[image: Logo Venezuela Analysis] Opposition Has Internal Problems and Fighting, According to U.S Caracas Embassy Cables
Apr 16th 2011, by Tamara Pearson Venezuelanalysis.com [image: Henry Ramos Allup (archive)] Henry Ramos Allup (archive) Mérida, April 15th 2011 (Venezuelanalysis.com) Diplomatic cables written by the U.S embassy in Caracas between 2006 to 2009 and released by Wikileaks, state that the opposition leaders here asked for financing and favours from the U.S government, and reveal some of the oppositions internal problems, struggles over leadership, and lack of vision and strategy. In the cables, published by Spanish daily, El Pais this week, the U.S Caracas embassy analysed what it considered to be serious internal problems in the opposition, causing it to be ineffective and lose support. A 2009 U.S Caracas embassy cable titled Opposition announces newest unity effort<http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Cable/dirigente/AP/informa/intento/retirada/Henry/Ramos/elpepuint/20110413elpepuint_15/Tes>discussed the move by the various opposition parties to form a Unity table. The cable said the move was successful on the one hand because almost all opposition party leaders are involved, but the success was offset... by the absence of many younger generation political figures and that there are internal struggles in the opposition parties between older leaders and the younger generation, many of whom hold office and can claim an electoral base of support. The U.S embassy felt that the opposition, at the time, didnt have the will to sacrifice personal ambition for the sake of unity and that the New Time party (UNT) was suffering from a major schism between its leader, Manuel Rosales, who fled the country to avoid court, and another leader, Leopoldo Lopez. According to the cable, other opposition parties are happy about the UNTs distress because it means they can increase their own stature within the opposition. There are also internal leadership battles in COPEI, and within Democratic Action (AD), party president Victor Bolivar told the embassy he was struggling to convince the partys general secretary, Henry Ramos Allup, that the party needed a "renovation" and the retirement of its older leadership -- which is widely perceived as discredited. AD and Copei were the two parties who shared power for decades until Hugo Chavez won the 1998 presidential elections. Now, the UNT and First Justice (PJ) have become significantly large opposition parties as well. Most opposition parties, alone, rarely manage to get more than 10% of the vote. Meanwhile, the cable says, Governor of Carabobo State Henrique Salas Feo, who is president of the small opposition Proyecto Venezuela party, told [us]... that the unity effort is a waste of time. He said opposition leaders are too busy jockeying to be the next President of Venezuela, rather than focusing on the needs of the people. At the press conference, the U.S embassy felt, The lethargic and at times indifferent attitude of the opposition leaders in attendance (some of whom paid more attention to their Blackberries than to Planas' speech) stands in marked contrast to Chavez's enthusiastic, color-coordinated PSUV rallies. Similarly, another 2009 U.S Caracas embassy cable titled As Chavez expands control, opposition implodes<http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Cable/dirigente/AP/comunica/embajada/EEUU/intencion/dimitir/elpepuint/20110413elpepuint_16/Tes>argued that the opposition party leaders are still a long way from coordinating their messages and actions and that instead, there are even more fractures since the February 15 referendum to eliminate term limits was won by the pro-Chavez forces. According to the U.S embassy, the opposition forces lack strategy, vision, cohesiveness, grassroots strength, or public support to really oppose the acceleration of the presidents...Bolivarian Revolution. The cable says the opposition is in poor shape, and their party structures remain top-heavy and media-focused with little grassroots reach and in one case a Podemos party legislator, Juan Molina, told the embassy that some opposition leaders have negotiated with and sold out to the government. A 2006 Secret US Caracas embassy cable titled Accion Democratica [AD]: A Hopeless Case<http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Cable/embajada/EE/UU/Caracas/desacredita/Henry/Ramos/elpepuint/20110413elpepuint_14/Tes> called Ramos Allup unimaginative, overconfident, and even repellent and described him as a man who rather than seeking unity, insults other party officials. The cable described AD as dictatorial with overly hierarchical decision making and argued that because the party is extremely centralised, alternatives to Ramos Allup end up marginalised, and that the voter base of the party, which consists of people who vote for the party out of tradition is quickly dwindling. Ramos Allups strategy has been to explicitly seek funds and favours from the U.S embassy and the cable notes, with an annoyed tone, the AD partys persistence in this respect, making their requests in English after embassy, according to the cable, tried to change the subject when it first made the request in Spanish. During this meeting with AD, the cable reports, Asked whether they were planning to engage the public on important issues, the officials said they intended to go to the OAS to complain about Chavez' handling of the National Assembly election instead. Finally, the cable expresses concern that strategic thinkers within AD are even rarer. Alfonso Marquina, AD's haughty former parliamentary bloc leader, told [us] in late 2004 the opposition needed to shift its rhetoric away from political issues and address the problems of the majority poor, but his own party has not yet taken his advice. A 2007 U.S Caracas embassy cable, titled, Opposition severely challenged, looking long term<http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Cable/debilitamiento/AD/direccion/Henry/Ramos/elpepuint/20110413elpepuint_17/Tes>made similar observations about the state of AD and the opposition. It summarised, Still stinging from its tenth consecutive electoral defeat since 1998, the opposition is plagued by infighting, the need to rebuild, disillusioned supporters, and an inability to effectively confront President Chavez' plans to push his "socialist" agenda. It argued, at the time of writing, that Rosales, who was then still in Venezuela, was the only national opposition politician capable of uniting and leading broad segments of Venezuelan civil society. It refered to a lack of opposition motivation and cohesion following all the defeats and to many fractures within the opposition parties, including one fraction even vandalising its own partys headquarters, those of First Justice. The cable concluded, Despite almost 10 consecutive years of decreasing political influence, many in the opposition remain unable to sacrifice their personal agendas to confront the larger threat. ------------------------------ *Source URL (retrieved on 16/04/2011 - 7:21pm):* http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6134 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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