US embassy cable - 99CARACAS404

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 000404 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  02/05/09 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, VE 
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ TAKES OFFICE, ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS, CONVOKES A 
CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM, AND LAYS OUT HIS AGENDA 
 
CLASSIFIED BY THOMAS A. SHANNON, POLITICAL COUNSELOR.  REASON:  1.5 (D) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (C)  HUGO CHAVEZ WAS SWORN IN AS VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT ON 
FEBRUARY 2, BEGINNING A THREE-DAY SERIES OF EVENTS CELEBRATING THE 
END OF WHAT HE CALLED "AN OLD, CORRUPT ORDER" AND THE START OF 
"VENEZUELA'S RESURRECTION."  TAKING HIS OATH OF OFFICE ON A 
"MORIBUND CONSTITUTION" WHICH HE PROMISED TO REPLACE QUICKLY WITH 
A NEW "MAGNA CARTA," CHAVEZ CALLED ALL VENEZUELANS TO ACCOUNT FOR 
THE COUNTRY'S "MORAL AND ETHICAL CRISIS" WHICH HAD LEFT A CORRUPT, 
BANKRUPT GOVERNMENT AND A DIVIDED, ANTAGONISTIC SOCIETY IN WHICH 
EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION LIVED IN POVERTY.  DECLARING HIS 
OWN CULPABILITY AND ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR THE FAILED 1992 COUP 
ATTEMPT, CHAVEZ SAID VENEZUELANS MUST COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR 
POLITICAL PAST, RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCES WHICH PROVOKED THE FAILED 
COUPS ATTEMPTS, AND WORK TOGETHER TO "DEFUSE OUR SOCIAL TIME BOMB." 
CHALLENGING THE CONGRESS TO "GET TO WORK," CHAVEZ BRUSHED ASIDE 
INSTITUTIONAL BICKERING BY IMMEDIATELY ISSUING A DECREE CONVOKING 
THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM--SETTING THE STAGE FOR A 
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY--AND ASKED THE CONGRESS FOR ENABLING 
LEGISLATION TO ENACT EMERGENCY ECONOMIC MEASURES TO ADDRESS 
VENEZUELA'S FISCAL CRISIS.  HE UNDERSCORED HIS COMMITMENT TO 
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS, INSISTING THAT HE WAS THE 
"PEACEFUL, DEMOCRATIC CHANNEL" THROUGH WHICH VENEZUELA WOULD 
ADDRESS ITS "SOCIAL EMERGENCY."  DECLARING, "WE HAVE NOTHING TO 
FEAR FROM THE PEOPLE," HE SAID HIS PLAN FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL 
ASSEMBLY WAS TO "RE-LEGITIMIZE THE STATE" AND MAKE GOVERNMENT MORE 
REPRESENTATIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE.  ASSERTING, "I AM THE 
CONSEQUENCE, NOT THE CAUSE" OF VENEZUELANS' DEEP YEARNING FOR 
POLITICAL CHANGE, CHAVEZ SAID HIS PROJECT IS A "PROJECT OF ALL 
VENEZUELANS" AND THAT THE SUCCESS OF HIS GOVERNMENT WAS NECESSARY 
FOR THE SURVIVAL OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA. 
ALTERNATELY DRAMATIC AND BOMBASTIC, WITH FLASHES OF POPULISM AND 
AUTHORITARIANISM, CHAVEZ EMERGED FROM THIS THREE-DAY INAUGURAL 
CELEBRATION WITH AN ELECTRIFIED POPULATION, AN ARTICULATED AND 
ENVIGORATED AGENDA OF GOVERNMENT, AND HIS POLITICAL ADVERSARIES 
REELING.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------- 
VENEZUELA'S NEW PRESIDENT 
------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) HUGO CHAVEZ WAS SWORN-IN AS VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT ON 
FEBRUARY 2, NEARLY SEVEN YEARS TO THE DAY AFTER HE HAD TRIED AND 
FAILED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT OF THEN-PRESIDENT CARLOS ANDRES 
PEREZ IN 1992. 
 
