POOR TURNOUT FOR VENEZUELAN LABOR DAY MARCHES;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000560

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2029
TAGS: PGOV ELAB PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: POOR TURNOUT FOR VENEZUELAN LABOR DAY MARCHES;
POLICE CRACK DOWN ON OPPOSITION MARCH

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


1. (C) Summary: Government supporters and the opposition
organizers organized competing May 1 Labor Day marches in
Caracas. Both sides attracted only modest turn-outs at the
start of a long weekend when Venezuelans traditionally head
to the beach. Members of the Caracas metropolitan police and
National Guard dispersed the opposition crowd with tear gas
and rubber bullets. President Chavez addressed
pro-government union members near the Miraflores Presidential
Palace later the same day. During his nationally televised
speech, Chavez rebuffed USG criticism that Venezuelan is not
cooperating against terrorism and exhorted the United States
to lift all trade restrictions on Cuba. The relatively poor
showing by both government supporters and the opposition
suggests growing political apathy among Venezuelans. End
Summary.

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Government Breaks Up Opposition March
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2. (SBU) Both opposition and Chavista parties and unions
held marches in Caracas, and to a lesser extent in other
parts of Venezuela, to commemorate the May 1 Labor Day
holiday. Although prominent figures participated in both
marches, neither side succeeded in generating large crowds,
like they did in the run-up to the February 15 referendum on
term limits. Opposition marchers planned to reach the
National Assembly, but before they reached their speakers'
podium positioned in the vicinity, members of the Caracas
metropolitan police and National Guard marched headlong
toward the crowd dispersing it with tear gas and rubber
bullets.


3. (SBU) Opposition leaders insist that they were trying to
reach Carabobo Park, the farthest point reportedly authorized
by the Ministry of the Interior. Pro-government mayor of the
Libertador borough of Caracas Jorge Rodriguez did not grant
the opposition marchers permission to reach the National
Assembly. Police officials blamed several purported students
for initiating the confrontation by allegedly trying to break
through police barricades. After police used tear gas in
Libertador, local residents in area apartment buildings
spontaneously began banging pots and pans from their windows
and balconies to protest the police action against the
demonstrators, a fair number of whom were women and children.


4. (SBU) According to the local pro-opposition press, three
people were arrested on May 1 during the Caracas
demonstrations, one of whom claimed to be a Chavez
sympathizer. Two were charged with disturbing the peace and
the other was arrested for carrying an illegal firearm. As
of May 4, the three had been released from jail. There were
no reported incidents of serious injuries or deaths during
the marches, although some opposition marchers received
treatment for respiratory problems related to the tear gas.


5. (SBU) The National Press Workers' Union (SNTP) on May 3
criticized the Venezuelan government's breaking up of the
opposition march as "a cowardly and wily ambush against
defenseless people" who were not given a means of escape from
the tear gas and rubber bullets. SNTP Secretary General
Gregoria Salazar claimed he could not remember another
incident in recent history of the police acting with "such
savagery" against union marches. The state-owned Bolivarian
News Agency (ABN) reported May 1 that the opposition's march
transpired "without discourse, without leaders, and with
violence."

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Chavez Promotes Socialist Agenda
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6. (SBU) Pro-government union members rallied May 1 at
three separate points in Caracas and marched close to the
Miraflores presidential palace without incident. President
Chavez addressed the modest crowd late in the afternoon. The
GBRV required all television and radio networks to carry his
speech ("en cadena"). Chavez harshly criticized the
opposition marchers, calling them "counterrevolutionaries,"
"squalid ones," and "conspirators." The Venezuelan president
reiterated that effective May 1 Venezuela's minimum wage
would increase by 10 percent and would be increased another
10 percent in September. Inflation, however, is likely to

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exceed 30 percent in 2009. One year earlier, Chavez decreed
a 30 percent jump in the minimum wage.


7. (SBU) Chavez also exhorted the United States to lift
trade restrictions on Cuba, contending that the embargo will
be "a stick by which to measure Obama's willingness to effect
change." He added that "if President Obama does not
dismantle the savage embargo...everything is a lie,
everything would be a great farse." Chavez then welcomed
what he claimed was a delegation of American workers who were
attending the rally, noting that "the Venezuelan people are
brothers to all peoples in the world, including of course the
American people." The Venezuelan president then went on to
criticize the recently released State Department Terrorism
Report as "a new aggression from the North American empire"
for its description of poor Venezuelan border controls.
Chavez said that it was the United States who has engaged in
terrorism over the past century and that "we do not deal in
speeches or in smiles, but in realities. As such, we
categorically reject this disgraceful (attack) by Obama's
government against Venezuela."


8. (SBU) Photos were aired late in the day on May 1
allegedly showing opposition Mayor of Greater Caracas Antonio
Ledezma at the airport on Margarita Island on his way to a
beach vacation. The photos -- only of Ledezma from behind --
were taken by an anonymous observer's cell phone and shown on
the state-owned Venezolana TV (VTV) program "Dando y Dando."
Pro-government Aporrea.org media outlet ridiculed the
opposition for its poor showing at the march and added, "some
web sites expressed concern for Ledezma for apparently
inhaling a bit of tear gas, but these photos reveal that he
is in very good health." Based on what Ledezma was wearing
earlier in the day at the march, the photos are almost
certainly of him.

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COMMENT
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9. (C) May 1 was an important test of the status of the
beleaguered opposition, which in the run-up to the protests
sought to tie their cause to a day when workers' unions
traditionally march. The mass exodus of Venezuelans from
Caracas to the beach, however, indicates that just as during
the Christmas holidays prior to the February 15 referendum on
term limits, there was more general interest in enjoying time
off than making a strong political showing. Although the
opposition missed an opportunity to revive its reputation,
the pro-government march was poorly attended as well. This
is likely to prove a temporary lull in political
confrontations, however, as President Chavez continues to
accelerate and radicalize his Bolivarian revolution.


10. (C) Chavez's criticism of the United States following
the latest annual report published by the State Department
continues his tendency of publicly lashing out against
perceived US criticism, even when the substance of the
criticism is nothing new or out of the ordinary. This may
represent some effort by the Venezuelan President to counter
disapproval among his militant base of supporters regarding
Chavez's photo op and handshake with President Obama at the
Summit of the Americas in April. Chavez's comments could
portend a continuing Venezuelan government effort to paint
the new Obama administration as a continuation of US
"imperialism."

CAULFIELD