CHAVEZ, EVO MORALES BACK HUMALA AT CARACAS MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 000030

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2025
TAGS: PGOV PREL PE VE BL
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ, EVO MORALES BACK HUMALA AT CARACAS MEETING

REF: A. LIMA 5192

B. LIMA 4854

Classified By: Political Counselor Alexander Margulies for Reasons 1.4
(B,D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Peruvian anti-system presidential candidate
Ollanta Humala made a surprise appearance in Caracas on 1/3,
attending a televised ceremony held by Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez to honor Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales.
Both Chavez and Morales had high praise for Ollanta, who was
seated in the front row with his spouse. Their comments have
prompted criticism from Peru's political class, the press and
figures in the GOP. Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua told the
Ambassador on 1/4 that he considered Chavez' comments to be
interference in Peru's internal affairs and indicated that
the GOP would consider an appropriate and well thought out
response. Chavez' virtual endorsement ends speculation about
his support for Humala, although it remains to be seen
whether it will help or hinder the latter's electoral
prospects. End Summary.


2. (U) Chavez, during his speech, personally recognized
Humala and his wife Nadine, noting that, like Chavez, Humala
was the author of a similar "Quijotesque" coup-attempt
against unjust systems, and that now they were both
protagonists in a common fight for nationalism, national
resources, sovereignty, and against the Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA). Together, Chavez said, he and Humala
were "once again holding high the flags" of various Latin
American liberators, including Simon Bolivar and Juan Velasco
Alvarado, Peru's leftist military leader from 1968-75 (and a
hero to the Ethnocacerista movement that produced Humala).
Evo Morales, too, did not stint in his praise for Humala,
whom he described as "a candidate" for the campaign of
"indigenous peoples, social movements and the victims of
neoliberalism." Morales also called on the Peruvian left to
unite behind Humala.


3. (U) Chavez' and Morales' endorsements were heavily
covered by the local media and have provoked a series of
criticisms from the Peruvian political class, the press, and
figures in the GOP, a reaction that we expect to grow in the
coming days. Some commentators have seized on the Caracas
meeting as "the smoking gun" that proves Ollanta's ties to
Chavez, connections that Ollanta had previously denied.
Others have denounced Chavez' meddling in Peru's politics.
Leading presidential candidate Lourdes Flores Nano warned
that closing ranks with certain figures (a clear reference to
Chavez) could only bring more poverty and backwardness and
guarantee less employment. APRA presidential candidate Alan
Garcia, on the other hand, had no problem with Humala
attending the Chavez/Morales event, saying that one could not
presume that this signified Humala was receiving a
"prohibited economic support," and even characterizing it as
a positive demonstration of "continental unity."


4. (C) Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua, during a 1/4
breakfast hosted by the Ambassador, termed Chavez' and
Morales' public praise for Ollanta Humala as interference in
Peru's internal affairs during a presidential election
campaign. Maurtua said that the GOP would respond
appropriately, but added that it would proceed cautiously and
is still in the process of thinking this matter through. He
also indicated that Peru's response may be conditioned by its
feeling of political isolation within the region, seeing
itself along with Colombia as standing apart in a continent
veering to the left.


5. (C) COMMENT: Ollanta Humala's appearance at the
Chavez/Morales event effectively confirms speculation, which
Humala previously had taken pains to dismiss, that he is
allied with the Venezuelan President and the Bolivian
President-elect. It may be that Humala decided that his
campaign could get an additional bounce by jumping on
Morales' coattails following the latter's groundbreaking
first-round triumph in Bolivia's election. Foreign Ministry
Under Secretary for the Americas Amb. Pablo Portugal, on the
other hand, speculated at the Ambassador's breakfast that
Humala chose this moment to come clean on his identification
with Chavez and Morales in order to avoid having this issue
drag at his campaign and perhaps surface at a later date when
it could damage his electoral chances. Whatever the reason,
Humala's high-profile participation in the event guaranteed
massive media coverage. Whether it will improve or decrease
his electoral support, however, remains to be seen. END
COMMENT.
STRUBLE