3.  (U) THE SWEARING IN CEREMONY--WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE SENATE 
CHAMBER OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS, BUT WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON 
NATIONAL TELEVISION AND CARRIED BY LOUDSPEAKER TO THOUSANDS OF RED- 
BERETED SUPPORTERS RINGING THE CONGRESS--WAS THE BEGINNING OF A 
THREE-DAY SERIES OF EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS.  THESE INCLUDED THE 
SWEARING IN OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT AT MIRAFLORES  (THE PRESIDENTIAL 
PALACE), A WREATH-LAYING AT THE TOMB OF SIMON BOLIVAR, THE MILITARY 
CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY, A PUBLIC SPEECH BEFORE SEVERAL HUNDRED 
THOUSAND SUPPORTERS AT THE CARACAS EQUIVALENT OF THE MALL (LOS 
PROCERES), A STATE DINNER, AND A MILITARY PARADE. 
 
4. (U) OVER SIXTY COUNTRIES SENT DELEGATIONS TO THE INAUGURATION, 
INCLUDING SIXTEEN HEADS OF STATES.  THE U.S. DELEGATION CONSISTED 
OF: 
 
--  SECRETARY OF ENERGY BILL RICHARDSON 
--  AMBASSADOR JOHN MAISTO 
 
--  AMBASSADOR PETER ROMERO, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WESTERN 
HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS 
 
--  AMBASSADOR GABRIEL GUERRA MONDRAGON 
 
--  MARTIN CHAVEZ, FORMER MAYOR OF ALBERQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 
 
5.  (U) SEPTELS REPORT MEETINGS U.S. DELEGATION HAD WITH PRESIDENT 
PASTRANA OF COLOMBIA, MINISTER OF MINES AND ENERGY ALI RODRIGUEZ, 
AND A LUNCH WITH CEOS OF VENEZUELA. 
 
-------------------------- 
THEMES OF CHAVEZ' SPEECHES 
-------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) CHAVEZ SET THE TONE FOR THE INAUGURATION AND HIS GOVERNMENT 
SHORTLY AFTER HE ENTERED THE SENATE CHAMBER.  ON HIS WAY TO THE 
DAIS, HE MARCHED PAST CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ AND THE DEMOCRATIC ACTION 
PARTY'S (AD) LEGISLATIVE LEADERS WITHOUT ANY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.  HIS 
GREETING OF PRESIDENT CALDERA WAS POLITE BUT PERFUNCTORY.  THE 
TIGHT, ALMOST PAINFULLY ATTENTIVE DECORUM OF THE SENATE WAS 
IRRETRIEVABLY RUPTURED, HOWEVER, WHEN CHAVEZ TOOK HIS OATH OF 
OFFICE.  AFTER BEING ASKED BY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE LUIS DAVILA 
IF HE PROMISED TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE LAND, 
CHAVEZ RESPONDED, "I SWEAR ON THIS MORIBUND CONSTITUTION," AND THEN 
ANNOUNCED, HIS RIGHT HAND STILL HELD HIGH, THAT HE WOULD DO ALL IN 
HIS POWER TO WRITE A NEW CONSTITUTION AND RETURN DEMOCRATIC 
GOVERNMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA.  AN AUDIBLE GASP RIPPLED 
THROUGH THE SENATE AT CHAVEZ' DEPARTURE FROM PROTOCOL.  OUTSIDE THE 
CONGRESS, THOUSANDS OF RED-BERETED CHAVEZ SUPPORTERS CHEERED. 
 
7.  (U) IN THE SPEECH CHAVEZ GAVE IN THE SENATE FOLLOWING HIS 
SWEARING IN, AND IN FOLLOW-ON SPEECHES HE GAVE AT THE SWEARING IN 
OF HIS MINISTERS, THE PUBLIC SPEECH AT LOS PROCERES, AND IN REMARKS 
AT THE STATE DINNER AND THE MILITARY PARADE, SEVERAL THEMES WERE 
DOMINANT: 
 
