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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 000189 
 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/02/12 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: Widespread Support for "Chavismo Lite" in Lara State 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Robin D. Meyer, Political Counselor, DOS, POL; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  On February 3 and 4, Emboffs visited the city of 
Barquisimeto in western Lara State, where "Chavista lite" Governor 
Henri Falcon is widely praised across the political spectrum for 
his administrative efficiency and relatively moderate political 
stance.  Business leaders noted Falcon's business-friendly 
approach, but nevertheless expressed concern about their future and 
openly wondered "how many years we have left."  Falcon's popularity 
has made him a target for criticism and threats by President 
Chavez.  Falcon's aides privately suggested that he was "keeping 
his options open" regarding his party affiliation, but said that he 
was loathe to be seen with Ambassador Duddy or U.S. Embassy 
personnel lest he be ousted from the ruling United Socialist Party 
of Venezuela (PSUV).  The political opposition in Lara appears 
committed to finding unity candidates for the September National 
Assembly (AN) elections, but still has no electoral strategy or 
message.  They admit that many opposition supporters voted for 
Falcon in previous elections.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
Background on Lara State 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Lara State, in northwestern Venezuela, is regarded as 
the artisanal and music capital of the country.  Barquisimeto, with 
a population of about 2 million residents, is the third largest 
city in Venezuela and has become a tourist destination because of 
its nearby mountainsides and many festivals.  The state is 
primarily agricultural, but it is also home to El Rey chocolates, 
the Pomar vineyards, and a number of American companies.  In 
November 2008, then-Mayor of Barquisimeto Henri Falcon won the Lara 
governorship with 73 percent of the vote (versus opposition 
candidate Pedro Pablo Alcantara's 15 percent). 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
FALCON WALKS A FINE LINE 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C)  On February 3, Victor Silva, Falcon's liaison to the 
Miraflores Presidential Palace, told Emboffs that Falcon would have 
liked to have met with Emboffs, but felt constrained by the ongoing 
attacks against him by President Chavez, including Chavez' recent 
threat to take over the state police for not using force to quell 
student protests.  (Note:  Silva had previously told Emboff that 
Falcon would not be able to meet with Ambassador Duddy during his 
planned trip to Barquisimeto for the same reasons.  End Note.) 
When Falcon entered the restaurant where Emboffs were meeting with 
Silva and Carmen Cecilia Arevalo, who works for both Falcon and the 
Barquisimeto mayor's office, Silva warned that Falcon could not be 
seen talking publicly with representatives of "the empire" or "he 
would be expelled from the party the next day."  (Note:  Falcon was 
expelled briefly from the PSUV in 2008 for announcing his 
gubernatorial candidacy without first seeking Chavez's blessing. 
End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶4.  (C)  Silva said that Falcon was "keeping his options open" in 
terms of his political affiliation, but noted that criticism from 
Chavez could affect Falcon's popularity in other parts of the 
country (see septel for report that Falcon is in talks with the 
"Patria para Todos" party).  Silva noted that Falcon's 90 percent 
approval rating,  which has surpassed Chavez' in Lara, represents 
support from both sides of the political spectrum and reflects his 
reputation for being "open."  However, this popularity has created 
 
CARACAS 00000189  002 OF 004 
 
 
enemies within Chavismo, including Minister of Public Works 
Diosdado Cabello and Luis Reyes Reyes, the newly appointed Minister 
of Health, who served as governor in Lara while Falcon was mayor. 
While Falcon has the support of the state's Chavistas, Silva noted 
that they were still Chavistas whose principal loyalty was toward 
Chavez.  Silva repeatedly asserted that he was a "Chavista of the 
heart," but cautiously criticized some of Chavez' actions as 
misguided, ill-advised, or poorly executed, particularly his 
attacks against the United States and his close ties to Cuba. 
Silva viewed Chavez' attacks on the U.S. "empire" as part of a 
strategy to create an external enemy to shore up his domestic 
support.  Both Silva and Arevalo characterized the PSUV Mayor of 
Barquisimeto Amalia Saez as a "radical" at odds with Falcon, 
although they said that she was virtually a political unknown and 
owed her November 2008 election to Falcon's personal endorsement. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
FALCON, THE GOOD ADMINISTRATOR 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C)  Arevalo, who worked with Falcon when he was mayor of 
Barquisimeto (2000-08), said that the 48-year-old Falcon - a lawyer 
and ex-military officer - had earned his reputation as an efficient 
administrator by putting together a team of experienced technocrats 
and encouraging creative solutions to local problems.  She said he 
had worked on a number of beautification projects for the city, 
including creating recreational trails and "green zones," helping 
apartment residents to paint the exterior of high-rise buildings 
that are visible along the major highway entering the city, and 
landscaping the major boulevards that crisscross the city.  Arevalo 
noted that Falcon had worked to attract industries and commercial 
projects; in notable contrast to Caracas, Emboffs saw a number of 
high-end hotels that had been built in the past few years, several 
of them attached to a giant Sambil shopping mall that appeared to 
be thriving.  Nevertheless, Arevalo admitted that crime, 
unemployment, and electricity shortages were critical problems in 
the city.  Electricity rationing had begun in December, with 
planned electricity cuts several hours each day.  Arevalo added 
that Falcon had a difficult budget situation because, as governor, 
he had to rely on funds transferred from the central government, 
whereas the mayoral budget comes from local taxes and makes 
Barquisimeto relatively autonomous. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
OPPOSITION UNITED, BUT TO WHAT END? 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C)  On February 4, Emboffs met with the local branch of the 
opposition unity table ("mesa de unidad"), which included 
representatives from a dozen regional and national opposition 
parties, ranging from the left (MAS, Podemos) to the right (COPEI), 
as well as from civil society and student groups.  The group 
highlighted high crime rates, poor public services, and a lack of 
jobs for the area's large student population as the key problems in 
Lara.  They acknowledged that they faced less "political 
persecution" in Lara than in other states, but characterized Falcon 
as a "soft" Chavista who lacked "independence" and was too 
"submissive" to Chavez.  They nonetheless acknowledged that many in 
the opposition had voted for Falcon. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (C)  The student representatives told Emboffs that Falcon had 
met with student leaders regarding their accusations of police 
 
