AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PODEMOS LEADERS - FEB 19

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000213

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2023
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PTER ENGR CO VE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PODEMOS LEADERS - FEB 19


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Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT RICHARD DOWNES,
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary. Podemos leaders told the Ambassador February
19 that their break with President Chavez is permanent. They
now believe Chavez has abandoned principle in favor of
perpetuating himself in power. They hope to make political
gains by focusing on pressing national issues and
capitalizing on growing discontent among Chavez supporters.
They also said Chavez' confrontation with the United States
is a key element of his electoral strategy, and they urged
USG officials to eschew responding publicly to Chavez'
provocations. Aragua State Governor Bolivar asserted that
Chavez is seeking an alliance with the FARC because he cannot
rely on his own military reserve. Bolivar reviewed his
efforts to make the internet available in the barrios of
Aragua and expressed concern that the government may try to
restrict internet access in the future. While reduced in
numbers, Podemos remains an important and credible left-wing
opposition voice in Venezuelan politics. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador hosted a February 19 breakfast for
Aragua State Governor Didalco Bolivar, National Assembly (NA)
Deputies Ricardo Gutierrez and Juan Jose Molina, and
legislative aide Antonio Ochoa, all of Podemos. DCM,
PolCouns, and Deputy PolCouns accompanied. Podemos Secretary
General Ismael Garcia did not attend, but Bolivar was
authorized to speak on his behalf. Bolivar noted that
Podemos has had periodic contact with Embassy officials in
the past, and would like to maintain such ties. The
Ambassador stressed his interest in engaging with political
parties across Venezuela's political spectrum.

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Attacking Chavez from the Left
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3. (C) The Podemos leaders stressed that they believe Chavez
and his close military supporters are pursuing "permanence in
power" rather than advancing a viable and principled
socioeconomic agenda. Brandishing a blue-covered copy of
Venezuela's constitution, Bolivar said Podemos could support
efforts to implement the 1999 Constitution, but remains
firmly opposed to efforts to introduce a new "red, very red"
Constitution. They lamented Chavez' strong-arm efforts to
forge a "single revolutionary party" (PSUV). They added that
they do not anticipate either reconciliation with Chavez or
open identification with traditional opposition parties.


4. (C) The Podemos leaders conceded that Chavez and his
United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) have succeeded in
depleting Podemos' numbers. They noted that most Podemos
National Assembly members, mayors, and government employees
left Podemos for PSUV in the wake of stiff government
pressure. The NA leadership excluded Podemos members from
important committee assignments in January. Nevertheless,
the Podemos leaders insisted that there is growing discontent
within Chavismo. The party hopes to attract new members by
focusing on pressing national issues, principally crime, food
shortages, and poverty eradication.


5. (C) Bolivar speculated that Chavez may try to delay state
and/or municipal elections until next year if he thinks his
movement will lose a significant number of gubernatorial and
municipal races. He also accused Chavez of undermining the
democratic process by trying to secure judicial exclusions
against important opposition candidates, such as Chacao Mayor
Leopoldo Lopez, an otherwise strong candidate for the Caracas
mayorship. Podemos will continue to provide democratic
opposition to Chavez within the National Assembly and at the
polls. Ricardo Gutierrez, for example, is considering
running for the governorship of Portuguesa, a traditional
Chavista stronghold.

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"Don't Give Chavez Ammunition"
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6. (C) Bolivar stressed that Chavez has made anti-Americanism
a central plank of his electoral campaigns, and he
recommended that the USG avoid responding publicly to Chavez'
provocations whenever possible. Strategic silence, continued
Bolivar, undermines Chavez' efforts to persuade Venezuelans
that the USG is an external threat. He also acknowledged
that the USG has a responsibility to defend its interests and
principles


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7. (C) The Podemos leaders raised the ExxonMobil commercial
dispute as an example of an issue in which Chavez seeks to
exploit nationalist sentiment. Bolivar and Gutierrez said
Podemos understands that ExxonMobil has a right to seek
international arbitration, although they believe ICSID and
foreign courts may be somewhat biased against Venezuelan
state oil company PDVSA. They also said they understand that
the USG has a responsibility to defend U.S. companies. The
Ambassador noted that USG officials supported ExxonMobil's
right to international arbitration to obtain just
compensation and have made clear that the United States is
not a party to the dispute. The latter point has sometimes
been buried in local daily reporting.

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Colombia
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8. (C) Bolivar asserted that Chavez seeks an alliance with
the FARC because he knows that his efforts to build an
effective military reserve force have failed. Bolivar shared
that during a U.S. naval visit to Curacao some years ago, the
local Reserve tried to mobilize its members, but only a small
percentage of the Reserve actually reported for duty "to
defend the revolution." The Aragua State Governor also said
Chavez' rhetorical attacks on Colombian President Uribe are
costing him politically because of the sizable
Colombian-Venezuelan population that is able to vote in
Venezuela.

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Free Access to Internet
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9. (C) Bolivar noted that he recently visited the United
Nations in New York to submit a proposal to add the right to
unrestricted internet access to the U.N. Declaration of Human
Rights. He expressed concern that the BRV is removing
internet portals from Bolivarian schools and may eventually
seek to restrict the Venezuelan population's access to the
internet, using similar means employed by the Iranian and
Cuban governments. The Aragua State governor reviewed his
efforts to provide wi-fi internet access to residents of
low-income neighborhoods and his plans to open a "John F.
Kennedy information center" with free internet access later
this spring.

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Comment
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10. (C) Podemos, while reduced in numbers over the last year,
is trying to carve out non-Chavista left-wing space in
Venezuela's highly polarized political environment. Despite
Chavez' attacks, the party continues to exercise influence
disproportionate to its diminished size. As former loyal
allies of Chavez, Podemos criticism of BRV policies is
potentially more damaging to Chavismo than criticism from
traditional opposition parties. Podemos' opposition to
Chavez' proposed constitutional reforms, for example, was an
important factor in the "No" victory in the December 2007
constitutional referendum. Moreover, Podemos is currently
the only dissident party within the National Assembly in the
wake of the opposition's boycott of the 2005 parliamentary
elections. Podemos is also poised to try to attract PSUV
dissidents.

DUDDY