Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CARACAS1128
2007-06-08 18:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:  

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: GIVE DEMOCRACY A CHANCE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM SCUL ASEC VE 
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VZCZCXRO0287
PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHCV #1128/01 1591854
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081854Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8959
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 001128 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SCUL ASEC VE
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: GIVE DEMOCRACY A CHANCE

REF: A. CARACAS 001122


B. CARACAS 001100

CARACAS 00001128 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT RICHARD DOWNES,
REASON 1.4 (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 001128

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SCUL ASEC VE
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: GIVE DEMOCRACY A CHANCE

REF: A. CARACAS 001122


B. CARACAS 001100

CARACAS 00001128 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT RICHARD DOWNES,
REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. The various student demonstrations against
the closure of RCTV have coalesced into a surprisingly
resilient democratic movement. Over the last two weeks, they
have forced President Chavez to shift gears from accelerating
his "socialist revolution" to shoring up his base and
defending the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's (BRV's)
democratic credentials. Spurious BRV accusations that the
protesters are pawns of the opposition and USG ring hollow as
student leaders scrupulously stick to an autonomous,
non-partisan freedom agenda. The student leadership is both
diverse and largely decentralized, although a core group of
articulate Caracas university leaders have emerged as key
spokespersons and coordinators. Looking ahead,
pro-democracy student activists face real challenges,
including overcoming their lack of political experience,
Chavista counterattacks, and an approaching summer recess.
End Summary.

--------------
The New Student Movement
--------------


2. (C) With Venezuela's democratic opposition still badly
divided, university protesters have suddenly emerged as a new
political force challenging President's Chavez' increasingly
authoritarian government. Historically, university students
have played an important role in ushering in political change
or as the font of new political leaders. The "Generation of
'28" that confronted long-time dictator Juan Vicente Gomez
produced future presidents Romulo Betancourt and Raul Leoni.
The "Generation of '57" led the student protests that helped
topple military dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez and launched
the political career of long-standing left-wing opposition
leader Teodoro Petkoff. Many members of the "Generation of
'80" that protested for greater student autonomy at Central
University in Caracas are prominent Chavistas, including

hard-line Caracas municipal mayor Juan Barreto.


3. (C) The emerging "Generation of '07" does not appear to
pose a real threat to Chavez' rule, but it has successfully
tapped popular discontent with Chavez' decision to close RCTV
and exposed Chavez' autocratic tendencies and democratic
deficiencies. It has also forced the Venezuelan president,
accustomed to setting the political agenda, to (over)react.
Chavez did not attend the televised May 28 inaugural
celebration of the launch of TVes, the government-owned
successor to RCTV or the pro-closure rally before the event.
After a 48-hour absence from public view, he finally
reappeared at a May 29 pension distribution event in Aragua
State. The BRV required all television stations to carry his
remarks in which he accused university students of trying to
trigger a U.S.-supported coup and threatened to close
opposition cable news station "Globovision." Chavez himself
continues to maintain this hard line.


4. (C) The Caracas Metropolitan Police and National Guard
used tear gas and plastic pellets to disperse crowds May
28-31, but such tactics only fueled the student movement.
Some senior BRV officials below Chavez have subsequently made
rare overtures of openness to dialogue - at least in public.
Over the last week, marchers managed to hand their petitions
to the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Attorney General, and to a
delegation of National Assembly members. National Assembly
President Cilia Flores invited student representatives for
and against RCTV's closure to the National Assembly June 7
(although the non-Chavistas walked out after complaining of
biased treatment). At the same time, however, the BRV also
continues to put up obstacles to student marches, such as
delaying permits, changing march routes, and preventing
student buses from outside Caracas from reaching the capital.

--------------
Freedom Now
--------------


5. (C) Student demonstrators initially took to the streets to
express their opposition to the government's decision to
close RCTV, but they have since broadened their movement into
a defense of democracy, freedom, and civil liberties. The
interests of student groups vary across the country and
across Venezuela's many college campuses, but they seem to

CARACAS 00001128 002.2 OF 004


agree on the following core set of demands:

-- the return of RCTV to the airwaves;
-- the renewal of the many pending broadcasting licenses;
-- the right to protest government policies;
-- an end to political discrimination by the government;
-- the release of over 200 student protesters from jail.


6. (C) With very few exceptions, student protesters have
scrupulously avoided associating themselves publicly with
political parties, strengthening their credibility with the
Venezuelan public. Students protesters blocked William
Ojeda, a UNT leader, from addressing a Caracas crowd. While
not necessarily joining any opposition political parties,
many of the demonstrators were active in supporting Zulia
Governor Manuel Rosales' in the presidential election
campaign in late 2006. Some were reportedly frustrated by
Rosales' election night concession speech in which Rosales
urged his supporters to avoid post-election street protests.



7. (C) Political parties, however, are eager to try to co-opt
the movement. The young, dynamic opposition mayor of Chacao
Municipality in Caracas, Leopoldo Lopez, addressed students
during early demonstrations in his jurisdiction, and he is
actively advising them behind-the-scenes (Ref A). UNT is
running TV spots incorporating images of the student
protests. Ismael Garcia, Secretary General of the dissident
pro-Chavez party Podemos, broke ranks with the BRV and drove
to the Episcopal Conference to receive the students' petition
for the National Assembly when they had been prevented from
marching there on June 1. Garcia then addressed a student
crowd outside the Episcopal Conference (but received scant
attention).

