US embassy cable - 05CARACAS93

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000093 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQ USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT: CODEL DODD MEETS WITH SUMATE LEADERS 
 
REF: A. CARACAS 3956 
 
     B. CARACAS 3944 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, 
for Reasons 1.4(b). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Maria Corina Machado and Roberto Abdul, leaders of the 
NGO Sumate, briefed CODEL Dodd on January 10 on future plans 
of the electoral advocacy group.  Machado lamented the 
tightening control President Hugo Chavez now held over 
Venezuela's branches of government, especially the National 
Electoral Council.  She said that despite the setback of 
losing the August 2004 referendum to recall Chavez, Sumate is 
moving forward with training for many of its 40,000 
volunteers.  Sumate leaders said they will continue to seek 
financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy 
and USAID, though they are looking for resources -- and at 
least moral support -- from other governments and foreign 
organizations.  Machado denied that Sumate had aspirations to 
become a political party, still hopeful that opposition 
parties will find a candidate to beat Chavez in the 2006 
elections.  End summary. 
 
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Sumate Briefs Codel 
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2. (C) Maria Corina Machado and Roberto Abdul, leaders of the 
Venezuelan NGO Sumate, met with Senators Christopher Dodd 
(D-CT), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and William Nelson (D-FL) at 
the Ambassador's residence on January 10.  Also present were 
Senate Foreign Relations Staffer Janice O'Connell, Dodd 
Staffer Jonathan Pearl, Nelson Staffer Dan McLaughlin, and 
Chafee Staffer Deborah Brayton.  Machado described Sumate as 
a group of concerned citizens, mostly professionals, who came 
together in 2002 to promote an electoral solution to 
Venezuela's political crisis, namely, the recall referendum 
against President Hugo Chavez.  Without Sumate, Machado 
asserted, the referendum would not have occurred.  Machado 
said political rights in Venezuela are more vulnerable than 
ever now that Chavez has control of all branches of 
government.  The National Electoral Council (CNE) is so 
blatantly politicized, she said, that opposition voters have 
lost faith in Venezuela's electoral system and may opt out of 
future elections.  Machado said the NGO is now advocating 
steps to restore credibility to the CNE, such as auditing the 
voter registry and naming new CNE directors through the 
constitutional method (ref a).  Abdul noted that Sumate also 
plans to widen its watchdog mission to other measures of 
democratic rule such as judicial autonomy or public spending. 
 
3. (C) After the defeat in the referendum, Machado said, 
volunteer participation in Sumate dropped off.  Interest 
later returned, she added, as the dithering of political 
parties have failed to inspire participation in them . 
Noting that Sumate has some 40,000 members nationwide, 
Machado said that in the first half of 2005 they plan to 
provide training on human rights and the Constitution to 
27,000 people.  (Note:  Abdul later told poloff this training 
is a continuation of a project financed by National Endowment 
for Democracy (NED). End note.) 
 
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Financing and Travel 
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4. (C) Asked by Senator Dodd about financing sources, Abdul 
said that 95 percent of Sumate's funding comes from 
Venezuelan individuals and companies.  Machado said donations 
have become scarcer as GOV intimidation tactics against 
contributors have increased.  She alleged, for example, that 
some companies have been raided by the tax service (SENIAT) 
as retribution for supporting Sumate.  On foreign financing, 
Abdul said that Sumate had received $31,000 from NED and an 
additional $53,000 from USAID.  Senator Dodd encouraged 
Sumate to seek international financing from non-U.S. sources 
 
so that Chavez cannot credibly label Sumate as a USG-backed 
organization.  Machado contended that foreign financing for 
NGOs is legal, despite the GOV's contention to the contrary, 
and that Sumate will continue to apply for NED and other 
grants, lest it appear they were conceding the point to the 
GOV. 
 
5. (C) Machado said Sumate representatives are planning 
several trips to seek foreign support as well as to learn 
from other countries that have survived threats to democratic 
rule.  She attributed foreign governments' reluctance to 
provide funding to Sumate to a wrong perception of the 
Venezuelan political conflict or economic interests in the 
country.  Senator Dodd suggested Sumate approach Spain and 
Brazil as a way to reach Europe and Latin America, 
respectively.  When Machado said the Zapatero government's 
warming up to Chavez is complicating contact in Spain, Dodd 
offered to help with his own contacts in the U.S.-Spain 
Council.  Machado said they received an invitation from the 
Canadian foreign ministry to visit Ottawa the last week of 
January.  She noted that the courts investigating the events 
of April 2002 have imposed a restriction on her international 
travel (though the judge allowed her to go to France for 
Christmas vacation).  Machado said she would seek permission 
nonetheless to travel to Canada; if not forthcoming, she 
said, other Sumate representatives would make the trip. 
(Abdul told poloff separately that Sumate representatives are 
also considering visits to Davos for the World Economic Forum 
and the Czech Republic, where former Czech President Vacslav 
Havel has agreed to meet them.) 
 
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What's Next For Sumate? 
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6. (C) Senator Dodd asked whether Sumate had considered 
becoming a political party given its extensive political 
activism and infrastructure.  Machado rejected the idea, 
saying Sumate can best serve as an autonomous voice in civil 
society rather than as a political party.  Machado expressed 
hope that the political parties would regroup and develop a 
viable alternative to Chavez for the December 2006 
presidential elections. 
 
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Comment 
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7. (C) Sumate is the most viable Chavez opponent in 
Venezuela's political landscape.  Its upper-middle class 
leadership is not linked to the previous political regime. 
The organization earned its reputation from its superior 
technical capacity and ability to mobilize people for the 
various signature drives leading to the referendum.  In fact, 
most of its national leadership are engineers by training. 
Sumate's credibility makes it a prime target for the GOV as 
Venezuela enters yet another year of elections.  As Sumate 
seeks to define its post-referendum mission, Machado and 
company are being careful not to spend their political 
capital rashly.  The more Sumate can diversify its 
international support -- both moral and financial -- beyond 
the USG, the more credibility it will have. 
 
7. (U) CODEL Dodd did not have an opportunity to review this 
message. 
 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA00093 - CONFIDENTIAL