US embassy cable - 05CARACAS917

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000917 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT: PRIMERO JUSTICIA: FLEDGLING OPPOSITION 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 1.4 (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  Primero Justicia President Julio Borges and Sec Gen 
Jose Luis Mejias lamented the opposition's inability to offer 
the public an alternative to Venezuelan President Hugo 
Chavez.  Meeting with the Ambassador March 22, they outlined 
the party's political strategy, noting especially its efforts 
to address social issues.  The Ambassador suggested ways the 
Embassy could help show alternatives to GOV social programs. 
Primero Justicia is one of the few Venezuelan political 
parties with vision, but the tiny group, now focusing more on 
organization building, is not prepared to challenge Chavez's 
revolutionary juggernaut.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Primero Justicia (PJ) party president Julio Borges 
and secretary general Jose Luis Mejias paid a courtesy call 
on the Ambassador March 22.  Calling the opposition's 
predicament "the worst of all worlds," Borges and Mejias 
derided President Hugo Chavez's critics for their inability 
to statistically evaluate the administration's performance 
and for their lack of familiarity with GOV social missions. 
According to Borges, the opposition must not victimize 
Chavez; rather, it has to generate expectations and show the 
GOV is unable to meet them.  In addition to being critical, 
he contended, the opposition has to offer an alternative to 
the GOV.  Noting that the opposition let Chavez have a 
monopoly on social-issue discourse, Borges said PJ planned to 
launch a "street justice" program aimed at disseminating the 
party's message to the Venezuelan poor. 
 
3.  (C)  The Ambassador described how the Embassy could use 
its public presence to demonstrate other options to GOV 
social programs.  In response to Borges's suggestion that the 
USG help build political institutions and civil society, the 
Ambassador said the Embassy was considering sponsoring 
English language classes, bringing back the Peace Corps (in 
the event of GOV approval), and establishing libraries, 
especially in poor areas. 
 
4.  (C)  Borges discussed PJ's need to devise a credible 
short-term strategy to offer the public an alternative to 
both the GOV and the traditional opposition.  He described 
three goals the party had for its own development: 
 
--PJ plans to hold a party congress in July to revise its 
ideological platform and public policies. 
 
--PJ hopes to form 14,000 local networks via its "justice 
with the people" grassroots movement by the end of the year. 
 
--The party intends to consolidate its party machinery with 
an eye towards holding internal elections next year. 
 
5.  (C)  Borges and Mejias described a four-hour meeting they 
had with the Minister of Education (Note: whether he was 
referring to Higher Education Minister Samuel Moncada or 
Education and Sports Minister Aristobulo Isturiz_ was 
unclear).  Borges said the Minister's invitation to meet to 
discuss ideas came as a surprise because there has been no 
communication between the ministries and the opposition.  The 
ministers do not even greet opposition deputies in the 
hallways, he said. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C)  Primero Justicia is probably the most pro-active 
opposition party.  First, PJ is perhaps the only opposition 
party that has articulated to us a political strategy and has 
demonstrated an urgency to recreate its public image and 
message.  Second, it is one of the few to build alliances 
with other parties since the collapse of the Coordinadora 
Democratica after the October 2004 regional elections. 
Third, PJ is one of the only parties engaging in long-term 
planning; other PJ contacts told us in mid-2004 that the PJ's 
first priority was to prepare for the national assembly 
elections, currently scheduled for December 2005. 
 
McFarland 
 
 
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      2005CARACA00917 - CONFIDENTIAL