PORTUGAL ON HUGO CHAVEZ VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L LISBON 002949 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017 TAGS: EUN PHUM VE PO SUBJECT: PORTUGAL ON HUGO CHAVEZ VISIT REF: A) STATE 157653 B) LISBON 2923 Classified By: pol/econ counselor Matt Harrington for reasons 1.4 (B) a nd (D). ¶1. (C) In a conversation with the Prime Minister,s senior diplomatic advisor, Jorge Roza de Oliveira, DCM conveyed our strong concerns regarding Chavez,s recent maneuvers on the constitution, per ref A, and urged that the Prime Minister represent them forcefully to Chavez during the latter's Lisbon stopover on November 20. Roza de Oliveira made no promises, saying the primary topics would be Socrates,s concerns about treatment of the Portuguese community in Venezuela, and potential collaboration in the energy sector. Roza de Oliveira said the meeting would be exclusively focused on bilateral, rather than EU, issues, although Portugal had consulted with other Member States, including the Spanish, about the meeting. He promised a readout after the meeting ¶2. (C) Earlier, the Foreign Minister's diplomatic advisor, Paulo Lourenco, called to provide us a heads-up that Socrates would be meeting with Chavez during a "technical" (refueling) stop in Lisbon. Pol/econ counselor underscored our concerns about Chavez's efforts to concentrate executive power via constitutional changes and encouraged the Prime Minister to raise those concerns with Chavez. Lourenco replied that Socrates and Chavez have a good personal relationship, and that Socrates was not afraid to press the Venezuelan leader on such matters. Socrates regularly raises with Chavez the issues he ought to raise, Lourenco insisted. Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) The Portuguese government generally shares our concerns about Chavez but carefully avoids public criticisms, concerned about the retaliation it might provoke against the Portuguese community in Venezuela, which numbers approximately half a million. Consequently, and as we reported ref B, Portugal is very unlikely to issue its own public rebuke of Chavez, even in the guise of an EU presidency statement, but would not block common EU language critical of recent developments in Venezuela. Hoffman