--  ETHICAL AND MORAL CRISIS.  CHAVEZ BEGAN HIS SPEECH IN THE 
SENATE WITH A HARSH CONDEMNATION OF VENEZUELAN POLITICAL SOCIETY 
AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE VENEZUELAN STATE.  POINTING TO VENEZUELA'S 
BOUNTIFUL NATURAL RESOURCES, ITS RELATIVELY SMALL AND YOUNG 
POPULATION, AND ITS ENORMOUS OIL WEALTH, HE WONDERED ALOUD HOW SUCH 
A COUNTRY COULD BE FACING A FISCAL CRISIS, HOW SUCH A COUNTRY COULD 
FIND EIGHTY PERCENT OF ITS POPULATION IN POVERTY, AND HOW SUCH A 
COUNTRY COULD HAVE STREET CHILDREN, ILLITERACY, AND A COLLAPSING 
PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.  HE THEN FIXED BLAME FOR THIS SITUATION 
ON PUBLIC CORRUPTION AND THE NARROW CLIENTELISM OF TRADITIONAL 
POLITICAL PARTIES.  HE ACCUSED VENEZUELAN ELITES OF DEBASING PUBLIC 
LIFE, CREATING CORROSIVE CYNICISM, AND ESTRANGING CITIZENS FROM 
THEIR STATE.  THE RESULT, HE DECLARED, WAS AN AMORAL INDIVIDUALISM 
WHICH HAD CREATED A PROFOUND ETHICAL AND MORAL CRISIS.  ONLY BY 
RECOGNIZING THIS CRISIS, AND ADDRESSING IT THROUGH CREATION OF A 
REPRESENTATIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE STATE AND GOVERNMENT WHICH SERVED 
THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE, COULD VENEZUELA HOPE TO REBUILD 
ITSELF. 
 
--  FORGIVENESS.  WHILE POINTING AN ACCUSATORY FINGER AT 
VENEZUELA'S TRADITIONAL POWER STRUCTURE, CHAVEZ REMINDED ALL 
VENEZUELANS THAT THEY WERE SILENT ACCOMPLICES IN THE DEBASEMENT OF 
THEIR DEMOCRACY.  HE INSISTED THAT NO ONE WAS FREE OF CULPABILITY. 
TO UNDERSCORE THIS POINT, HE SAID THAT HE HIMSELF BORE BLAME FOR 
VENEZUELA'S DIFFICULTIES.  HE THEN STRUCK HIS BREAST THREE TIMES 
AND SAID, "MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA."  HE CALLED ON ALL 
VENEZUELANS TO FORGIVE EACH OTHER.  BUILDING ON THIS THEME DURING 
HIS FEBRUARY 4 SPEECH AT THE MILITARY PARADE, CHAVEZ ASKED PARDON 
FOR HIS ROLE IN THE 1992 COUP.  IN HIS SENATE SPEECH, HE DESCRIBED 
THE 1992 COUP ATTEMPT AS AN "INEVITABLE" RESULT OF THE 1989 SOCIAL 
UPRISING IN WHICH THE MILITARY HAD TO RESTORE ORDER AT THE COST OF 
HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF LIVES.  NEITHER JUSTIFYING NOR 
GLORIFYING WHAT HAPPENED IN 1992, HE LINKED THE COUP TO A POLITICAL 
ORDER WHICH HAD SET VENEZUELAN AGAINST VENEZUELAN.  THE COUP, HE 
SAID, WAS EMBLEMATIC OF THE CRISIS OF THE STATE.  ONLY BY ACCEPTING 
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTIONS TAKEN, AND BY SEEKING FORGIVENESS, COULD 
VENEZUELA OVERCOME ITS CURRENT CRISIS.  HE REMINDED HIS LISTENERS 
THAT ON FEBRUARY 4, 1992, WHEN HIS COUP ATTEMPT HAD FAILED, HE 
SURRENDERED, ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HE HAD DONE, AND 
SERVED TWO YEARS IN PRISON AS PUNISHMENT.  HE SAID HIS OWN 
WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS SHOULD SERVE 
AS AN EXAMPLE TO FUGITIVE BANKERS AND OTHERS ACCUSED OF CRIMES. 
 
