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FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
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INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001062 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2018 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: PRO-CHAVEZ FORCES STILL DIVIDED (NOT JUST THE 
OPPOSITION) 
 
CARACAS 00001062  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ, 
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  President Chavez and his United Socialist 
Party of Venezuela (PSUV) have been publicly feuding with 
small pro-government parties, such as Patria Para Todos (PPT) 
and the Communist Party (PCV), over the selection of 
consensus candidates for the November state and local 
elections.  The PSUV is also confronting party dissidents who 
plan to run as independents in some states.  Trying to ease 
the growing division between the PSUV and its allies, Miranda 
Governor Diosdado Cabello announced late on July 29 that the 
PSUV and smaller pro-government parties have formed a 
technical commission to forge consensus on as many 
gubernatorial and mayoral candidacies as possible.  Divisions 
among pro-government parties are quite similar to ongoing 
problems within the opposition, but are probably less 
damaging.  All the pro-government parties still agree that 
Chavez is their "revolutionary leader," while the opposition 
continues to work through multiple, competing spokespersons. 
End Summary. 
 
 
------------------------ 
Chavez Chides His Allies 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) During President Chavez's July 27 television broadcast 
of "Alo, Presidente," the Venezuelan president lashed out at 
the small pro-government parties, such as Patria Para Todos 
(PPT), the Communist Party (PCV), Lina Ron's Popular Unity of 
Venezuela (UPV) and the People's Electoral Movement (MEP). 
He faulted them for both declining to join his PSUV party in 
2007 and for withholding support from PSUV candidates for 
November's state and local elections.  He ordered PSUV Vice 
President Alberto Muller Rojas to reach consensus with these 
parties the week of July 27 or to break with the "Patriotic 
Alliance."  Chavez also asserted that these "microparties" 
are in danger of disappearing, asserting that they command 
less than one percent of the vote. 
 
----------------- 
PPT and PCV Reply 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (C) PPT and PCV leaders held a joint July 28 press 
conference to defend their parties' respective negotiating 
positions with the PSUV.  PPT leader Jose Albornoz noted that 
his party is supporting PSUV candidates in many races, but so 
far the PSUV is not supporting any PPT candidates.  PPT and 
PCV leaders also noted that PSUV Vice President Muller Rojas 
did not attend coalition planning meetings in recent weeks. 
They said that absent any agreement with the PSUV, they 
intended to press ahead with a combined total of over 250 
candidates.  All of the spokespersons of the small pro-Chavez 
parties have avoided criticizing Chavez directly, instead 
asserting publicly that PSUV party leaders have "misinformed" 
him of their positions. 
 
---------------------- 
Enter Diosdado Cabello 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Miranda Governor Diosdado Cabello, a PSUV leader and 
candidate running for re-election, met with leaders of 
several small pro-government parties for four hours on July 
29 and afterward announced that the PSUV and its allies 
reached agreement on PSUV gubernatorial candidates in nine 
states and the mayoral candidate for Caracas.  The PSUV and 
allied parties also agreed to form a technical commission to 
try to reach agreement on as many more candidates as 
possible.  Interestingly, Cabello and Caracas Mayoral 
candidate Aristobulo Isturiz will represent the PSUV on the 
technical commission, essentially replacing PSUV negotiator 
Muller Rojas, who continued to accuse the small 
pro-government parties of "blackmail" in comments to the 
local press. 
 
¶5. (C) At the same time, the PSUV appears to be preparing to 
nominate only its candidates for the concurrent state 
assembly elections.  Local PSUV organizations (battalions) 
are in the process of nominating 60 percent of the 
candidates.  The PSUV is reportedly going to ask the PSUV's 
national coordination committee and regional committees to 
nominate the remaining 40 percent. 
 
 
CARACAS 00001062  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------- 
Internal Dissidents 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) The PSUV is having particular difficulties in states 
where the party bypassed the incumbent.  For example, 
Carababo Governor Luis Acosta Carlez intends to run as an 
independent, even though the PSUV selected government 
television political talk show host Mario Silva to be the 
party's candidate.  President Chavez declared Guarico 
Governor Eduardo Manuitt "a false revolutionary" and the PSUV 
expelled him in June.  Manuitt rejected what he call the PSUV 
"imposition" of former Information Minister William Lara to 
be the party's gubernatorial candidate and backed his 
daughter's independent candidacy instead. 
 
¶7. (C) The PSUV primary process in some cases exacerbated 
internal differences.  The PSUV ratified victories only of 
PSUV pre-candidates who obtained over 50 percent of the vote 
or who beat their nearest opponent by more than 15 percent. 
In three states in which there was no clear winner according 
to the PSUV rules, President Chavez passed over the biggest 
vote-getter and chose a less popular candidate.  National 
Assembly and unsuccessful PSUV pre-candidate for the 
Maracaibo mayorship Calixto Ortega told us that he believes 
the PSUV primary process yielded hard-line candidates that 
may be less attractive to the broader voting public. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (C) The very public spat between the PSUV and its allied 
parties presents an image of the pro-government parties that 
is very similar to the public image of the fractured 
opposition.  In fact, the opposition has so far agreed on 13 
consensus gubernatorial candidates to date, four more than 
the PSUV and its allies.  Moreover, votes registered with 
small pro-government parties were the difference that carried 
nine pro-government gubernatorial candidates into office in 
¶2005.  Nevertheless, the PSUV enjoys a significant electoral 
advantage in that it has a clear and charismatic leader in 
President Chavez, while the opposition continues to work 
through multiple spokespersons.  In addition, Chavez has many 
more carrots and sticks at his disposal to try to forge 
pro-government unity before November. 
 
DUDDY