CHAVEZ TAKES OFFICE, ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS, CONVOKES A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 000404

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/09
TAGS: PGOV PREL VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ TAKES OFFICE, ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS, CONVOKES A
CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM, AND LAYS OUT HIS AGENDA

CLASSIFIED BY THOMAS A. SHANNON, POLITICAL COUNSELOR. REASON: 1.5 (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) HUGO CHAVEZ WAS SWORN IN AS VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT ON
FEBRUARY 2, BEGINNING A THREE-DAY SERIES OF EVENTS CELEBRATING THE
END OF WHAT HE CALLED "AN OLD, CORRUPT ORDER" AND THE START OF
"VENEZUELA'S RESURRECTION." TAKING HIS OATH OF OFFICE ON A
"MORIBUND CONSTITUTION" WHICH HE PROMISED TO REPLACE QUICKLY WITH
A NEW "MAGNA CARTA," CHAVEZ CALLED ALL VENEZUELANS TO ACCOUNT FOR
THE COUNTRY'S "MORAL AND ETHICAL CRISIS" WHICH HAD LEFT A CORRUPT,
BANKRUPT GOVERNMENT AND A DIVIDED, ANTAGONISTIC SOCIETY IN WHICH
EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION LIVED IN POVERTY. DECLARING HIS
OWN CULPABILITY AND ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR THE FAILED 1992 COUP
ATTEMPT, CHAVEZ SAID VENEZUELANS MUST COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR
POLITICAL PAST, RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCES WHICH PROVOKED THE FAILED
COUPS ATTEMPTS, AND WORK TOGETHER TO "DEFUSE OUR SOCIAL TIME BOMB."
CHALLENGING THE CONGRESS TO "GET TO WORK," CHAVEZ BRUSHED ASIDE
INSTITUTIONAL BICKERING BY IMMEDIATELY ISSUING A DECREE CONVOKING
THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM--SETTING THE STAGE FOR A
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY--AND ASKED THE CONGRESS FOR ENABLING
LEGISLATION TO ENACT EMERGENCY ECONOMIC MEASURES TO ADDRESS
VENEZUELA'S FISCAL CRISIS. HE UNDERSCORED HIS COMMITMENT TO
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS, INSISTING THAT HE WAS THE
"PEACEFUL, DEMOCRATIC CHANNEL" THROUGH WHICH VENEZUELA WOULD
ADDRESS ITS "SOCIAL EMERGENCY." DECLARING, "WE HAVE NOTHING TO
FEAR FROM THE PEOPLE," HE SAID HIS PLAN FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL
ASSEMBLY WAS TO "RE-LEGITIMIZE THE STATE" AND MAKE GOVERNMENT MORE
REPRESENTATIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE. ASSERTING, "I AM THE
CONSEQUENCE, NOT THE CAUSE" OF VENEZUELANS' DEEP YEARNING FOR
POLITICAL CHANGE, CHAVEZ SAID HIS PROJECT IS A "PROJECT OF ALL
VENEZUELANS" AND THAT THE SUCCESS OF HIS GOVERNMENT WAS NECESSARY
FOR THE SURVIVAL OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA.
ALTERNATELY DRAMATIC AND BOMBASTIC, WITH FLASHES OF POPULISM AND
AUTHORITARIANISM, CHAVEZ EMERGED FROM THIS THREE-DAY INAUGURAL
CELEBRATION WITH AN ELECTRIFIED POPULATION, AN ARTICULATED AND
ENVIGORATED AGENDA OF GOVERNMENT, AND HIS POLITICAL ADVERSARIES
REELING. END SUMMARY.

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VENEZUELA'S NEW PRESIDENT
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2. (U) HUGO CHAVEZ WAS SWORN-IN AS VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT ON
FEBRUARY 2, NEARLY SEVEN YEARS TO THE DAY AFTER HE HAD TRIED AND
FAILED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT OF THEN-PRESIDENT CARLOS ANDRES
PEREZ IN 1992.


