CHAVEZ' SINGLE PARTY: BY UNITING, HE DIVIDES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000820

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ' SINGLE PARTY: BY UNITING, HE DIVIDES

REF: CARACAS 00616 AND PREVIOUS

CARACAS 00000820 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON,
REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. President Chavez is aggressively forging
ahead with his proposal to forge a single pro-government
party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Swearing in over 16,000 red-shirted party promoters on April
19, Chavez announced that a party inscription drive to
attract over four million members would start April 29 and
end June 2. The Venezuelan president expects to launch a
three-month founding party congress on August 15 and have
party members bless its leadership and platform in a December
2 party plebiscite. Chavez is publicly lambasting prominent
holdouts from Podemos, Patria Para Todos (PPT) and the
Communist Party (PCV),the three small, but prominent,
pro-Chavez parties that have declined to merge
unconditionally with the PSUV. By reverting to authoritarian
form, Chavez is exacerbating an unusually widespread and
public fissure within his camp.
End Summary.

--------------
Chavez Swears In 16,000 Promoters...
--------------


2. (SBU) President Chavez swore in over 16,000 promoters of
the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) April 19
during a televised ceremony at a Caracas stadium. This event
came on the heels of Chavez' March 24 swearing-in of over
2,300 promoters at a Caracas auditorium. Attendees swore to
work tirelessly to create the biggest "revolutionary,
Bolivarian, anti-imperialist, and socialist" political party
in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Chavez stressed
that party militants needed to cultivate party discipline.
As if the emphasize the point, twice during his lengthy
address, Chavez asked the promoters to jump up and down in
their places to demonstrate their revolutionary fervor. The
Venezuelan president said the proposed party should be a
party of "cadres" that come from the "multitudes." Citing
Lenin, Chavez added that the party leadership should reflect
the "single will" of the people, and not sectarian movements.


3. (U) Chavez also outlined his schedule for forging the
PSUV. Promoters will open 6,000 centers on April 29
throughout Venezuela to sign up new party members. Chavez
aspires to attract over four million militants to create a
party that can be divided into some 22,000 "socialist
battalions" of roughly 200 members each. (Note: There are
roughly 16 million registered voters in Venezuela. Chavez
polled 4.8 million votes on ballot of his former party, the
Fifth Republic Movement, in the December 2006 presidential
election.) Chavez said the PSUV calendar would be as follows:

05/26 Chavez to swear in some 70,000 party promoters.

06/02 Registration of new party members closes.

07/07 Elections to a founding party congress completed.

07/31 Regional meetings of elected militants.

08/15 Founding party congress begins (2,200 delegates).

11/17 Founding party congress concludes.

12/02 Party referendum on PSUV leaders and platform.


4. (SBU) At the end of his April 19 speech, Chavez asked
attendees to take notes on "deviations" the PSUV needs to
avoid, including reliance on vanguards, authoritarianism,
imported models of socialism, excessive theorizing,
self-deception, and seeking power as an end instead of means.
He also warned against inattention to what he called
"revolutionary democracy," subordination of social movements,
overlooking ethnic and cultural factors, and excessive
respect for party elders. Finally, he urged party militants
to help non-members "see reality better" and persuade them to
join the PSUV.

-------------- --------------
... Relegates Two Pro-Chavez Governors to Opposition
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) Chavez reiterated his call on members of the
pro-Chavez Podemos, Patria Para Todos (PPT),and the

CARACAS 00000820 002.2 OF 003


Communist Party (PCV) to join the PSUV (Reftel). He publicly
praised former Education Minister Aristobulo Isturiz,
Ambassador to Cuba Ali Rodgriguez and other PPT leaders for
joining the PSUV in the wake of the PPT's April 11 decision
not to dissolve. Similarly, he lauded National Assembly
Second Vice-President and Communist Party leader Roberto
Hernandez for his active support of the PSUV despite the
PCV's decision at its March 3-4 party congress not to
dissolve the PCV as yet. In recent weeks, numerous party
leaders from all three parties have broken ranks and
expressed their unconditional intention to join the PSUV.
Chavez joked with the media several days ago that the leaders
of the holdout parties will become mere shells and would be
able to hold their meetings in his red Volkswagen beetle.


6. (SBU) Chavez also excoriated the long-time Podemos
governors of the states of Sucre and Aragua. Chavez took
particular aim at Sucre Governor Ramon Martinez for publicly
criticizing the formation process of the PSUV. More
specifically, Chavez called Martinez a "farce," "a coward," a
"liar" and a "counterrevolutionary," and told him to "go to
the opposition." He contrasted Martinez' support for "social
democracy" with the PSUV's commitment to "real socialism" and
"revolutionary democracy." To loud applause, Chavez urged
the PSUV promoters to seek the removal of both Aragua
Governor Didalco Bolivar and Sucre Governor Martinez through
recall referenda. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has
approved recall signature drives against both governors for
June 17-19 and if enough signatures are gathered, both
governors could face recall referenda by October.


7. (SBU) Conspicuous PSUV-related frictions continue to make
local headlines. Sucre Governor Martinez has declined to
respond directly to Chavez' diatribe, but he told reporters
April 22 that "I do not need a class in revolution because I
have 46 years in this movement." "We need to end political
terrorism," Martinez continued, "and long live diversity."
At an April 23 press conference, the PCV leadership reminded
its members actively supporting the formation of the PSUV
that they cannot be militants in two parties. Iris Varela,
an ardent Chavez supporter in the National Assembly, has also
been complaining to the media that opportunists are excluding
genuine socialists in the PSUV formation process at the local
level.

--------------
Holdout Pro-Chavez Parties Shrinking Fast
--------------


8. (SBU) Numerous leaders and members of Podemos, PPT, and
the Communist parties have deserted their parties to join the
proposed PSUV. Fourteen of 19 Podemos National Assembly
deputies and 22 of 42 Podemos mayors reportedly left for the
PSUV by April 16. Podemos Yaracuy Governor Carlos Jimenez
also left Podemos in late May to join the PSUV. Nine of
PPT's 13-member steering committee, as well as Guarico State
Governor Eduardo Manuitt, also defected by the same date.
Fourteen of the PCV's 40-member central committee recently
released to the press a document entitled "Now or Never" to
press the PCV to merge into the proposed PSUV, although they
have not yet formally broken with the PCV.

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


9. (C) Despite their continued public resistance, Podemos,
Patria Para Todos, and the Communist Party are in no position
to block or brake Chavez' push to create a single,
"revolutionary" pro-government political party. Moreover,
ongoing defections will almost certainly diminish the already
limited influence and popularity of all three holdout
parties. Nevertheless, Chavez' pressing ahead with the PSUV
is not without its political cost. By changing his tune in
recent weeks from warmly welcoming any pro-Chavez parties
into the PSUV to blasting the few holdout parties for not
joining unconditionally, Chavez has provided a stark reminder
of his authoritarian style (e.g., "If this is what he does to
his friends...").


10. (C) In addition, Chavez' ongoing dispute with leaders
from the holdout parties is the biggest public fissure in
recent years within his normally lock-step and hermetic camp.
Finally, although small, all three holdout parties could
have brought significant organizational party-building skills
to the PSUV formation process, had Chavez negotiated their
participation, rather than tried to impose what appears to be

CARACAS 00000820 003.2 OF 003


a hostile take-over. So far, Chavez' new "revolutionary
democracy" looks a lot like tried-and-true caudillismo.

BROWNFIELD