delay the controversial law until after the December presidential elections, though the congressman drafting the law said the National Assembly could act on it at any time. While the immediate effect of the bill would be to undermine the independence and sustainability of private schools, the Chavistas are postulating an uncharacteristically philosophical argument that the State's non-transferable role as society's educator -- and "indoctrinator," as some Bolivarians say -- supersedes parental rights. Recalling that Bolivarian efforts to reform schools in 2001 brought thousands of angry mothers into the streets, the Chavistas are treading lightly on this topic, though in a decidedly forward direction. End summary. ¶2. (C) Poloff met separately with a cross-section of stakeholders on the education issue -- Leonardo Carvajal, head of the pro-opposition group Asamblea de Educadores (Assembly of Educators) on May 24; Octavio Delamo, president of the Chamber of Private Schools, on May 26; Deputy Luis Acuna, chairman of the National Assembly Education Committee, on June 1; and Brother Anton Marquiegui, president of the Venezuelan Catholic Education Association (AVEC),on June 1 -- to discuss the education bill now before the Asesmbly. -------------- The Revolution's Toughest Nut: Education -------------- ¶3. (C) The BRV appears poised to take another shot at injecting its ideology and control into Venezuela's education system via a new draft organic law. The infamous ministerial decree 1011 (aka, "decreto mil once"),passed in 2001, required all public and private schools to accept visits from Ministry of Education "itinerant supervisors," a new position widely perceived as roving ideological commissars. The backlash from educators and mothers was immediate: marches of angry women chanting "don't mess with my child." Carvajal's NGO, Asamblea de Educadores, organized these marches and ultimately became a founding member of the Coordinador Democratica. (The "Coordinadora" was the umbrella opposition group that mounted the unsuccessful campaign to recall Chavez by referendum in August 2004.) The BRV finally backed off 1011, but continued to make changes to the system with other decrees and just plain ignoring existing rules and procedures. For example, the Ministry of Education has not offered the national teaching certification for four years so that, today, some 119,000 of the 300,000 public school teachers do not have tenure, making them vulnerable to summary dismissal if they resist BRV policy. ¶4. (C) In 2002, pro-Chavez legislator Luis Acuna introduced a controversial education bill and approved the initial first discussion. Subsequently, however, the bill languished as the country experienced waves of political unrest through ¶2004. Carvajal asserted that both Chavez and Minister of Education Aristobulo Isturiz were not in favor of the draft and had stopped the National Assembly from proceeding. Then, in early 2005, Isturiz presented a new draft that was substituted for the one approved by the earlier Assembly. Acuna, who was facing re-election later that year, reportedly CARACAS 00001787 002.2 OF 004 decided to ally with Isturiz. He held a series of public consultations to amend the draft, though Carvajal said this was a ruse so that Acuna could restore some of his original content to the draft. Acuna also moderated the tone of the bill, removing some references to "Bolivarian Education" and other incendiary language. Some opposition figures attacked the bill as another attempt to Bolivarian-ize the schools, but the politics had changed since 2001 and the weaker opposition was unable to rally much more than a few meager marches. -------------- The New Draft -------------- ¶5. (C) The draft law is organic, which means it provides reforms for the entire education system; subsequent regular, narrower-focused laws will treat specific themes such as university education or teacher formation. The most controversial section for private schools and opposition members is the creation of "education communities," which are essentially school boards expanded beyond the typical members. The draft law says school boards would be composed of the director, teachers, administrative workers, blue collar workers, parents, students, and "social organization representatives." Carvajal said that "social organizations" would most likely be those sanctioned by the BRV, such as a Bolivarian Circle, cooperative, or community council. Furthermore, the working papers Carvajal has seen suggest that representatives would be voted on at-large by all members of a "macro-assembly," which means that social organization representatives would have a vote on which teachers and parents would sit on the board. Hence, the law would force a Bolivarian onto every school board in the country, which Carvajal said would result in political fights in more than half of the nation's schools. Acuna justified the measure because schools do not exist in a vacuum and cannot function without input from the community in which they operate. ¶6. (C) Another hot button issue in the legislation is that of religious education. Septel will expand on this topic, but briefly, the law would eliminate religious education -- currently treated as an elective -- in public schools. This provision has drawn attacks from the Catholic Church. The draft also recognizes formally the educational "missions" operated by the BRV as the way to guarantee access to education for those who have been traditionally excluded from learning in Venezuela. Acuna said the need for missions are temporary to suit a specific need and may be terminated once that need is filled. (Comment: The missions have political importance as a method for disbursing cash to Chavez' base