3. (U) THE SWEARING IN CEREMONY--WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE SENATE
CHAMBER OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS, BUT WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON
NATIONAL TELEVISION AND CARRIED BY LOUDSPEAKER TO THOUSANDS OF RED-
BERETED SUPPORTERS RINGING THE CONGRESS--WAS THE BEGINNING OF A
THREE-DAY SERIES OF EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS. THESE INCLUDED THE
SWEARING IN OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT AT MIRAFLORES (THE PRESIDENTIAL
PALACE),A WREATH-LAYING AT THE TOMB OF SIMON BOLIVAR, THE MILITARY
CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY, A PUBLIC SPEECH BEFORE SEVERAL HUNDRED
THOUSAND SUPPORTERS AT THE CARACAS EQUIVALENT OF THE MALL (LOS
PROCERES),A STATE DINNER, AND A MILITARY PARADE.


4. (U) OVER SIXTY COUNTRIES SENT DELEGATIONS TO THE INAUGURATION,
INCLUDING SIXTEEN HEADS OF STATES. THE U.S. DELEGATION CONSISTED
OF:

-- SECRETARY OF ENERGY BILL RICHARDSON
-- AMBASSADOR JOHN MAISTO

-- AMBASSADOR PETER ROMERO, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WESTERN
HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS

-- AMBASSADOR GABRIEL GUERRA MONDRAGON

-- MARTIN CHAVEZ, FORMER MAYOR OF ALBERQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO


5. (U) SEPTELS REPORT MEETINGS U.S. DELEGATION HAD WITH PRESIDENT
PASTRANA OF COLOMBIA, MINISTER OF MINES AND ENERGY ALI RODRIGUEZ,
AND A LUNCH WITH CEOS OF VENEZUELA.

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THEMES OF CHAVEZ' SPEECHES
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6. (U) CHAVEZ SET THE TONE FOR THE INAUGURATION AND HIS GOVERNMENT
SHORTLY AFTER HE ENTERED THE SENATE CHAMBER. ON HIS WAY TO THE
DAIS, HE MARCHED PAST CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ AND THE DEMOCRATIC ACTION
PARTY'S (AD) LEGISLATIVE LEADERS WITHOUT ANY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. HIS
GREETING OF PRESIDENT CALDERA WAS POLITE BUT PERFUNCTORY. THE
TIGHT, ALMOST PAINFULLY ATTENTIVE DECORUM OF THE SENATE WAS
IRRETRIEVABLY RUPTURED, HOWEVER, WHEN CHAVEZ TOOK HIS OATH OF
OFFICE. AFTER BEING ASKED BY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE LUIS DAVILA
IF HE PROMISED TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE LAND,
CHAVEZ RESPONDED, "I SWEAR ON THIS MORIBUND CONSTITUTION," AND THEN
ANNOUNCED, HIS RIGHT HAND STILL HELD HIGH, THAT HE WOULD DO ALL IN
HIS POWER TO WRITE A NEW CONSTITUTION AND RETURN DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA. AN AUDIBLE GASP RIPPLED
THROUGH THE SENATE AT CHAVEZ' DEPARTURE FROM PROTOCOL. OUTSIDE THE
CONGRESS, THOUSANDS OF RED-BERETED CHAVEZ SUPPORTERS CHEERED.


7. (U) IN THE SPEECH CHAVEZ GAVE IN THE SENATE FOLLOWING HIS
SWEARING IN, AND IN FOLLOW-ON SPEECHES HE GAVE AT THE SWEARING IN
OF HIS MINISTERS, THE PUBLIC SPEECH AT LOS PROCERES, AND IN REMARKS
AT THE STATE DINNER AND THE MILITARY PARADE, SEVERAL THEMES WERE
DOMINANT:

