NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TO CARRY ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 002449 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE SUBJECT: NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TO CARRY ON MADURO'S MISSION REF: A. CARACAS 002348 ¶B. CARACAS 000040 CARACAS 00002449 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR DAN LAWTON, FOR REASON 1.4 (D) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) National Assembly (AN) Deputy and hard-line Chavista Cilia Flores was unanimously elected to the AN presidency. She replaces her common-law husband, Nicolas Maduro, following his resignation from the post on August 8 to assume his new role as Foreign Minister. President Chavez once again appears to have dictated who would lead the legislature, and Flores immediately promised that the AN would continue to support the Bolivarian revolution with the "passion" and the laws it requires. We can expect more of the same from the pro-Chavez National Assembly under Cilia Flores' direction, including the systematic erosion of what is left of Venezuelan democracy. End Summary. -------------- From Deputy to President... -------------- ¶2. (SBU) By a unanimous August 15 vote, National Assembly (AN) Deputy Cilia Flores assumed the AN presidency, replacing her common-law husband, Nicolas Maduro. Maduro resigned from the post August 8 to assume his new role as Foreign Minister (Ref A). A staunch member of Chavez's party, the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR),Flores won the position over several other prominent Assembly figures, including the AN First Vice President Desiree Santos Amaral and Pedro Carreno. The latter served previously as the AN's Second President and participated with Chavez in the 1992 failed coup attempt. -------------- ...But Not Without Confusion -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Considerable uncertainty followed Maduro's resignation and the selection of a new AN president. Several deputies told the local media that replacing Maduro was "complicated," and that Maduro's departure caught many in the Assembly by surprise. AN Second Vice President, Roberto Hernandez, said that internal legislative rules governed the selection process and that a new congressional leader could be chosen by an Assembly vote or by promoting First Vice President Santos to the position. Santos, Flores, and Pedro Carreno emerged as the front-runners in the race for the presidency during several days of speculation in press and government circles. ¶4. (C) As with Maduro's appointment to the AN presidency in January (Ref B),Chavez himself once again appears to have dictated who would lead the body. By the time the decision reached the Assembly floor, it was a forgone conclusion. The MVR's National Tactical Command (CTN),headed by Eliezer Otaiza, met on August 14 to discuss presidential election and other issues. MVR sources cited in press indicated that the CTN during the meeting made the decision on who should fill Maduro's shoes, and in a press conference following the meeting, Otaiza said that the individual chosen should "follow Maduro's policies." The unanimous endorsement by the AN followed on August 15. -------------- Early Signs of What's to Come -------------- CARACAS 00002449 002.2 OF 003 ¶5. (C) Upon her Assembly victory, Flores immediately promised that the AN would continue to support the Bolivarian revolution with the laws it requires, as well as bring the "politics of the parliament closer to the street." In line with Maduro's quest to ensure the opposition-less legislature remains focused on helping to press Chavez's agenda rather than on internal squabbles, Flores commented that the AN must assume its legislative responsibility with "more passion" in order to better serve the revolution. Flores also announced that she would convoke special legislative sessions to approve additional laws. -------------- All in the Family -------------- ¶6. (C) Flores is Maduro's common-law wife and has been a fanatical defender of the Chavez administration's legislative program. She is expected to carry on a similar tradition in her new role, and the head of the pro-Chavez Patria Para Todos (PPT) party and AN Deputy, Ismael Garcia, rationalized his nomination of her for the position by saying that he wanted to provide "continuity and governability to the AN." She supported the 2005 Penal Code Reform, for example, which was designed to provide the BRV more tools with which to repress political opponents and the media, and in November 2004 called on the Assembly to open a debate on "media terrorism." Flores has served as the leader of the MVR bloc in the Assembly. She has long-standing ties to Chavez and his Bolivarian movement. She founded the Human Rights Bolivarian Circle in 1993 and defended participants in the 1992 failed coup attempt. ¶7. (C) Flores also has substantial anti-US credentials to go along with her new job title. In March, she led the International Women's Day March that culminated in a protest outside the US Embassy, where she delivered a petition against "US imperialist aggression" and demanded the United States withdraw troops from Iraq. Flores has also been part of recent BRV outreach efforts--spearheaded by Maduro--toward the Middle East and the recent diplomatic spat with Israel. Flores went in early August to Syria and Lebanon, where she and other AN deputies delivered a document "supporting the struggle of these peoples and rejecting the current massacre of innocent people." She is also reportedly a member of the Venezuela-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group, which was established in February during the visit of Iran's parliamentary president to Venezuela. ¶8. (SBU) Flores and Maduro have one teenage son, and she is also the mother of three sons (ages 26, 17, and 15) from a previous marriage, according to their bios. They consider themselves to be "non-Catholic Christians." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) We can expect more of the same from the pro-Chavez National Assembly under Cilia Flores' direction, particularly given her given her close ties to Maduro and, by extension, close ties to Chavez. We are likely to see in future legislative sessions--and perhaps even earlier--the passage of more laws intended to further erode what is left of Venezuelan democracy and tighten Chavez's grip over all political life. These could include the NGO law, the National Police Law, and the Organic Law of Participation and Popular Power. Her appointment is also another sign that Maduro's radical anti-US faction is gaining strength in both CARACAS 00002449 003.2 OF 003 the cabinet and the legislature, as well as a demonstration of the AN's continued subservience to the MVR. WHITAKER