Ascension of Agriculture Minister to Qe Presidency Bodes

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000145

SIPDIS
SECSTATE PASS AGRICULTURE ELECTRONICALLY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2025/02/03
TAGS: ECON EAGR VE ETRD PGOV
SUBJECT: Ascension of Agriculture Minister to Qe Presidency Bodes
Ill for Agriculture

CLASSIFIED BY: Randall Hager, Agricultural Attache, USDA, AGR;
REASON: 1.4(B)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On February 2, 2010, Minister of Agriculture and
Lands, Elias Jaua Milano, was sworn in as Vice President of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV),a position he received,
according to President Chavez, due to his loyalty, honesty, and
dedication to the revolution. His selection likely reflects
President Chavez' endorsement of Jaua's application of Marxist
principles and revolutionary fervor to the agriculture sector, and
could suggest Chavez' intention to accelerate socialist economic
reforms not only in agriculture but in other sectors as well. Jaua
will serve concurrently as Minister of Agriculture. END SUMMARY.




2. (C) According to Jaua's remarks after his February 2 swearing
in ceremony, the government must break down the current system of
property ownership and continue to control the means of production
using Marxist doctrine to return wealth to the people from the
"oligarchs who stole it from them." As Minister of Agriculture and
Lands, Jaua had already developed a clear track record in this
direction; he took a leading role in expropriating land from large
farmers and created socialist farming organizations that then
received government loans and other inputs.




3. (C) During Jaua's tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Lands
from 2006 to the present, a post which he will continue to hold,
Venezuela has not been successful in reaching the goal of providing
full food security to its people. Despite significant funding for
agricultural development plans, information from our contacts and
our own observation of farms supposedly renovated by the government
show that very little good has come from these initiatives. While
there may be some isolated successes, by and large production has
fallen due to the GBRV's policies, largely initiated by Jaua and
supported by President Chavez, who has trusted him to further the
revolution. Over the last few years, imports of basic food
products have increased at a high cost to the central budget.




4. (C) COMMENT: Given Jaua's record as Agriculture Minister,
Chavez' selection of Jaua as Vice President may suggest his
intention to continue and even accelerate the march toward greater
government control over strategic sectors of the economy.
DUDDY