MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA, CHAVEZ'

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000297 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: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA, CHAVEZ' REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE Chavez's U-turn Article in center-right O Estado de S.Paulo (6/11) says: "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has traded darkness for light....He announced that 'Latin America has no place for guerillas any more....' The question that has echoed through the hemisphere-'what got into Chavez?'-has more than one answer to it. All of them...suggest he is finally convinced that the cost of protecting an organization that is repudiated by the vast majority of Colombians and has been harshly attacked by Bogot's administration greatly surpasses the benefits expected from a Bolivarian solidarity that could support Chavez's ambitions.... The dismantling of the Farc coincides with the reaction of Venezuelan democratic forces to Chavez's totalitarian plans.... Since [December's referendum] Chavez' popularity has fallen 20 points...and the prospects for the November elections are less favorable than he would like.... It is in this context that [Chavez's] u-turn fits. White