--------------
Emerging Leaders
--------------


8. (C) Venezuela's student movement is largely decentralized,
and the group of identifiable leaders organizing RCTV
solidarity and pro-democracy protests across Venezuela is
diverse, loose, and in flux. This is also true for the
pro-government students getting lots of attention in
government media. The Caracas media is focusing on student
leaders in the capital, but there are many other student
leaders in other major cities as well. Coordination among
campuses in Caracas initially was informal; students making
innovative use of cel phone and computer technology to
coordinate their actions (Ref B). University students in
Caracas are now reportedly also holding nightly strategy
sessions to better coordinate their activities. There is
considerably less coordination between university leaders in
the capital and those in the states.


9. (C) Some of the leading student movement coordinators in
Caracas are:

Stalin Gonzalez - A 26-year-old law student at the public
Central University in Venezuela (UCV) and President of the
Student Federation at UCV. He was active with the small
left-wing Red Flag party, but says he left the party some 18
months ago, and is reportedly sympathetic to UNT. He told
the media that the student movement remain aloof from
political parties at this stage, but believes the students
should unite with other sectors of civil society at a later
stage. Gonzalez was one of the five students scheduled to
speak at the National Assembly on June 7, but he was not
allowed in the legislature by security. We understand he
comes from a family of modest means.

Yon Goicochea - Secretary General of the Student
Representative Council at the private Andres Bello Catholic
University (UCAB) doing post-graduate work in administrative
law. He is one of the students' most articulate defenders of
civil liberties. His father was recently jailed on
involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from a 1994
confrontation with thieves, and Yon reports that he and his
family have received threats because of his work in the
student movement. Goicochea remains active and led the
student walk-out of the June 7 National Assembly after making
a brief statement on the need for "national reconciliation."

Freddy Guevara - Twenty-one-year-old recently-elected
president of the Social Communications School Student Center
at UCAB. Guevara is sympathetic to Rosales' Un Nuevo Tiempo
party and believes the student movement will eventually have

CARACAS 00001128 003.2 OF 004


to get engaged in the political process. He told the media
that peaceful protest can slow down the BRV's growing
authoritarianism and prepare the ground for defeating Chavez
at the polls.

Alexis Cabrera Castro - Twenty-year-old head of the Student
Center at the private Simon Bolivar University (USB). This
bright engineering student plays an important role in
coordinating student activities, but tends to leave media
speaking roles to others. He told the media recently that he
is not a member of any political party and is participating
in the student movement "to guarantee civil rights for all
Venezuelans."

Douglas Barrios - A student at the private Metropolitan
University, Barrios delivered a well-argued speech in the
National Assembly June 7, before the student walk-out.
Barrios stressed that the student movement is a peaceful and
democratic defense of democracy and freedom, and not an
effort to topple to government. Dramatically stripping off
the red T-shirt (a Chavista staple) as he closed his remarks,
Barrios said the students want to make their own choices, and
not have decisions -- and uniforms -- imposed on them by the
state.

Geraldine Alvarez - A student at UCAB, Alvarez was one of the
students who walked out of the National Assembly on June 7
and vigorously defended that decision at a press conference
later the same day. She is a forceful public speaker who
articulates students' frustrations with the BRV exceptionally
well.

Ricardo Sanchez - A UCV student and the Secretary General of
the Federation of University Centers (student union). He
comes from the working class Catia neighborhood in Caracas.
He recently told the media that he recognizes the limits of
street protests and advocates creative strategies to continue
to defend civil liberties and university autonomy in
Venezuela.

Ana Teresa Yanes - The 22-year-old president of the Student
Council of the private Metropolitan University. Yanes is a
fifth-year Computer Science student. She is not a member of
any political party, calls herself a centrist who opposes
political extremism. She too says she is motivated by a
desire to defend civil liberties.


10. (C) Government media are also affording pro-Chavez
students with considerable exposure, although these leaders
do not appear to have broad following on most college
campuses. In a recent student election at the University of
the Andes (ULA) in Merida, for example, the opposition
candidate defeated the pro-Chavez candidate by 4 to 1.
President Chavez invited students to the presidential palace
the evening of June 7 for a nationally-televised "dialogue."
Chavez urged his university supporters to form their own
"socialist student councils" and organize themselves to
counter -- and clash -- with pro-democracy protesters.


11. (SBU) UCV Law Student Adreina Tarazon had the first
pro-government word in the June 7 National Assembly event and
stressed that participatory ("people's power") democracy is
rightfully replacing representative ("liberal, bourgeois")
democracy. Hewing to Chavez' line, UCAB law student Robert
Serra Aguirre attacked the demonstrators as U.S.-supported
conspirators. UCV student Libertad Velasco trumpeted the
"inclusiveness" of BRV initiatives and excoriated the
"exclusiveness" of pre-Chavez governments.

--------------
Comment
--------------


12. (C) Until two weeks ago, political parties and educators
generally considered university students to be apathetic.
The government closure of Venezuela's most popular and oldest
TV station, however, has suddenly and surprisingly pushed
students to the fore of civil society's efforts to resist
Chavez' authoritarianism. So far, the students have
effectively enunciated a non-partisan defense of civil
liberties that is not only resonating more broadly among
civil society, but also chipping away at the President
Chavez's self-proclaimed legitimacy as the unassailable
protector of the "people." They have also given hope to
democratic-minded Venezuelans, just as they were losing it.



CARACAS 00001128 004.2 OF 004



13. (C) Despite their initial success, the road ahead for
pro-democracy students is not likely to be easy. They have
little political experience and diverging long-term visions
and interests. Summer recess starts in July. The government
is also organizing well-funded counterattacks. While
Venezuelans are debating the wisdom of the students' decision
to walk out of the nationally-televised June 7 National
Assembly debate, the BRV is making the walk-out a centerpiece
of its efforts to discredit students as part of an
"obstructionist" opposition.

BROWNFIELD