-- ETHICAL AND MORAL CRISIS. CHAVEZ BEGAN HIS SPEECH IN THE
SENATE WITH A HARSH CONDEMNATION OF VENEZUELAN POLITICAL SOCIETY
AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE VENEZUELAN STATE. POINTING TO VENEZUELA'S
BOUNTIFUL NATURAL RESOURCES, ITS RELATIVELY SMALL AND YOUNG
POPULATION, AND ITS ENORMOUS OIL WEALTH, HE WONDERED ALOUD HOW SUCH
A COUNTRY COULD BE FACING A FISCAL CRISIS, HOW SUCH A COUNTRY COULD
FIND EIGHTY PERCENT OF ITS POPULATION IN POVERTY, AND HOW SUCH A
COUNTRY COULD HAVE STREET CHILDREN, ILLITERACY, AND A COLLAPSING
PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. HE THEN FIXED BLAME FOR THIS SITUATION
ON PUBLIC CORRUPTION AND THE NARROW CLIENTELISM OF TRADITIONAL
POLITICAL PARTIES. HE ACCUSED VENEZUELAN ELITES OF DEBASING PUBLIC
LIFE, CREATING CORROSIVE CYNICISM, AND ESTRANGING CITIZENS FROM
THEIR STATE. THE RESULT, HE DECLARED, WAS AN AMORAL INDIVIDUALISM
WHICH HAD CREATED A PROFOUND ETHICAL AND MORAL CRISIS. ONLY BY
RECOGNIZING THIS CRISIS, AND ADDRESSING IT THROUGH CREATION OF A
REPRESENTATIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE STATE AND GOVERNMENT WHICH SERVED
THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE, COULD VENEZUELA HOPE TO REBUILD
ITSELF.

-- FORGIVENESS. WHILE POINTING AN ACCUSATORY FINGER AT
VENEZUELA'S TRADITIONAL POWER STRUCTURE, CHAVEZ REMINDED ALL
VENEZUELANS THAT THEY WERE SILENT ACCOMPLICES IN THE DEBASEMENT OF
THEIR DEMOCRACY. HE INSISTED THAT NO ONE WAS FREE OF CULPABILITY.
TO UNDERSCORE THIS POINT, HE SAID THAT HE HIMSELF BORE BLAME FOR
VENEZUELA'S DIFFICULTIES. HE THEN STRUCK HIS BREAST THREE TIMES
AND SAID, "MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA." HE CALLED ON ALL
VENEZUELANS TO FORGIVE EACH OTHER. BUILDING ON THIS THEME DURING
HIS FEBRUARY 4 SPEECH AT THE MILITARY PARADE, CHAVEZ ASKED PARDON
FOR HIS ROLE IN THE 1992 COUP. IN HIS SENATE SPEECH, HE DESCRIBED
THE 1992 COUP ATTEMPT AS AN "INEVITABLE" RESULT OF THE 1989 SOCIAL
UPRISING IN WHICH THE MILITARY HAD TO RESTORE ORDER AT THE COST OF
HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF LIVES. NEITHER JUSTIFYING NOR
GLORIFYING WHAT HAPPENED IN 1992, HE LINKED THE COUP TO A POLITICAL
ORDER WHICH HAD SET VENEZUELAN AGAINST VENEZUELAN. THE COUP, HE
SAID, WAS EMBLEMATIC OF THE CRISIS OF THE STATE. ONLY BY ACCEPTING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTIONS TAKEN, AND BY SEEKING FORGIVENESS, COULD
VENEZUELA OVERCOME ITS CURRENT CRISIS. HE REMINDED HIS LISTENERS
THAT ON FEBRUARY 4, 1992, WHEN HIS COUP ATTEMPT HAD FAILED, HE
SURRENDERED, ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HE HAD DONE, AND
SERVED TWO YEARS IN PRISON AS PUNISHMENT. HE SAID HIS OWN
WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS SHOULD SERVE
AS AN EXAMPLE TO FUGITIVE BANKERS AND OTHERS ACCUSED OF CRIMES.

-- RECONCILIATION. CHAVEZ SAID FORGIVENESS MUST LEAD TO
RECONCILIATION IF VENEZUELANS WERE TO WORK TOGETHER TO RECREATE
THEIR COUNTRY. HE SAID HIS DECISION TO HOLD THE MILITARY PARADE ON
FEBRUARY 4, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUP ATTEMPT, WAS NOT AN EFFORT
TO GLORIFY THE EVENTS OF SEVEN YEARS AGO. ON THE CONTRARY, HE SAID
IT WAS AN EFFORT TO RECONCILE AN INSTITUTION AND A COUNTRY WHICH
HAD BEEN RENT BY THE EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 4. DURING THE WREATH
LAYING CEREMONY AT BOLIVAR'S TOMB, HE LAID ONE WREATH FOR "ALL THE
SOLDIERS WHO DIED ON FEBRUARY 4." HE ANNOUNCED IN THE SENATE, AS
EVIDENCE OF RECONCILIATION, HIS INTENTION TO REACTIVATE THE
PARATROOPER BATTALIONS THAT HAD PARTICIPATED IN THE COUP ATTEMPT.
HE DID SO AT THE MILITARY PARADE, AND ALSO OFFERED TO REINSTATE IN
THE ARMED FORCES THOSE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS WHO HAD BEEN COURT
MARTIALED FOLLOWING THE COUP.

