US embassy cable - 05PARAMARIBO687

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000687 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, NS, PKAO 
SUBJECT:  TOWARD A MORE OBJECTIVE VIEW OF THE CHAVEZ 
GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: PARAMARIBO 527 
 
1. On the same day that the leading paper carried a front 
page story praising a Cuban-Venezuelan program providing eye 
treatment to impoverished Surinamers, another paper carried 
an article noting that Chavez' traditional supporters are 
beginning to turn against him.  The opinion piece written by 
one Humberto Marquez appeared in the Dagblatt Suriname (DBS) 
the paper with the second largest circulation.  The paper 
carries daily opinion columns from diverse international 
sources. 
 
2. The Marquez article notes that up until last year it was 
the opposition, the industrialists and businessmen who took 
to the streets to protest government actions.  Now, 
traditional supporters of the populist President have 
surprised him by taking to the streets to express their 
dissatisfaction.  It cites as examples demonstrations by 
Indians against a proposed mining project near the Colombian 
border, protests by inhabitants of Maracay over the 
government's failure to respond to recent flooding and 
support for TV journalist whose program was pulled from 
Kanaal 8 after remarks critical of the government. 
 
3. Comment: This is the first article in collective Embassy 
memory to provide detailed factual criticism of the Chavez 
government. The most Venezuela specific information in the 
local press comes in the form of lengthy articles from the 
Venezuelan Ambassador on the merits of the Bolivarian 
Revolution. Many average Surinamers continue to believe that 
the recently signed Petrocaribe agreement will help undo the 
one hundred percent increase in gas prices and the 
government has done little, thus far, to correct this 
misunderstanding of the agreement. Venezuela's image 
suffered a blow (Reftel) after the delegation to a youth 
congress returned home complaining about their 
accommodations and treatment and the overtly political 
nature of the congress. 
 
BARNES 
 
 
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