Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06CARACAS2032
2006-07-07 20:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:
VENEZUELAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE BOLIVARIAN
how-toVZCZCXRO2567 PP RUEHAG DE RUEHCV #2032/01 1882009 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 072009Z JUL 06 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5407 INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6732 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 5605 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ PRIORITY 2155 RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0401 RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA PRIORITY 1328 RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 3870 RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0781 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 2237 RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 1032 RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0341 RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0835 RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 002032
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE BOLIVARIAN
CRUCIBLE
REF: A. CARACAS 01787
B. CARACAS 00123
CARACAS 00002032 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: Robert Richard Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).
-------
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 002032
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE BOLIVARIAN
CRUCIBLE
REF: A. CARACAS 01787
B. CARACAS 00123
CARACAS 00002032 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: Robert Richard Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Catholic education may be dramatically scaled back if
the new education law is passed. The new law will cut out
traditional religious training in public schools and private
religious schools, the latter as part of the broader
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's (BRV) campaign against
non-government controlled private education. The BRV argues
it is a matter of maintaining state neutrality, but Catholic
leaders fear an ulterior motive of supplanting the values in
this majority Catholic society with those of the Bolivarian
Revolution. The Church and BRV have intermittent discussions
over the draft law, and Church leaders remain positive a
compromise can be worked out. There is also a possibility
that the BRV will try to cut a deal with the Church in order
to win passage of the bill, which aims to gain control over
the entire education sector. The clash between Church and
State on this issue is inevitable, though it will probably
not peak until next year. End summary.
2. (C) Poloff met separately with a cross-section of
stakeholders on the religious 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 Assembly (see ref a for more details on the education
bill).
-------------- --------------
Background -- A History of Church-State Cooperation
-------------- --------------
3. (U) Venezuelan law passed in 1980 permits religious
education training in public schools (up to the sixth grade)
for two hours of the school week when so requested by
parents. In 1991, AVEC signed an agreement with the
Venezuelan government to create public servant positions
called "religious training coordinators" to facilitate such
training. Monks, nuns, and other lay persons served as
catechists, receiving a small stipend from the state for
their services. (Note: While this cable focuses on Catholic
education, the Evangelicals face similar though smaller-scale
issues -- they signed a similar agreement on religious
training in 1993.) AVEC leaders said this religious training
is not intended to proselytize but rather to teach broad
societal values along Catholic lines.
4. (C) In addition to religious training in private schools,
the Catholic Church operates 765 private religious schools
totaling 495,916 students, or nine percent of all students in
Venezuela (as of March). Under a 1993 agreement with the
State, 588 of these schools, mostly in poor areas, are
heavily subsidized (85 percent) by the government. According
to Church leaders, the BRV has kept current on these
payments, though the agreement is up for renewal this year.
Marquiegui described the state support of schools as one of
necessity because the government had been unable to
administer schools in these poor areas. He pointed out that
Fe y Alegria (Faith and Happiness),a Jesuit-run program to
set up schools "where the asphalt doesn't reach," operates
many subsidized schools where the government is not able.
CARACAS 00002032 002.2 OF 003
5. (C) Marquiegui said the current row over religious
education is Venezuelan history repeating itself. He said
the Catholic Church and religious schools suffered greatly
under the Accion Democratica (AD) "trienio," the period from
1945-48 when the communist-influenced AD party ruled
Venezuela. The Bolivarians, he said, are trying the same
strategy with their efforts to reduce the influence of the
Church among the young.
--------------
A Secular State?
--------------
6. (C) Venezuelan law guarantees freedom of religion and the
Bolivarian Constitution guarantees parents the right to
provide religious training for children (Art. 59). Minister
of Education Aristobulo Isturiz told reporters May 20 this
right implicitly means that schools should not have any part
in religious training. He argued that it is an unfair burden
to the State if it had to provide training in the many
religions present in Venezuela (Comment: A rhetorical
argument since currently only Catholics and Evangelicals
provide such training). Carvajal told Poloff the traditional
model in Venezuelan education has been "secular, not
confessional," in which religious training is treated as an
elective activity and the state does not, for example, decide
on the content of religion classes. Isturiz' interpretation,
Carvajal said, essentially creates an "atheist model" whereby
all religion is stripped from the classroom. Fifth Republic
Movement (MVR) Deputy and author of the education bill Luis
Acuna objected, saying that the state recognizes that "the
spiritual" is a legitimate component of education. That
said, the state is secular and no one, Church or State, wants
religion incorporated into curriculum, he asserted.