-- RESURRECTION. CHAVEZ PREDICTED THAT VENEZUELA AND ITS PEOPLE
WOULD BE "RESURRECTED" THROUGH FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION.
THIS RESURRECTION WOULD BE MANIFESTED THROUGH THE COMMON EFFORT OF
VENEZUELANS TO FACE THEIR COUNTRY'S DESPERATE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
CONDITION. HE CRITICIZED THOSE WHO CALLED FOR HIM TO CREATE
CONSENSUS AROUND HIS POLITICAL AGENDA, ACCUSING THEM OF USING
"CONSENSUS" TO SOW DIVISION. HE ANNOUNCED, "I AM NOT SEEKING
CONSENSUS, I AM SEEKING UNITY." HE INSISTED THAT THE VENEZUELAN
PEOPLE HAD SPOKEN LOUDLY AND CLEARLY IN THE DECEMBER ELECTIONS.
THEY WANTED DRAMATIC, SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL CHANGE, AND THEY WOULD
HOLD THEIR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR IMPLEMENTING OR NOT IMPLEMENTING
CHANGE. IN THIS REGARD, RESURRECTION WAS LIKE THE REAWAKENING OF
A GIANT--THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE--WHICH WOULD TOLERATE NO APPEAL TO
"LEGALISM" OR "COMMON POLITICAL PRACTICE" TO DELAY NECESSARY
REFORM.

-- DEMOCRACY. CHAVEZ ANNOUNCED IN THE SENATE, "I AM THE
CONSEQUENCE, NOT THE CAUSE" OF THE PEOPLE'S YEARNING FOR CHANGE. HE
DECLARED HIMSELF THE VICTIM OF A DARK AND UGLY CAMPAIGN TO PAINT
HIM AS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE SAID THE REAL ENEMIES WERE HIS
ACCUSERS, WHOSE CYNICISM AND CORRUPTION HAD BLINDED THEM TO THE
SUFFERING OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF VENEZUELANS. HE ASSERTED THAT
HIS "POLITICAL PROJECT" WAS TO "RELEGITIMIZE THE STATE" AND TO "RE-
FOUND" DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS SO THAT THEY HAD THE CONFIDENCE OF
THE PEOPLE. HE ARGUED THAT HIS PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY
WOULD BE THE CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE RE-
INSERTED THEMSELVES INTO POLITICAL DEBATE. ATTACKING THOSE WHO
OPPOSED THE PROPOSAL OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY, HE SAID,
"WHAT DO WE HAVE TO FEAR FROM THE PEOPLE?" HE POINTED TO THE
DECEMBER 6 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AS EVIDENCE OF THE POPULAR DEMAND
FOR CHANGE, AND NOTED, "WE CANNOT FAIL THE PEOPLE." HE ASSERTED
THAT HE HAD OPENED A "PEACEFUL, DEMOCRATIC CHANNEL" FOR CHANGE, AND
THAT ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN THE WELL-BEING OF DEMOCRACY SHOULD
WORK TO KEEP THAT CHANNEL OPEN. IF WE FAIL, CHAVEZ SAID, "THEN
DEMOCRACY WILL FAIL." CHAVEZ SAID THAT HE HAD TAKEN OFFICE TO MAKE
SURE THAT THE EVENTS OF 1989 AND 1992 NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN. CHAVEZ
REMINDED HIS LISTENERS THAT, DURING THE CALDERA GOVERNMENT,
CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES HAD BEEN SUSPENDED TEMPORARILY DURING THE
FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1993, AND HAD REMAINED SUSPENDED IN THE
MILITARY THEATERS OF OPERATION ALONG THE COLOMBIAN FRONTIER. HE
SAID, "I HAVE NOT TAKEN OFFICE TO SUSPEND GUARANTEES, BUT TO GIVE
THESE GUARANTEES NEW LIFE AND TO EXTEND THEM TO ALL THE PEOPLE."