--  RECONCILIATION.  CHAVEZ SAID FORGIVENESS MUST LEAD TO 
RECONCILIATION IF VENEZUELANS WERE TO WORK TOGETHER TO RECREATE 
THEIR COUNTRY.  HE SAID HIS DECISION TO HOLD THE MILITARY PARADE ON 
FEBRUARY 4, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUP ATTEMPT, WAS NOT AN EFFORT 
TO GLORIFY THE EVENTS OF SEVEN YEARS AGO.  ON THE CONTRARY, HE SAID 
IT WAS AN EFFORT TO RECONCILE AN INSTITUTION AND A COUNTRY WHICH 
HAD BEEN RENT BY THE EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 4.  DURING THE WREATH 
LAYING CEREMONY AT BOLIVAR'S TOMB, HE LAID ONE WREATH FOR "ALL THE 
SOLDIERS WHO DIED ON FEBRUARY 4."  HE ANNOUNCED IN THE SENATE, AS 
EVIDENCE OF RECONCILIATION, HIS INTENTION TO REACTIVATE THE 
PARATROOPER BATTALIONS THAT HAD PARTICIPATED IN THE COUP ATTEMPT. 
HE DID SO AT THE MILITARY PARADE, AND ALSO OFFERED TO REINSTATE IN 
THE ARMED FORCES THOSE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS WHO HAD BEEN COURT 
MARTIALED FOLLOWING THE COUP. 
 
--  RESURRECTION.  CHAVEZ PREDICTED THAT VENEZUELA AND ITS PEOPLE 
WOULD BE "RESURRECTED" THROUGH FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION. 
THIS RESURRECTION WOULD BE MANIFESTED THROUGH THE COMMON EFFORT OF 
VENEZUELANS TO FACE THEIR COUNTRY'S DESPERATE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC 
CONDITION.  HE CRITICIZED THOSE WHO CALLED FOR HIM TO CREATE 
CONSENSUS AROUND HIS POLITICAL AGENDA, ACCUSING THEM OF USING 
"CONSENSUS" TO SOW DIVISION.  HE ANNOUNCED, "I AM NOT SEEKING 
CONSENSUS, I AM SEEKING UNITY."   HE INSISTED THAT THE VENEZUELAN 
PEOPLE HAD SPOKEN LOUDLY AND CLEARLY IN THE DECEMBER ELECTIONS. 
THEY WANTED DRAMATIC, SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL CHANGE, AND THEY WOULD 
HOLD THEIR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR IMPLEMENTING OR NOT IMPLEMENTING 
CHANGE.   IN THIS REGARD, RESURRECTION WAS LIKE THE REAWAKENING OF 
A GIANT--THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE--WHICH WOULD TOLERATE NO APPEAL TO 
"LEGALISM" OR "COMMON POLITICAL PRACTICE" TO DELAY NECESSARY 
REFORM. 
 
--  DEMOCRACY.  CHAVEZ ANNOUNCED IN THE SENATE, "I AM THE 
CONSEQUENCE, NOT THE CAUSE" OF THE PEOPLE'S YEARNING FOR CHANGE. HE 
DECLARED HIMSELF THE VICTIM OF A DARK AND UGLY CAMPAIGN TO PAINT 
HIM AS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.  HE SAID THE REAL ENEMIES WERE HIS 
ACCUSERS, WHOSE CYNICISM AND CORRUPTION HAD BLINDED THEM TO THE 
SUFFERING OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF VENEZUELANS.  HE ASSERTED THAT 
HIS "POLITICAL PROJECT" WAS TO "RELEGITIMIZE THE STATE" AND TO "RE- 
FOUND" DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS SO THAT THEY HAD THE CONFIDENCE OF 
THE PEOPLE.  HE ARGUED THAT HIS PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY 
WOULD BE THE CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE RE- 
INSERTED THEMSELVES INTO POLITICAL DEBATE.  ATTACKING THOSE WHO 
OPPOSED THE PROPOSAL OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY, HE SAID, 
"WHAT DO WE HAVE TO FEAR FROM THE PEOPLE?"  HE POINTED TO THE 
DECEMBER 6 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AS EVIDENCE OF THE POPULAR DEMAND 
FOR CHANGE, AND NOTED, "WE CANNOT FAIL THE PEOPLE." HE ASSERTED 
THAT HE HAD OPENED A "PEACEFUL, DEMOCRATIC CHANNEL" FOR CHANGE, AND 
THAT ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN THE WELL-BEING OF DEMOCRACY SHOULD 
WORK TO KEEP THAT CHANNEL OPEN.  IF WE FAIL, CHAVEZ SAID, "THEN 
DEMOCRACY WILL FAIL."  CHAVEZ SAID THAT HE HAD TAKEN OFFICE TO MAKE 
SURE THAT THE EVENTS OF 1989 AND 1992 NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN.  CHAVEZ 
REMINDED HIS LISTENERS THAT, DURING THE CALDERA GOVERNMENT, 
CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES HAD BEEN SUSPENDED TEMPORARILY DURING THE 
FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1993, AND HAD REMAINED SUSPENDED IN THE 
MILITARY THEATERS OF OPERATION ALONG THE COLOMBIAN FRONTIER.  HE 
SAID, "I HAVE NOT TAKEN OFFICE TO SUSPEND GUARANTEES, BUT TO GIVE 
THESE GUARANTEES NEW LIFE AND TO EXTEND THEM TO ALL THE PEOPLE." 
 
