US embassy cable - 05CARACAS2381

UNCLAS  CARACAS 002381 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, VE 
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN YOUTH FESTIVAL: IT'S NO WOODSTOCK 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.     (U) Over 20,000 international delegates from more than 
130 countries are expected to attend the 16th World Youth and 
Students Festival in Caracas from August 7 to 15. Organized 
by the World Federation of Democratic Youth, the theme is 
"For Peace and Solidarity We Fight against Imperialism and 
War."  With robust GOV financial and logistical support and a 
militant focus, the festival aims to spread Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez's Bolivarian revolution around the 
world.  Events will include an anti-imperialist tribunal 
judging "crimes of imperialism," and a demonstration to mark 
the defeat of the recall referendum on August 15, 2004.  Evo 
Morales, El Salvador,s Farabundo Marti National Liberation 
Front (FMLN) leader Schafik Handal, and Nicaragua,s 
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) leader Daniel 
Ortega are slated to attend.  End Summary. 
 
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FIGHT FOR PEACE 
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2.    (U)  Over 20,000 international delegates representing 
more than 130 countries are expected to attend the 16th World 
Youth and Students Festival August 7 to 15, hosted in 
Caracas.  Organized by the World Federation of Democratic 
Youth, an international youth NGO aligned with communist and 
socialist parties, the theme for the 16th World Youth and 
Students Festival is "For Peace and Solidarity We Fight 
against Imperialism and War."  The first festival was held in 
Prague in 1947.  Havana hosted in 1997.  Owing to a free 
concert to promote the festival at a military airfield in 
Caracas, university opposition leaders believe Caracas will 
have a large turnout--no better way to attract Venezuelan 
youth than to throw a good party. 
 
3.    (U)  Events will take place in Caracas and surrounding 
states, including Miranda, Vargas, Aragua, Cojedes, Carabobo, 
and Guarico.  Delegates will visit indigenous groups and 
Chavez's social Missions programs in various locations.  The 
festival will include debates on peace, war, and imperialism; 
sovereignty and globalization.  The festival will culminate 
with a two-day anti-imperialist tribunal that will judge 
"crimes of imperialism" such as the case of the so-called 
Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.  The festival was 
planned to coincide with the anniversary of the recall 
referendum on August 15, 2004.  As a finale to the festival, 
a national celebration is planned to mark the "triumph of the 
people" over the referendum. 
 
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LOGISTICS FOR THE TROOPS 
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4.    (U)  GOV officials such as Minister of Interior and 
Justice, Jesse Chacon, and Army General Raul Baduel sit on 
the planning committee for the festival to organize housing, 
transportation, and conference facilities to accommodate as 
many as 20,000 delegates.  The National Assembly approved 
over $8 million to fund the festival.  Venezuela will send a 
delegation of over 2,500 youth representing all 23 Venezuelan 
states and various sectors of the population, from athletes 
and artists to musicians and missionaries.  They intend to 
send a 90-person indigenous delegation and 150 military 
youth. 
 
5.    (U)  The U.S. delegation is reportedly 900-strong. 
Over half of the participants are expected to be from the 
Latin America, including a Cuban delegation of 1,500. 
Venezuelan Conviasa and Cubana Airlines discounted fares for 
participants from Latin America and the Caribbean.  A $200 
participation fee for "Imperialist" countries; $150 for 
Eastern Europe and the Middle East; and $100 for 
"Semicolonial" countries covers housing, food and 
transportation.  In President Chavez,s television show, Alo 
Presidente, Chavez referred to the 20,000 youth as an "army." 
 The campaign to organize volunteers, Battle for Victory, is 
divided into two groups.  One is divided into brigades and 
 
sub-brigades, and the other is the Battalion of 
Reinforcements in case volunteers "desert." 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.    (U)  The festival's anti-imperialist theme is overtly 
anti-U.S and represents another example of Chavez's 
mobilization of state resources to promote his ideological 
agenda.  Like many of Chavez's inflated expectations, the 
festival is unlikely to attract the projected 20,000 youth. 
With opposition youth excluded, the socialists will be 
preaching to the choir during the ensuing one-sided debates. 
With a majority of Latin American participants, Chavez is 
using this as an opportunity to assert regional leadership. 
The militant nature of the festival reflects the belligerent 
rhetoric of Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution as well as the 
militarized nature of his government.  Despite the concert, 
this is not Woodstock. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA02381 - UNCLASSIFIED