NATIONAL ASSEMBLY STARTS NEW SESSION, REELECTS MOST OF ITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000013

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/07
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY STARTS NEW SESSION, REELECTS MOST OF ITS
CHAVISTA LEADERSHIP

CLASSIFIED BY: Robin D. Meyer, Political Counselor, DOS, POL; REASON:
1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary: The Chavista-dominated National Assembly (AN)
opened its new session January 5 with the selection of its
three-member executive board and the administrative secretary and
sub-secretary positions. President Cilia Flores and First
Vice-President Jose Albornoz retained their respective positions,
while outspoken PSUV Deputy Dario Vivas replaced Saul Ortega as
second vice-president. Media rumors speculate that Ortega may be
tapped to be Minister of Finance. The reelection of two of the
three members is probably meant to maintain legislative continuity
in the months leading up to the September 2010 AN elections. The
negotiations over AN leadership positions, however, have
highlighted fissures in the alliance between the PSUV and the tiny
pro-Chavez Patria Para Todos (PPT) and Venezuelan Communist Party
(PCV). Ortega publicly suggested that the AN should focus on
passing legislation - including bills related to the Supreme Court
(TSJ) and the controversial Labor Law - in the first trimester of
the year before the flurry of electoral campaigning gets fully
underway. End Summary.



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PSUV GETS WHAT IT WANTS

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2. (SBU) In accordance with the law, the AN opens its new session
each year on January 5 with the selection of its executive board
("junta directiva"),which is comprised of a president, first
vice-president, and second vice-president. Ivan Zerpa and Victor
Clark, who are not legislators, were reconfirmed as secretary and
sub-secretary - administrative positions that are selected at the
same time as the board. The governing United Socialist Party of
Venezuela (PSUV) had nominated Flores, Vivas, and Albornoz to their
positions, while the opposition Podemos party proposed fellow
opposition Deputies Pastora Medina, Pedro Bastidas, and Hermes
Garcia as president, first vice-president, and second
vice-president.




3. (SBU) Cilia Flores announced January 5 that the AN "would
intensify the social lawmaking of the street with communities, with
the goal of approving social norms. We have not forgotten that
obligation, and this year, we will achieve our legislative agenda
of laws proposed by the people's organizations." Flores added that
Chavismo was gearing up for the upcoming legislative elections,
pledging that "we are going to maintain our two-thirds majority of
the AN." Saul Ortega said the same day that the AN has a "package
of laws that have to be defined," and said that they should be
approved in the first trimester of 2010 because of the mounting
pressure of AN elections. He listed the priorities as the reform
of the Organic Labor Law, and bills related to social security,
popular power, and the Supreme Court (TSJ). PSUV Deputy Carlos
Escarra suggested January 6 that Ortega was not re-nominated
because he may be tapped by President Chavez for a Cabinet-level
position. Media rumors the same day speculated that Ortega may be
in line to head the Ministry of Finance.



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WRANGLING WITHIN PSUV ALLIANCE

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4. (C) Albornoz announced in late December 2009 that he would not
run again for the second vice-presidency of the AN, apparently to
express his pro-Chavez Patria Para Todos (PPT) party's frustration

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over the PSUV's unwillingness to incorporate the PPT into its
electoral strategy. As a small party, PPT would be hard-pressed to
retain its five AN seats under the new electoral rules which
greatly disadvantage minority parties unless it made an electoral
pact with the majority PSUV. Albornoz had declined to comment on
specifics of the party negotiations, but noted December 26 that
"the problem of an alliance lies with the PSUV, it is not in the
hands of either the PCV or the PPT. We have always worked for
unity, we have always maintained the scheme of the left, but also
we have said that it is not essential to be in the parliament to do
politics."




5. (C) According to local press, PPT debated for seven hours the
night prior to the January 5 vote over whether Albornoz would run
again for the AN second vice-presidency - reportedly because he
claimed that he wanted to spend more time campaigning for his
reelection to the AN. (Comment: Albornoz is from the PPT
stronghold of sparsely-populated Guarico State, and would
presumably face little viable competition given his high profile as
a member of the 2009 AN executive board. Relative to the United
States, many Venezuelan AN Deputies do not have a tradition of
maintaining close personal contact with their constituents. End
Comment.)




6. (C) Secretary General of the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV)
Oscar Figuera announced January 4 that he supported the continuity
of the 2009 executive board for the new year, as well as the
leadership of the 15 legislative permanent committees.
Nevertheless, he complained that the PCV had not been invited to
PSUV discussions on the AN elections, adding that he made the
public criticism because "there is no space for collective
discussion in politics." On January 6, local press reported that
Figuera had been removed from the head of the AN's Permanent
Committee on Social Affairs and replaced with PSUV Deputy Rafael
Rios, at the direction of Cilia Flores. (Comment: Figuera had
criticized the proposed Labor Law on several occasions, and may
have been seen as an obstacle to the passage of Chavez's vision for
the bill. End Comment.) Figuera announced publicly the same day
that his ouster "could be seen in public opinion, including among
PCV militants, as a political message that [the PCV] has been
excluded from the AN... and from the government alliance."
Nevertheless, he lauded Rios' purported expertise on health and
allowed that the appointment was to place emphasis on legislation
relating to social security and health.



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COMMENT

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7. (C) Flores' reelection to a third term as president suggests
that she remains a trusted ally of Chavez, and will continue to act
as a primary conduit of information between Miraflores and the AN.
Flores is the wife of Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, the Cabinet
member with the longest tenure in his current position. The future
of the tiny PCV and PPT parties, which have five and three seats
respectively in the 167-seat AN, remains uncertain. End Comment.
DUDDY