NEW LEGISLATION DECIMATES THE CARACAS METROPOLITAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001188 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2029 TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE SUBJECT: NEW LEGISLATION DECIMATES THE CARACAS METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY REF: CARACAS 001086 CARACAS 00001188 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBIN D. MEYER, FOR REASON 1.4(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Along with a flurry of other legislation, the National Assembly (AN) passed on August 26 a new "Law of Municipal Regimen at Two Levels of the Metropolitan Area" that removes most of the authorities and budget of the metropolitan government. The new law grants opposition Mayor of Greater Caracas Antonio Ledezma and his metropolitan council only "empty" responsibilities and a budget that is not enough to even pay workers' salaries. Representing 60 percent of metropolitan Caracas' population, the Mayor of Libertador municipality, Chavista Mayor Jorge Rodriguez, becomes the most powerful elected official in the city. End Summary. -------------- AN IN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During the two-day extraordinary session August 25 and 26, the AN held discussions on 21 different legislative initiatives. The majority were additional budget allowances, cooperation accords with Sao Tome, Iran and Costa Rica, and several diplomatic appointments. Items 17 through 21 were first and second votes on new legislation or reforms to existing laws, including the final vote on the Criminal Penal Code (COPP). ¶3. (C) AN Deputy Pastora Medina, from the opposition Popular Humanist Front (FPH),told POLOFF August 20 that AN President Cilia Flores had called for the extraordinary session but had not given the deputies an agenda. Medina complained that "we have no idea what is going to be discussed, so I have to ask why are we convoking a session if nobody knows what we are going to discuss until we show up." She acknowledged Chavez's call to replace all legislation that is not "revolutionary" by December 2009, and predicted that in the coming months the AN would wrestle with laws related to work, community councils, "communes," police, and international cooperation. Medina noted that while some Chavista deputies have privately reacted negatively to certain legislation -- notably the proposed media terrorism bill -- they are cowed by their fear of retaliation. She said that even if a deputy could not be fired, many feared that their family members could lose their jobs in the public sector. Medina complained about the AN's subservience to Chavez, relating that the president of a committee would bring in a draft text (presumably submitted by the President's Office),proclaim that it was definitive, and insist that the deputies vote without being given a chance to read it -- a violation of the constitution. -------------- -------------- NEW LAW PUTS THE SQUEEZE ON METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The "Law of Municipal Regimen at Two Levels of the Metropolitan Area" passed its final vote during the extraordinary session on August 26. The legislation addresses the "two levels" of governance for Caracas -- the metropolitan area and the five municipalities (Sucre, Libertador, El Hatillo, Baruta, and Chacao) that comprise Metropolitan Caracas. (Note: Four of the five municipal mayorships were claimed by the opposition in the November 2008 elections. End Note.) Article 5 of the law lists the specific authorities left to the metropolitan area: urban organization; environmental protection; promotion of inter-municipal community agreements; assisting municipal governance; providing technical assistance to the municipalities; helping with the transfer of authorities and services from municipalities to community and neighbor groups; and whatever else the municipalities delegate or transfer to the metropolitan area. ¶5. (C) Metropolitan councilman Freddy Guevara told POLOFF August 26 that the law was part of Chavez's plan to "eliminate" the metropolitan structures and substitute it with a Presidentially-appointed executive. The Capital District Law, which created the Caracas Vice Presidency, was the first step in this process. It granted the Caracas Vice President almost the entire budget of the metropolitan mayor's office. The new Metropolitan Law retains the metropolitan governance structures in name, but leaves them CARACAS 00001188 002.2 OF 002 only "empty authorities" that are vaguely defined. Guevara predicted that the metropolitan mayorship and council would cease to exist after the officials' terms expire in 2012. Metropolitan councilman Edison Ferrer echoed Guevara's sentiments to POLOFF September 2, adding that his council committee was turning to private industry to help support its initiatives because of the decimated budget. Nevertheless, he said that it was more important to show that "we are socially responsible" and making an impact on local residents, rather than politicizing the budget issue. -------------- MAKING ENDS MEET -------------- ¶6. (C) The metropolitan Secretary of Finance, Hector Urgelles Fox, acknowledged to POLOFF September 4 that the budget was not enough even to pay salaries of the some 6,000 metropolitan employees -- who Caracas VP Jaqueline Farias had previously pledged would not lose their jobs. He described a legal scheme, based on legislation passed several years ago regarding government restructuring, to force the "special retirement" of at least a third of the current employees. Urgelles Fox noted that he could not fire employees, who are tenured, but nor could they carry out jobs for which the metropolitan government was no longer responsible. As an example, he said that if the metropolitan traffic police continued to carry out their police functions, which no longer belong to the metropolitan government, they would essentially become a paramilitary force. The new legislation allows the metropolitan authority to ask the central government for budget help only for the remainder of the year, but Urgelles Fox said that passing the request through the AN and the metropolitan council would take at least two months -- during which employees would not receive a paycheck. He added that it was incumbent on the metropolitan government to do its best to financially support its employees, the majority of whom are Chavistas, lest Ledezma's office be blamed. ¶7. (C) Urgelles Fox suggested that although the law is a blow to the metropolitan authority, it could be an opening for Mayor Ledezma. He pointed out that, at least in theory, the metropolitan government continues to have the authority to zone and oversee urban planning. He suggested that Ledezma could bring in technical experts to help create a strategy to deal with Caracas' dense and chaotic layout, "selling hope" to city residents who have low expectations for his office after years of poor administration under the previous two incumbents (who were Chavez cronies). He likened the idea to Chavez's successful marketing of a better future with his promise of "21st century socialism." Urgelles Fox lamented that Ledezma was spending more time politicking than administering his city. He pointed out that with these new laws, the most important elected position in Caracas had become the Mayor of Libertador with Chavista incumbent Jorge Rodriguez, given that the municipality contains 60 percent of Caracas' residents. Ledezma's future role, he suggested, was better that of a "visionary" than an opposition spokesman. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The Metropolitan Law, while not drawing nearly the public controversy as April's Capital District Law, serves to further consolidate Chavez' power in Caracas by weakening the opposition-led metropolitan government and increasing the relative political importance of the densely-populated, poor, and Chavista-led Libertador municipality. End Comment. DUDDY