--------------
The New Law
--------------
7. (C) The education bill enshrines the Bolivarian
interpretation of the issue with language that families have
the right and responsibility to teach religion to the their
children. The most immediate change would be to eliminate
religious training from schools even if, as the current law
permits, parents request it. The State, the bill says, must
maintain its secular nature and freedom from the influence of
religious entities. This may sound consistent with U.S.
jurisprudence on church-state relations, but it is a
fundamental shift for Catholic Venezuela. Catholic leaders
have publicly denounced the bill for that reason, arguing
that it is exactly the wrong time for Venezuelans to turn
their backs on religious education given soaring crime rates
and worsening polarization within society.
--------------
Whither Private Religious Schools?
--------------
8. (C) As reported in ref, the BRV is actively attempting, in
the opinion of private school chamber head Octavio Delamo, to
suffocate slowly all private education in Venezuela by
controlling tuition increases. The BRV, for example, passed
a resolution June 29 that caps tuition increases at 15
percent for the second year in a row, well below the 40
percent sought by private schools. The education bill,
however, is silent on the question of funding for private
religious schools; funding mechanisms are still based on BRV
agreements with AVEC. The tuition cap decree, of course,
currently applies to non-subsidized religious schools, though
it is not clear what the impact on subsidized religious
schools will be.
9. (C) Senior Catholic leadership raises the religious
education issue with their interlocutors. Pope Benedict XVI
CARACAS 00002032 003.2 OF 003
even raised it with Chavez on May 11. In a lunch with the
Ambassador May 25, Archbishop of Maracaibo and President of
the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference Ubaldo Santana expressed
hope that the Church would reach an accommodation with the
government. Papal Nuncio Giacinto Berlocco was less
optimistic, however, and believed the BRV would eventually
pare back significantly religious content in public
education. Delamo told poloff there was a fear that the BRV
would bargain with the Church in an effort to drive a wedge
between opponents of the new education bill, leaving
non-religious private schools to fight on their own.
--------------
Comment
--------------
10. (C) The Bolivarians are proceeding steadily on this
issue, but it appears the BRV will defer action on the bill
until after the December presidential elections in hopes of
dodging a politically explosive issue. There are few
discernible tenets to the confused Bolivarian ideology, but a
recurring theme is the need to form "new citizens." Clearly,
the Bolivarians view Venezuela's conservative Catholic
Church, one of the few remaining independent institutions, as
a threat to that objective. More immediately, however, the
BRV may enjoy trimming the sails of the Church, which
maintains much higher credibility with the public and is a
consistent critic of Chavez and his policies.
BROWNFIELD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR DFISK AND DTOMLINSON
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE BOLIVARIAN
CRUCIBLE
REF: A. CARACAS 01787
B. CARACAS 00123
CARACAS 00002032 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: Robert Richard Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Catholic education may be dramatically scaled back if
the new education law is passed. The new law will cut out
traditional religious training in public schools and private
religious schools, the latter as part of the broader
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's (BRV) campaign against
non-government controlled private education. The BRV argues
it is a matter of maintaining state neutrality, but Catholic
leaders fear an ulterior motive of supplanting the values in
this majority Catholic society with those of the Bolivarian
Revolution. The Church and BRV have intermittent discussions
over the draft law, and Church leaders remain positive a
compromise can be worked out. There is also a possibility
that the BRV will try to cut a deal with the Church in order
to win passage of the bill, which aims to gain control over
the entire education sector. The clash between Church and
State on this issue is inevitable, though it will probably
not peak until next year. End summary.
2. (C) Poloff met separately with a cross-section of
stakeholders on the religious 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 Assembly (see ref a for more details on the education
bill).
-------------- --------------
Background -- A History of Church-State Cooperation
-------------- --------------
3. (U) Venezuelan law passed in 1980 permits religious
education training in public schools (up to the sixth grade)
for two hours of the school week when so requested by
parents. In 1991, AVEC signed an agreement with the
Venezuelan government to create public servant positions
called "religious training coordinators" to facilitate such
training. Monks, nuns, and other lay persons served as
catechists, receiving a small stipend from the state for
their services. (Note: While this cable focuses on Catholic
education, the Evangelicals face similar though smaller-scale
issues -- they signed a similar agreement on religious
training in 1993.) AVEC leaders said this religious training
is not intended to proselytize but rather to teach broad
societal values along Catholic lines.
