CHARGE'S MEETING WITH CARABOBO GOVERNOR SALAS FEO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000730 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2024 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM SNAR PREF VE SUBJECT: CHARGE'S MEETING WITH CARABOBO GOVERNOR SALAS FEO - JUNE 9 REF: CARACAS 724 CARACAS 00000730 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ, REASONS 1.4 (B). ¶1. (C) Summary: Carabobo Governor Henrique Fernando Salas Feo discussed increasing economic problems, his disagreements with other opposition parties, and concerns about the future of elections in a June 9 meeting at his home with the Charge d'Affaires. Governor Salas Feo asserted that President Chavez is losing support as people face rising prices, and believes that there is dissent even within Chavez's own United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Governor Salas Feo believes that Chavez needs an enemy in order to rally his base, and is currently using the opposition channel Globovision to fill that role. While the 49-year-old governor did raise concerns about the future of electoral democracy in Venezuela, he appears to be adopting a less confrontational stance both to survive politically and to protect his much rumored presidential ambitions. End summary. -------------- --- Increasing Prices, Decreasing Support for Chavez -------------- --- ¶2. (C) In a June 9 meeting at the Governor's home in Valencia, Salas Feo said rising prices, shortages, and unemployment are hurting the poor and the middle class, and decreasing support for Chavez. As a former President of the Association of Governors of Venezuela, Salas Feo said that he has good relations with both opposition and pro-government governors, and that all of them see similar discontent in their states. Even the state-subsidized grocery stores ("Mercals") had increased their prices, Salas Feo contended, and people are suffering. "Don't think people aren't angry just because there are few protests," he said. ¶3. (C) Salas Feo believes that even members of Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are unhappy with the situation, and do not agree with the new laws proposed since the February 15 referendum. When challenged as to why PSUV members of the National Assembly members continue to vote for all of Chavez's proposals, all of the time, Salas Feo said that there is a lot of fear. Nevertheless, Salas Feo believes there is active dissent within PSUV, saying that PSUV governors know how to raise their concerns internally. "We all receive the same treatment from the central government," Salas Feo said, noting that budget problems due to central government budget cuts are widespread. -------------- Opposition and Obstacles -------------- ¶4. (C) "I am allergic to the word 'opposition'," Salas Feo said. He thinks Chavez has successfully framed the opposition as obstacles to progress, and that the June 8 press conference announcing the "unity table" (Reftel) was a waste of time. The opposition in Caracas is removed from the needs of regular people, he said; "it's like they are talking to themselves instead of talking to the people." Given that there are no elections this year, Salas Feo thinks that opposition leaders should not be jockeying for power but should be focusing on their governing responsibilities instead. At times, he said, opposition leaders are 'offsides', getting in front of the people who have legitimate complaints instead of staying in the background. "It's much better to let the people raise their issues directly," he added. ¶5. (C) Governor Salas Feo described Globovision as a channel for the elite, and thinks that Chavez is using it as a common enemy to rally his supporters. The Governor linked the attacks on the channel to the change in administration in the United States. "Chavez can't criticize President Obama the way he criticized President Bush, so he needs a new enemy," he said, "and Globovision will work very well." -------------- Constitutional Change, One Law At A Time -------------- ¶6. (C) The Governor is concerned with the flurry of new laws approved and still being considered in the National Assembly. "What was refused in the national referendum in December 2007 is being implemented through laws," he said. He also CARACAS 00000730 002.2 OF 002 thinks that President Chavez will try to change the electoral process dramatically, modeling it on the Cuban system with indirect elections. Salas Feo said that directly elected positions could be eliminated, with the national government appointing more leaders. (Note: This idea is consistent with the central government's recent decision to transfer the budget and responsibilities of Greater Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma to a presidentially appointed administrator. End Note.) -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) As the co-founder (with his father) of the Projeto Venezuela political party, Governor Salas Feo appears to be trying to chart his own course at the expense of unifying with other opposition parties. He appears determined to maintain a low profile; he did not, for instance, inform the press of the meeting with the Charge d'Affaires. Salas Feo also appears to be waiting patiently to see what happens - he is not a forceful voice of the opposition and so stays out of the internal fighting and is less of target for Chavez. His criticism of the effort to have a leading opposition figure may also stem from his much rumored presidential aspirations. He mentioned, for example, that no Venezuelan president has ever been from Caracas or Zulia State. Keeping a low profile may work in his favor for now. However, should President Chavez succeed in dramatically changing the electoral system in Venezuela, as Salas Feo suggests is his intent, then even less confrontational opposition leaders may find that their political futures are limited. CAULFIELD