CARACAS 00000189  003 OF 004 
 
 
brutality during their marches protesting the closure of RCTV - but 
only after Chavez had threatened to intercede in the Lara state 
police for Falcon's failure to quell the protests.  The students 
complained that the PSUV and militant "Bolivarian Circles" had 
infiltrated their protest movement and even entered the homes of 
several marchers and destroyed private property.  In their meeting 
with Falcon, the students said they had asked him to resolve the 
security situation in the state and to compensate people who had 
been hurt or whose property had been destroyed; Falcon had pledged 
to address both issues. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (C)  With regards to the September 26 elections for the 
National Assembly (AN), the "unity table" representatives stressed 
the theme of "balance of power" within the AN.  The unity table was 
still discussing the process of candidate selection and had not yet 
decided whether they would be able to reach consensus on all the 
candidates or would require primaries.  The opposition 
representatives noted that the gerrymandered electoral districts 
would help Chavismo "but not as much as they think it will."  When 
pressed about the opposition's message for the electoral campaign, 
the representatives' response was simply a pledge for "unity." 
They noted that the state had only had Chavista representatives in 
the AN since 2005 and that the PSUV would likely pour a lot of 
money into the state ahead of the elections to ensure continued 
voter support. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
CHURCH PRAISES FALCON'S PROFESSIONALISM 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  (C)  On February 4, Catholic priests who minister to the 
western half of Barquisimeto said that crime was the number one 
problem affecting the city.  Unlike the neighboring state of 
Merida, however, violence was not the result of pro-government 
militant groups, such as the "Tupamaros."  The priests complained 
about the culture of clientelism, which Chavismo encourages.  They 
contended that the social missions barely functioned except when 
they were revitalized in the run-up to elections.  As for Falcon, 
they said that, as mayor, he had worked hard to create an image as 
business-friendly, but had also spent a considerable amount of time 
in the poor barrios.  They lauded his team as "professionals" 
valued for their experience rather than just political loyalty. 
Falcon's effective tenure as mayor had made him popular in the 
neighboring states of Portuguesa and Yaracuy.  The priests were 
dismissive of the local opposition. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------- 
 
BUT BUSINESS IS NOT GOOD 
 
----------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶10.  (C) On February 4, Econoff met with several businesses leaders 
in Lara, including the head of the industrial chamber, the real 
estate chamber, and the local chapter of the Venezuelan-American 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VENAMCHAM).  According to this 
group, Lara is an economic bellwether for the rest of Venezuela 
because of its mix of agriculture and industry.  They agreed that 
Henri Falcon was supportive of industry and business-compared to 
other Chavista politicians-but they were extremely pessimistic 
about Lara's economic future.  "We are talking about how many years 
we have left," said the President of VENAMCHAM in Barquisimeto, 
Jose Vicente Rios (protect). 
 
CARACAS 00000189  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶11.  (C) These representatives from various business sectors 
complained that expropriations and land invasions had reduced 
agricultural output and land value in Lara.  A local farmers' 
market now only sells imported agricultural goods.  Meanwhile, the 
business environment in Barquisimeto's industrial zone has 
deteriorated due to capital flight, which has increased with the 
risk of expropriation.  They repeatedly expressed concern about the 
recent reform to the Law for the Defense of the People's Access to 
Goods and Services (INDEPBAIS), which the GBRV used to expropriate 
the Exito hypermarket chain and close down businesses for allegedly 
raising prices illegally.  (See Caracas 97 for further analysis of 
the Exito expropriation and the INDEPABIS law.)  Noting government 
plans to import thousands of cars from abroad, the owner of several 
car dealerships in Lara said that the government would try to 
expropriate his business to use as a distribution network, similar 
to Exito's expropriation and merger into the government-run 
Corporation of Socialist Markets (COMERSO). 
 
 
 
¶12.  (C) These business leaders said that labor relations in Lara 
were not as contentious as in other states, and that tensions have 
cooled even further as many of the Chavista unions have lost 
credibility with employees after failing to deliver on promises to 
improve working conditions.  As the influence of the Chavista 
unions has declined, they said that business leaders have offered 
to negotiate with the unions and even provide free legal services 
to help them register with the government.  They said that the 
labor difficulties over the past few years have been a sobering 
experience for business owners, and that they have learned to treat 
their workers more humanely. 
 
 
 
-------------- 
 
COMMENT 
 
-------------- 
 
 
 
¶13.  (C)  Across the board, our Lara contacts appeared impressed by 
Falcon's administrative skills and attempts to occupy a less 
polarized middle-ground that leaves space for dialogue and dissent. 
Nevertheless, his future within Chavismo appears uncertain.  While 
regionally he may enjoy higher popularity than Chavez, he does not 
yet have Chavez' national reach and his gubernatorial resources are 
vulnerable to central government interference.  With decisive 
legislative elections looming in September, Chavez is likely to 
have even less tolerance for dissent within his party, suggesting 
that Falcon will have to fall in line with Chavismo or leave the 
PSUV for good. 
DUDDY