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WORK AGENDA
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8. (U) CHAVEZ USED THE THEMATIC ASPECTS OF HIS SPEECHES TO BUILD
A BASE FOR HIS WORK AGENDA, WHICH WE LAID OUT CLEARLY:

-- CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY. CHAVEZ SAID THE PRIMARY POLITICAL
PROJECT OF HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD BE THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY. HE
NOTED THAT OUTRIGHT OPPOSITION TO THE ASSEMBLY HAD NEARLY
DISAPPEARED SINCE HIS ELECTION, AN IMPLICIT RECOGNITION THAT THE
DECEMBER 6 VOTE WAS ALSO A VOTE IN FAVOR OF CHAVEZ' PROPOSED
"CONSTITUYENTE." CHAVEZ NOTED THAT CONGRESS, THROUGH THE SUPREME
COURT DECISION WHICH HAD OPENED THE WAY FOR THE REFERENDUM ON THE
ASSEMBLY, HAD PROPOSED TO CONVOKE THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF. CHAVEZ
WELCOMED CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE ASSEMBLY, BUT SAID THE
CONGRESS WAS WASTING ITS TIME AND ENERGY ON A POLITICAL ISSUE WHICH
THE DECEMBER ELECTIONS HAD DECIDED. HE ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD
ISSUE A DECREE FEBRUARY 2 CONVOKING THE REFERENDUM, WHICH HE DID
DURING HIS FIRST CABINET MEETING IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIS
INAUGURATION. CHAVEZ INSISTED THIS SURPRISE MOVE, WHICH LEFT MANY
IN THE SENATE CHAMBER STUNNED, WAS NECESSARY TO GET THE CONGRESS TO
FOCUS ON ITS REAL WORK--THE SECOND PART OF CHAVEZ'S AGENDA--PASSING
AN ENABLING LAW WHICH WOULD PERMIT CHAVEZ TO TAKE EMERGENCY
ECONOMIC MEASURES.

-- ECONOMIC REFORM. CHAVEZ TOLD THE CONGRESS TO "GET TO WORK" AND
PASS AN ENABLING LAW WHICH WOULD ALLOW HIM TO ENACT A VARIETY OF
ECONOMIC MEASURES TO ADDRESS VENEZUELA'S FISCAL CRISIS. HE SAID
THIS CRISIS REQUIRED IMMEDIATE ACTION, AND COULD NOT WAIT FOR THE
POLITICAL DEBATE AROUND THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY TO RUN ITS
COURSE. CHAVEZ SAID THAT HE WANTED SPECIAL POWERS TO DECREE A
VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)--TO REPLACE THE CURRENT SALES TAX--AND A
FINANCIAL SERVICES TAX, AND TO INSTITUTE CUSTOMS AND TARIFF REFORM.
THESE MEASURES, ALONG WITH OTHERS, WOULD PERMIT THE GOV TO INCREASE
ITS REVENUES AND BEGIN TO CLOSE A LARGE AND HAUNTING FISCAL GAP.
CHAVEZ SAID EVEN WITH ENHANCED REVENUES VENEZUELA WOULD NOT BE ABLE
TO PAY ITS DEBT, AS CURRENTLY STRUCTURED, WITHOUT GUTTING MUCH
NEEDED SOCIAL PROGRAMS. HE SAID THE GOV WOULD NEVER WALK AWAY FROM
ITS FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS, BUT SAID HE WOULD SEEK RESTRUCTURING OF
DEBT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. FINALLY, CHAVEZ SAID HE INTENDED TO MAKE
VENEZUELA INVESTOR FRIENDLY BY MAINTAINING POLICY CONTINUITY, AND
BY ENDING CORRUPTION AND JUDICIAL INSECURITY. CHAVEZ URGED
VENEZUELAN INVESTORS TO LEAD THE WAY FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS, CALLING
ON THEM TO BRING BACK TO VENEZUELA THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NOW
DEPOSITED OFFSHORE.

