Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SAOPAULO76
2007-02-01 11:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Sao Paulo
Cable title:
WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA, CHAVEZ'S RULE BY DECREE; SAO
how-toVZCZCXYZ0013 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHSO #0076 0321137 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 011137Z FEB 07 FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6340 INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7431 RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 7739 RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2700
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000076
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA, CHAVEZ'S RULE BY DECREE; SAO
PAULO
"The Guarantor of Chvez, Morales And Correa"
Economic columnist Rolf Kuntz commented in center-right O Estado de
¶S. Paulo (2/1): "President Lula assumed in Davos the role of
political guarantor of South American neighbors. He should not have
done that, and by doing so he contrasted with Mexican President
Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, who insists on keeping distance from
governments he described as aspirants to lifelong dictatorships....
By assuming the condition of guarantor, President Lula once again in
his generosity forgot to consult the partners he supports.... Less
than a week after Lula's words in Davos, the Venezuelan Congress
completed the approval of the so-called, Ley Habilitante, the law
that gives exceptional powers to President Hugo Chvez to rule. No
democratic government enjoys similar powers.... With such provisions
attributed to Chvez by a Congress that is completely under his
control, the president will hardly have any limits to his
arbitrariness. Unless he commits an act of violence unacceptable
even his most enthusiastic followers, he will consolidate an
autocratic system of government."
McMullen