CHAVEZ ALLY AND FOE NOMINATED AS USUN PERM REP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000779

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TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ ALLY AND FOE NOMINATED AS USUN PERM REP


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT R. DOWNES FOR 1.4 (D)

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Summary
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1. (C) On March 21, President Chavez nominated Francisco
Arias Cardenas as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the
United Nations. Arias was a comrade-in-arms of Chavez during
the failed 1992 military coup against then President Carlos
Andres Perez. Arias later split ways with Chavez accusing
him of allowing corruption and cronyism into his government.
In 2000, he ran against Chavez in the presidential elections,
but many in the opposition never really believed he had ever
left the Chavez camp. Up until late 2004, Arias was a
frequent interlocutor with the Embassy. The Embassy recently
arranged a meeting with Arias, but it was cancelled shortly
thereafter. Arias' affable personality and moderate image
will likely be an asset to the BRV's attempts to gain favor
with the international community and secure a seat on the UN
Security Council. End Summary.

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On Again, Off Again Relationship
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2. (C) On March 21, President Chavez nominated Francisco
Arias Cardenas as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the
United Nations. Arias was a comrade-in-arms of Chavez during
the failed 1992 military coup against then President Carlos
Andres Perez. Arias later split ways with Chavez and founded
the opposition party Union. He served two terms as the
governor of the state of Zulia and eventually ran against
Chavez in the 2000 presidential elections.


3. (U) The nomination of Arias was a surprise to some as he
has been called a traitor by Chavez for his roll as a leader
in the opposition and 2004 recall referendum. In late 2004,
however, Arias and Chavez rekindled their relationship (many
in the opposition believe that he never left the Chavez camp
at all). Since 2004, Arias, while not in an official
government post, has attended many of Chavez's public events
where he has been greeted warmly and publicly by the
president. During a speech in November 2005, Chavez said of
Arias, "what matters is what we did together...and what we
still can do together." In a March 23 press interview, Arias
said he never betrayed Chavez, but that the two simply had
political differences.

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Frequent Embassy Contact
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4. (C) Arias was a frequent interlocutor with the Embassy
between 2000 and 2004 and he seemed affable and sincere in
his desires to improve governance in Venezuela. His training
in the seminary seems to have shaped his political views, as
he has stated that he seeks "to apply the social doctrine of
the Church" to his decision-making. Embassy communication
with him fell off at the end of 2004, when he began to once
again get closer to Chavez. The last meeting on record was
with Ambassador Brownfield shortly after his arrival to post
in October 2004. In recent weeks, the Embassy arranged a
meeting with Arias, but it was abruptly cancelled shortly
thereafter.


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Confirmation Hearings in the BRV?

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5. (U) In a rare occurrence, the all-Chavista National
Assembly (AN) held a public debate on the nomination of
Arias. AN Deputy Luis Tascon announced that he would
withhold his vote because Arias was a traitor to the
revolution. MVR deputy William Querales voiced his support
of the nomination by reminding the AN that the apostle Paul
was an enemy of early Christians only to become a founder of
the Catholic church. After approximately an hour of debate,
Arias was confirmed unanimously with only Tascon abstaining.
(Comment: All 167 deputies in the Assembly are members of the
government parties.)


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Biographic Info
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6. (C) Early in life, Arias reportedly contemplated
becoming a priest and attended Catholic seminary for eight
years. He later left the seminary to earn a political
science degree from the University of the Andes and then
entered the Venezuelan Military Academy. It was here he met
Chavez and the two graduated from the Academy together in

1975. Later the two established the Bolivarian Revolutionary
Movement-200, a leftist political organization that decried
the corruption of Venezuela's two major parties Accion
Democratica (AD) and the Social Democratic Party (COPEI).


7. (C) A rising star in the military despite his radical
leanings, Arias eventually became the commander of the 51st
Artillery Battalion ) Venezuela's only rocket artillery unit
in the state of Zulia. It was during this command that he
and Chavez launched a coup against the administration of
Carlos Andres Perez in 1992. During the coup, Arias seized
control of Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia, and held it for
seven hours before Chavez's uprising in Caracas failed. In
fact, he surrendered only after Chavez surrendered in Caracas
on behalf of all the coup supporters. After the failure of
the coup, Arias and Chavez were jailed until Rafael Caldera
pardoned them in 1994. It was during this period that the
two reportedly began to differ ideologically.


8. (C) In 1995, Arias ran and won the Zulia gubernatorial
race as a political independent. In 1998, he ran for another
term as governor, but this time under President Chavez's
party, the Movimienta Quinta Republica (MVR). While in
Chavez's party he apparently continued to be disillusioned
with the corruption and cronyism that existed in the
government. He eventually founded his own party, Union, and
challenged Chavez for the presidency in 2000. Arias lost the
election with 38% of the vote, compared to 60% for Chavez.

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Comment
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9. (C) We cannot be sure what Arias' motivation is for his
frequent apparent changes in loyalty. Some in the opposition
claim that he has always been loyal to Chavez, even when
running against him, while others believe he was genuinely
opposed to the administration. It may be that his
introspective nature has made him change his outlook
periodically. Nonetheless, the nomination of Arias seems to
be a clear indication by the BRV that it is taking its bid
for a UN Security Council seat very seriously. Arias'
affable personality along with his image as a moderate
(compared to Chavez) should be an asset as the BRV tries to

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change its image as an instigator within the international
community.
BROWNFIELD