UNEVEN ELECTORAL PLAYING FIELD FAVORS CHAVISMO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001440

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2028
TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC VE
SUBJECT: UNEVEN ELECTORAL PLAYING FIELD FAVORS CHAVISMO

CARACAS 00001440 001.3 OF 002


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ
FOR REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary: A number of opposition and even
pro-government dissident candidates have complained to the
National Electoral Council (CNE) about the PSUV enjoying an
unfair advantage as state resources are being used in its
favor. The government-owned media outlets are blatant in
their support for the PSUV, to the point where there is
virtually no distinction between state and party.
State-owned vehicles have been used in a variety of ways to
support PSUV campaigns, including busing Chavista supporters
to rallies. Although Chavez has agreed to suspend his weekly
television show until after the elections to avoid the
appearance of impropriety, he plans to make use of mandatory
TV broadcasts ("cadenas") for inaugurations of new state
projects -- with local PSUV candidates at his side. Some
opposition party leaders have also complained that they do
not have access to the voting lists. These irregularities,
and the apparent unwillingness of the CNE to enforce its own
rules, suggest that the non-PSUV candidates will be
campaigning on a field tilted very much against them. End
Summary.

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PSUV AT AN ADVANTAGE
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2. (C) At a October 1 campaign financing conference
sponsored by the Center for Policy and Citizenship Formation
that included CNE rector Vicente Diaz, speakers pointed to
the widespread use of state resources for campaigns. They
noted that the constitution prohibits the direct use of
government money to finance political parties. They cited as
an example that cranes owned by the state electricity company
have been used to replace opposition campaign posters with
those of the PSUV. The speakers also noted that the CNE had
decided that campaign "soundbites" would need to be vetted
through them before being broadcast, potentially giving them
the power to censor anti-Chavez material.


3. (SBU) Dissident candidates from within Chavismo who are
not running on the PSUV ticket have been particularly vocal
in opposing misuse of government funds. Daniel Garcia,
secretary general of the tiny Gente Emergente (GE) party,
told pro-opposition tabloid Tal Cual on October 6 that he had
filed complaints about violations with the CNE in Barinas
state but "they don't listen." Garcia claims that a
permanent billboard has been erected by PSUV gubernatorial
candidate Adan Chavez in front of the doors of the local
PDVSA headquarters, and that GE's campaign signs had been
torn down. GE was expelled from Chavez's "patriotic
alliance" last week for its support of dissident
gubernatorial candidate for Barinas state Julio Cesar Reyes.


4. (SBU) Andrea Tavares, Patria Para Todos (PPT) candidate
for the mayorship of the Libertador borough of Caracas, told
the media that her campaign signs were removed by trucks from
the Caracas electricity company on Bolivar Avenue -- on
grounds that it is a public thoroughfare. Signs supporting
PSUV candidates were not removed. Lenny Manuitt, PPT
candidate for governor in Guarico state, alleged that
Chavistas are "embezzling" state funds in the interior of the
country to use in campaigns. She presented photographs of
state-owned trucks being used to support her PSUV rival,
William Lara, at a political rally on September 13.


5. (SBU) Bella Petrizzo, PPT gubernatorial candidate for
Portuguesa state, has accused her PSUV opponent Wilmar Castro
of using public institutions to aid his campaign. She
pointed to advertisements for Castro in the local press with
both the PSUV logo and that of the state-owned Industrial
Bank of Venezuela and the phrase "Wilmar Castro -- Governor."
Petrizzo also protested that Castro was seeking to link the
social missions to the PSUV and that mission workers feared
reprisals if they did not support the PSUV. She told
pro-opposition daily El Universal on September 29 that "it
hurts me how they play with people's necessities."
Nevertheless, she contended that she was "sure" that Chavez
does not condone these practices, highlighting the
dissidents' willingness to attack their PSUV rivals but not
the President directly.

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CNE ACKNOWLEDGES SOME BIAS
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CARACAS 00001440 002.3 OF 002



6. (SBU) On October 9, the CNE's Political Participation
and Financing Commission announced a formal accusation of
bias against state-owned Venezuela TV (VTV). CNE rector
Vicente Diaz told the press that VTV was not allowing equal
partisan access because only PSUV candidates have
participated in the channel's opinion programs. Four hours
later, Diaz announced that he would also summon the director
of pro-opposition Globovision TV on October 15, presumably to
investigate charges that it favors opposition candidates.
According to pro-opposition daily El Nacional, the CNE also
plans to begin examining charges of unfair campaigning next
week against opposition gubernatorial candidate for Zulia
state Pablo Perez and PSUV candidate for the mayorship of
Sucre Jesse Chacon. Diaz also claimed that the suspension of
Chavez's weekly televised "Alo, Presidente" show until after
the elections was a result of conversations between the CNE
and Minister of Communication Andres Izarra, claiming its
curtailment is to avoid the "administrative embarrassment" of
using state funds for electoral ends.


7. (C) Comment: The CNE is widely recognized to be unduly
influenced by Chavez. Despite its apparent willingness to
look into some claims of bias, it is unlikely to effectively
curtail the blatant and widespread use of state resources to
benefit Chavista candidates. Although opposition party
representatives were invited by the CNE to witness the
outfitting of balloting machines with the voting software as
a measure of transparency, they have complained to us about
their lack of access to key information like voting lists --
which could prove vital in contested races. To date,
opposition parties are reluctant to denounce CNE technical
biases for fear that their complaints will only exacerbate
abstentionism. End Comment.

CAULFIELD