4. (C) In addition to religious training in private schools,
the Catholic Church operates 765 private religious schools
totaling 495,916 students, or nine percent of all students in
Venezuela (as of March). Under a 1993 agreement with the
State, 588 of these schools, mostly in poor areas, are
heavily subsidized (85 percent) by the government. According
to Church leaders, the BRV has kept current on these
payments, though the agreement is up for renewal this year.
Marquiegui described the state support of schools as one of
necessity because the government had been unable to
administer schools in these poor areas. He pointed out that
Fe y Alegria (Faith and Happiness),a Jesuit-run program to
set up schools "where the asphalt doesn't reach," operates
many subsidized schools where the government is not able.
CARACAS 00002032 002.2 OF 003
5. (C) Marquiegui said the current row over religious
education is Venezuelan history repeating itself. He said
the Catholic Church and religious schools suffered greatly
under the Accion Democratica (AD) "trienio," the period from
1945-48 when the communist-influenced AD party ruled
Venezuela. The Bolivarians, he said, are trying the same
strategy with their efforts to reduce the influence of the
Church among the young.
--------------
A Secular State?
--------------
6. (C) Venezuelan law guarantees freedom of religion and the
Bolivarian Constitution guarantees parents the right to
provide religious training for children (Art. 59). Minister
of Education Aristobulo Isturiz told reporters May 20 this
right implicitly means that schools should not have any part
in religious training. He argued that it is an unfair burden
to the State if it had to provide training in the many
religions present in Venezuela (Comment: A rhetorical
argument since currently only Catholics and Evangelicals
provide such training). Carvajal told Poloff the traditional
model in Venezuelan education has been "secular, not
confessional," in which religious training is treated as an
elective activity and the state does not, for example, decide
on the content of religion classes. Isturiz' interpretation,
Carvajal said, essentially creates an "atheist model" whereby
all religion is stripped from the classroom. Fifth Republic
Movement (MVR) Deputy and author of the education bill Luis
Acuna objected, saying that the state recognizes that "the
spiritual" is a legitimate component of education. That
said, the state is secular and no one, Church or State, wants
religion incorporated into curriculum, he asserted.
--------------
The New Law
--------------
7. (C) The education bill enshrines the Bolivarian
interpretation of the issue with language that families have
the right and responsibility to teach religion to the their
children. The most immediate change would be to eliminate
religious training from schools even if, as the current law
permits, parents request it. The State, the bill says, must
maintain its secular nature and freedom from the influence of
religious entities. This may sound consistent with U.S.
jurisprudence on church-state relations, but it is a
fundamental shift for Catholic Venezuela. Catholic leaders
have publicly denounced the bill for that reason, arguing
that it is exactly the wrong time for Venezuelans to turn
their backs on religious education given soaring crime rates
and worsening polarization within society.
--------------
Whither Private Religious Schools?
--------------
8. (C) As reported in ref, the BRV is actively attempting, in
the opinion of private school chamber head Octavio Delamo, to
suffocate slowly all private education in Venezuela by
controlling tuition increases. The BRV, for example, passed
a resolution June 29 that caps tuition increases at 15
percent for the second year in a row, well below the 40
percent sought by private schools. The education bill,
however, is silent on the question of funding for private
religious schools; funding mechanisms are still based on BRV
agreements with AVEC. The tuition cap decree, of course,
currently applies to non-subsidized religious schools, though
it is not clear what the impact on subsidized religious
schools will be.
9. (C) Senior Catholic leadership raises the religious
education issue with their interlocutors. Pope Benedict XVI
CARACAS 00002032 003.2 OF 003
even raised it with Chavez on May 11. In a lunch with the
Ambassador May 25, Archbishop of Maracaibo and President of
the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference Ubaldo Santana expressed
hope that the Church would reach an accommodation with the
government. Papal Nuncio Giacinto Berlocco was less
optimistic, however, and believed the BRV would eventually
pare back significantly religious content in public
education. Delamo told poloff there was a fear that the BRV
would bargain with the Church in an effort to drive a wedge
between opponents of the new education bill, leaving
non-religious private schools to fight on their own.
--------------
Comment
--------------
10. (C) The Bolivarians are proceeding steadily on this
issue, but it appears the BRV will defer action on the bill
until after the December presidential elections in hopes of
dodging a politically explosive issue. There are few
discernible tenets to the confused Bolivarian ideology, but a
recurring theme is the need to form "new citizens." Clearly,
the Bolivarians view Venezuela's conservative Catholic
Church, one of the few remaining independent institutions, as
a threat to that objective. More immediately, however, the
BRV may enjoy trimming the sails of the Church, which
maintains much higher credibility with the public and is a
consistent critic of Chavez and his policies.
BROWNFIELD