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COMMENT
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9. (C) CHAVEZ'S THREE-DAY INAUGURAL CELEBRATION WAS DRAMATIC. HIS
ENERGY, AND WILLINGNESS TO SPEAK ENDLESSLY (BY THE END OF THE FIRST
DAY OF THE CELEBRATION--FEBRUARY 2--CHAVEZ HAD SPOKEN PUBLICLY SIX
TIMES FOR A TOTAL OF MORE THAN EIGHT HOURS),WAS IN MARKED CONTRAST
TO THE AGED PRESIDENT CALDERA. NOT SINCE CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ'S
1989 INAUGURATION HAD VENEZUELANS SEEN A PRESIDENT WITH SUCH A
COMMANDING PRESENCE. BUT CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION WAS UNIQUE IN
SEVERAL WAYS. FIRST, IT WAS A POPULAR CELEBRATION. THE CROWDS
MASSED AROUND THE CONGRESS, AND THE CROWDS WHICH AWAITED CHAVEZ AT
LOS PROCERES FOR HIS PUBLIC SPEECH, OFFERED LARGE AND VOCIFEROUS
EVIDENCE THAT CHAVEZ IS A POLITICAL CELEBRITY WHOSE PERSONA AND
MESSAGE RESONATE DEEPLY AMONG THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE. SECOND,
CHAVEZ'S CALL FOR FORGIVENESS AND HIS CHALLENGE TO VENEZUELANS TO
IMPROVE THEMSELVES AND TO GET TO WORK WAS INNOVATIVE POLITICAL
RHETORIC TO WHICH ALL VENEZUELANS RESPONDED. IT MARKED CHAVEZ AS
DIFFERENT. AS ONE SPECTATOR AT THE SENATE SPEECH TOLD US, "I CAN
NEVER REMEMBER A VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR
ANYTHING. IN A SINGLE SPEECH CHAVEZ HAS SET HIMSELF APART FROM
EVERY PRESIDENT WHO CAME BEFORE HIM." FINALLY, THERE WAS
SUBSTANCE. CHAVEZ LEFT NO DOUBT ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF HIS
ADMINISTRATION. HIS TWO-PART AGENDA, AND THE DETERMINATION WITH
WHICH HE LAID IT OUT, LEFT LITTLE DOUBT THAT ANY ONE WHO OPPOSED
HIM SHOULD BE READY TO FIGHT.


10. (C) CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION ALSO RAISED CONCERNS. THE FLASHES
OF POPULISM IN HIS SPEECH, HIS MOVEMENT FROM HUMILITY TO PRIDEFUL
PURPOSE, AND THE AUTHORITARIAN THREAT WHICH LURKED BEHIND HIS TOUGH
POLICY STATEMENTS WERE CONSIDERED, BY THE TRADITIONAL POLITICIANS,
TO BE A PORTENT OF VERY TOUGH TIMES AHEAD. THOSE ACCUSTOMED TO THE
STYLIZED POLITICAL RHETORIC AND "YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, I'LL SCRATCH
YOURS" CONDUCT OF PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS WERE UNPREPARED FOR CHAVEZ'S
FORCEFUL BREAK WITH PAST PRACTICE. THESE ASPECTS BEAR WATCHING,
BUT IN THE MEANTIME WE CAN SAY THAT CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION HAS LEFT
LITTLE DOUBT ABOUT WHO IS PRESIDENT, ELECTRIFIED VENEZUELANS, AND
DEALT A BLOW TO THE SOLAR PLEXUS OF HIS ADVERSARIES, LEAVING THEM,
FOR THE MOMENT, GASPING AND BENT OVER. MEANWHILE, CHAVEZ, AWARE
THAT HE MUST CAPITALIZE ON HIS MOMENTUM, IS PUTTING IN EIGHTEEN
HOUR DAYS WORKING ON CONSTITUTIONAL AND ECONOMIC REFORM AND MOLDING
HIS GOVERNMENT.


MAISTO