support. The draft language smacks of a guarantee that the education system and the ministry will not interfere with the missions, which have long been the direct purview of the Presidency.) -------------- The Teacher/Indoctrinating State -------------- ¶7. (C) Carvajal said that the bill pushes an ideological message with roots in the French Revolution called "The Educating State" (Estado Docente). Minister Isturiz, in a May 20 press conference, noted that education is a human right guaranteed in the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution. He described the State's role in education as one that is non-transferable, it cannot be delegated to any non-state entity. Isturiz said that the State's authority in this area supersedes even that of parents because of the need to train up Venezuelan citizens, which the bill vaguely calls the "new citizenry." The Venezuelan education system in the past, he said, has been guilty of permitting persons to be educated according to their own selfish interests, and not to the greater interests of the State. Carvajal noted that the bill CARACAS 00001787 003.2 OF 004 refers to the rights and responsibilities of the State 21 times, while it mentions parents only seven times. ¶8. (C) The bill's airy text, however, is probably covering a more basic intent to implant revolutionary ideology in the schools. Lara State Governor Luis Reyes Reyes gave a pretty clear picture of the Chavistas' intent when he spoke to a group of teachers in Lara on May 24 in the presence of Minister Isturiz. As reported in the press, Reyes Reyes said: "You (teachers) are the indoctrinators of the revolutionary process; you are called to inculcate in the children the principles and values of the revolution; you don't have to be afraid to do it. The Enemy says that we're indoctrinating. Of course we're indoctrinating! All professors are indoctrinators of the new citizen; the Empire indoctrinates via its education system, in which they instill their capitalist and individualist doctrine. We have to instill our communist doctrine from the schools, speak without fear to our children of socialism, equality and justice, with the principles that (Simon) Bolivar left us as a divine inheritance." -------------- The Future of Private Schools -------------- ¶9. (C) Deputy Acuna acknowledged private schools as a temporary necessity while the current system is built up, but he added that he hoped public schools would improve to the point that private education would be unnecessary. Moreover, Isturiz frequently derides private schools as mercantilist corporations. Given the BRV's clear position, private schools are worried. Delamo argued that private schools comprise an essential sector of the education system that cannot be eliminated overnight. He noted that private schools account for 1.6 million students (pre-K through university),or 25 percent of all students. Furthermore, 95 percent of college entrants are private school graduates. Carvajal pointed out that Minister Isturiz already launched an assault on private schools last year when he decreed a rollback in private school tuition increases to a 10-percent maximum after most schools had already implemented much larger increases. The decree was timed, Carvajal claimed, so that schools had already implemented raises for teachers and effected improvements to infrastructure, cutting severely into profits for the year. By this method, Carvajal said, the Ministry can slowly drain the profit out of private schools. Marquiegui said the decree puts private schools behind by about 40 percent, though early indications from the Ministry this year are that it will only allow another 10-percent rise. (Note: Persons interviewed thought that the bill's passage would subject international or bilingual schools -- such as those attended by many Embassy dependents -- to same onorous provisions applied to all private schools. There are no specific provisions, however, against international schools in the current draft.) -------------- Passage This Year? -------------- ¶10. (C) While signs earlier in the year pointed to passage this summer, Carvajal said that Deputy Acuna had told him in May that senior BRV officials (possibly Chavez) had decided to table the bill because of the pending presidential elections. Marquiegui said the BRV fears the "1011 effect," in which mothers revolt against Chavez for going too far in indoctrinating their children. Acuna denied to poloff that the BRV has anything to fear from political backlash. The BRV has a sterling track record on education, he asserted, with a record 9 percent of GDP going to education (Note: Acuna said this includes the education missions, making it unclear how much is spent on formal education.) Acuna insisted that the education bill was indeed on the current CARACAS 00001787 004.2 OF 004 legislative agenda and could be taken up in the second discussion at any time. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) We have little doubt the education bill is a must-have for the hard-core revolutionaries. It will be hard, however, for the BRV to convince Venezuelans that education reform is anything short of Bolivarian indoctrination. It is not certain whether a legislative ramrod right now would stir up anger broadly across society. But it is probably not worth it for the Chavistas to force passage this year and risk upsetting large parts of the population on the eve of a presidential election. However, Chavista revolutionary hubris should not be underestimated, making it a slight possibility for this year's legislative session. Also, we cannot rule out that the BRV would cut a deal on religious education, effectively taking the Church out of the debate and facilitating easier passage. WHITAKER