US embassy cable - 05CALCUTTA97

UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EPET, VE, IN, Indian Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: INDIAN COMMUNISTS EMBRACE VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT 
 
1.  SUMMARY.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' March 5-6 visit 
to Calcutta provided West Bengal's Communist government an 
opportunity to show the world that the Left is still relevant - 
even if that relevance was expressed mostly through shopworn 
anti-imperialist sloganeering.  Chavez appeared to enjoy the 
attention and the approving audience he found for his 
anti-American jabs.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  West Bengal's ruling party, the Communist Part of 
India-Marxist (CPM), pulled out all the stops to welcome 
"Comrade" Chavez on March 5.  The hammer-and-sickle fluttered on 
both sides of the road as the presidential entourage drove past. 
 Party members assembled at prominent intersections to welcome 
their comrade.  "Up, up socialism, down, down capitalism" was 
the dominant refrain greeting the Venezuelan President as he 
drove past cheering cadres, waving enthusiastically at them. 
Although President Chavez was running behind schedule by more 
than a couple of hours, over 10,000 people waited in a stadium 
where the Government of West Bengal accorded him a civic 
reception.  To his hosts' embarrassment, however, Chavez' speech 
in Spanish was murdered by an interpreter who bungled the 
Bengali translation of such simple - yet crucial - words as 
"imperialism" and "truth."  Finally, with Chavez playing to the 
home crowd by reciting a poem by Nobel laureate Rabindranath 
Tagore in Spanish, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee 
banished the offending interpreter and came out with the 
original Bengali version himself, setting off huge rounds of 
applause.  The visiting President pardoned his comrades for the 
interpreter's gaffes and newspapers the next day splashed 
pictures of the Venezuelan President embracing a beaming Bengal 
CM. 
 
3.  According to press accounts, Chavez played up his 
differences with the United States on several occasions during 
the brief visit.  At the reception, he stated, "I want to 
strengthen Third World unity against the U.S.  This is one of 
the reasons why I have come to India;" and, "The U.S. cannot 
expect to grab and enjoy all the good things in the world. We 
will not let that happen."  He also warned, "There is one person 
who will be responsible if anything happens to me -- U.S. 
President George Bush."  Regarding Venezuela's energy exports he 
stated, "We will provide more oil to countries like India and 
China. We have come forward to help India with oil so that it 
can become a front ranking country in the world."  In wishing 
the Chief Minister a long tenure, he said, "Like the Cuban 
government, the Communists in West Bengal have been fighting the 
U.S.-led imperialism for 27 years." 
 
4.  On March 6 President Chavez spent the day among school 
children and in studying the Panchayat system of rural 
self-governance, an important building block of political power 
for the CPM.  On business matters, West Bengal sought 
Venezuela's cooperation in petrochemical, leather, agriculture 
and marine products processing industries.  The Government of 
West Bengal also requested the Venezuelan President to consider 
opening a consular office in Calcutta.  For all the warm 
rhetoric, however, there was no evidence of any concrete 
outcomes. 
 
5.  COMMENT.  The Calcutta leg of Hugo Chavez's visit was about 
photo opportunities, public relations and ideological bonding 
for the West Bengal government.  The Indian Left remains opposed 
to most U.S. policies even as the majority has reluctantly 
accepted the need for foreign investment, and especially 
American investment, to drive economic growth.  In this context, 
the strong anti-U.S. statements by the Venezuelan President were 
evocative of a simpler time when ideology was unsullied by 
considerations of economic reality.  As a practical matter, with 
Venezuela offering to sell oil and possibly open some of its oil 
blocks to India, the Chavez-CPM camaraderie may also provide a 
future role for the Left in India's energy diplomacy.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
SIBLEY