US embassy cable - 04CARACAS3164

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 003164 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, ELAB, PHUM, VE, KEDEM 
SUBJECT: LABOR STRUGGLES AMID THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, 
for reason 1.4(b). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) The assimilation of organized labor into the 
Bolivarian Revolution continues to elude supporters of 
President Hugo Chavez.  Two rival labor confederations -- the 
anti-Chavez Venezuela Workers Confederation (CTV) and the 
pro-Chavez National Workers Union (UNT) -- plan to hold 
elections in early 2005.  The CTV wants to get fresh 
leadership and dispel the cloud left by current 
president-in-exile Carlos Ortega.  UNT has hobbled along 
since 2003 with 21 national coordinators who have digressed 
into factionalism.  The two electoral processes could shed 
light on which labor camp is strongest in Venezuela, though 
the "revolutionary" Chavistas ru a high risk of revealing 
their lack of support mong the working class.  End summary. 
 
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A Tale of Two Labor Conederations 
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2. (U) After the pro-Chavez Bolivarian Workers Forc (FBT) 
lost the elections for the Venezuelan Worers Confederation 
(CTV) in October 2001, Presidet Hugo Chavez continued to 
battle the CTV and heped create a parallel labor 
confederation.  Dissdent CTV leaders and ndependents 
founded in Apri 2003 the National Workers Union (UNT) with 
the ope of supplanting the CTV as Venezuela's largest rade 
union group.  Since then, the CTV and UNT hve competed for 
union membership along pro-Chave/anti-Chavez lines, and it 
is now unclear how man workers each confederation 
represents.  Both grups face the possibility of elections 
for top pots next year that could help bring the labor 
picture to sharp relief. 
 
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CTV:  Elections A Chance For A New Mandate 
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3. (U) CTV President Carlos Ortega (currently in exile/hiding 
and facing criminal charges related to the national strike) 
and Secretary General Manuel Cova (now the CTV's de facto 
leader) received four-year terms in what was the first direct 
election of confederation leaders in CTV history.  Ortega and 
Cova were backed by a coalition of opposition parties, most 
notably Accion Democratica (AD).  The FBT charged fraud, and 
the GOV did not recognize the current CTV leadership.  At the 
same time, federations and individual unions affiliated with 
CTV were elected to three-year terms, which expire at the end 
of October 2004.  By law, unions have three months to hold 
new elections after the end of the term.  Rather than operate 
one more year with a president-in-exile, some CTV leaders 
(including Cova) are pressing to hold CTV elections at the 
same time as federation and union elections.  Voter turnout 
is also a factor, with workers more likely to vote for local 
union leaders than for national labor leaders. 
 
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UNT:  Plagued By Factionalism 
----------------------------- 
 
4. (C) In the wake of the national strike, dissident CTV 
officials and pro-Chavez labor leaders formed the UNT, naming 
a board of 21 "national coordinators" representing diverse 
groups.  Some national coordinators have ties to pro-Chavez 
political parties Patria Para Todos (PPT), Podemos, and 
Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR).  Others have ideological 
ties, such as to the Socialist League or Trotskyites.  Some 
are "independents" from the Christian Democrats (COPEI), 
though critics refer to them as "opportunists."  National 
Coordinator Orlando Chirino, a Trotskyite former regional CTV 
chief in Carabobo State, told poloff September 8 the concept 
of UNT was to practice "collective leadership" and thereby 
break from traditional Venezuelan union models.  The 
collective arrangement proved inadequate to manage a national 
labor movement, however, said Marcela Maspero, a former CTV 
executive council member from COPEI.  Maspero told poloff the 
full board of coordinators stopped meeting after only a few 
months, dwindling down into factions.  Maspero said the time 
had come for labor central to elect a president, which UNT 
 
 
leaders hope could take in February 2005, if electoral rules 
can be adopted in time. 
 
5. (C) There are two principal factions within UNT.  Maspero 
and Chirino lead one sect that is reported to have close 
contacts with Minister of Labor Maria Cristina Iglesias.  A 
member of the PPT party, Iglesias' support is crucial for 
registering new UNT-affiliated unions, and unions with ties 
to Maspero and Chirino reportedly fare better with Iglesias 
than do other UNT factions.  Maspero demurred when poloff 
asked in the presence of Chirino which of them would be their 
faction's candidate for UNT president.  It will be decided 
later, Maspero responded. 
 
6. (C) The second principal faction is formed by Ramon 
Machuca, leader of the union at the GOV-owned steel plant, 
SIDOR, in Bolivar State.  Machuca was a founder of UNT and 
had hoped to be named its first president; when the 
collective model was adopted, Machuca's interest in UNT 
cooled.  Earlier this year, Machuca lead a successful strike 
at SIDOR.  If the UNT holds elections, Muchaca is likely to 
be a candidate.  He is supported by fellow national 
coordinators Franklin Rondon, who leads the large pro-Chavez 
public worker federation, and Francisco Torrealba, the former 
head of the Caracas Metro union.  Torrealba told poloff 
September 28 his faction has poor relations with the Minister 
of Labor, who clashed publicly with the metro union in 
September over its collective bargaining agreement with the 
GOV.  Both faction agreed that other groups exist within UNT 
that, if motivated by the elections, could field serious 
candidates as well. 
 
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The CNE Wrinkle 
--------------- 
 
7. (C) Venezuelan labor analyst Rolando Diaz told poloff 
September 22 that elections for both confederations will be a 
measure of their respective strengths.  Workers affiliated 
with each central will vote -- confederations draw up their 
own voter rolls -- and thus give an indication of overall 
membership of each.  Another factor in the elections is the 
role of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which was 
empowered by the 1999 Constitution to oversee union internal 
elections.  Both the CTV and UNT oppose this provision, which 
they view as a violation of International Labor Organization 
(ILO) conventions on the freedoms of association and to 
organize.  There are widespread concerns as well that the 
CNE, which routinely cows to GOV interests, will give 
disparate treatment to the CTV, whose 2001 elections the CNE 
has yet to recognize.  Torrealba expressed concern that the 
CNE will be biased in favor of the UNT faction competing 
against his.  He said his faction might seek a Supreme Court 
injunction to void the CNE's authority to intervene in union 
elections.  Diaz was confident that in a fair contest the UNT 
would be shown to have fewer workers than the CTV. 
 
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Comment 
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8. (C) President Hugo Chavez has been unable to capture wide 
support among organized labor and has instead caused its 
fragmentation.  He can only count on nominal support from the 
UNT leaders, who are united more by their disgust for the CTV 
than for their affection for Chavez.  The CTV and UNT 
elections could overlap next year, creating some potential 
pitfalls for Chavez.  A relatively big turnout for CTV over 
UNT would signal low Chavez support in the formal economy 
working class.  Involving the rarely impartial CNE could open 
the institution to further erosion of its credibility, which 
Chavez needs to preserve for next year's legislative 
elections.  Taken in the context of high 
unemployment/underemployment and flagging worker salaries and 
benefits, labor politics will at least present a major 
headache for Chavez in the coming year. 
 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2004CARACA03164 - CONFIDENTIAL