------------ 
WORK AGENDA 
------------ 
 
8.  (U)  CHAVEZ USED THE THEMATIC ASPECTS OF HIS SPEECHES TO BUILD 
A BASE FOR HIS WORK AGENDA, WHICH WE LAID OUT CLEARLY: 
 
--   CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY.  CHAVEZ SAID THE PRIMARY POLITICAL 
PROJECT OF HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD BE THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY.  HE 
NOTED THAT OUTRIGHT OPPOSITION TO THE ASSEMBLY HAD NEARLY 
DISAPPEARED SINCE HIS ELECTION, AN IMPLICIT RECOGNITION THAT THE 
DECEMBER 6 VOTE WAS ALSO A VOTE IN FAVOR OF CHAVEZ' PROPOSED 
"CONSTITUYENTE."  CHAVEZ NOTED THAT CONGRESS, THROUGH THE SUPREME 
COURT DECISION WHICH HAD OPENED THE WAY FOR THE REFERENDUM ON THE 
ASSEMBLY, HAD PROPOSED TO CONVOKE THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF.  CHAVEZ 
WELCOMED CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE ASSEMBLY, BUT SAID THE 
CONGRESS WAS WASTING ITS TIME AND ENERGY ON A POLITICAL ISSUE WHICH 
THE DECEMBER ELECTIONS HAD DECIDED.  HE ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD 
ISSUE A DECREE FEBRUARY 2 CONVOKING THE REFERENDUM, WHICH HE DID 
DURING HIS FIRST CABINET MEETING IMMEDIATELY AFTER  HIS 
INAUGURATION.  CHAVEZ INSISTED THIS SURPRISE MOVE, WHICH LEFT MANY 
IN THE SENATE CHAMBER STUNNED, WAS NECESSARY TO GET THE CONGRESS TO 
FOCUS ON ITS REAL WORK--THE SECOND PART OF CHAVEZ'S AGENDA--PASSING 
AN ENABLING LAW WHICH WOULD PERMIT CHAVEZ TO TAKE EMERGENCY 
ECONOMIC MEASURES. 
 
--  ECONOMIC REFORM.  CHAVEZ TOLD THE CONGRESS TO "GET TO WORK" AND 
PASS AN ENABLING LAW WHICH WOULD ALLOW HIM TO ENACT A VARIETY OF 
ECONOMIC MEASURES TO ADDRESS VENEZUELA'S FISCAL CRISIS.  HE SAID 
THIS CRISIS REQUIRED IMMEDIATE ACTION, AND COULD NOT WAIT FOR THE 
POLITICAL DEBATE AROUND THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY TO RUN ITS 
COURSE.  CHAVEZ SAID THAT HE WANTED SPECIAL POWERS TO DECREE A 
VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)--TO REPLACE THE CURRENT SALES TAX--AND A 
FINANCIAL SERVICES TAX, AND TO INSTITUTE CUSTOMS AND TARIFF REFORM. 
THESE MEASURES, ALONG WITH OTHERS, WOULD PERMIT THE GOV TO INCREASE 
ITS REVENUES AND BEGIN TO CLOSE A LARGE AND HAUNTING FISCAL GAP. 
CHAVEZ SAID EVEN WITH ENHANCED REVENUES VENEZUELA WOULD NOT BE ABLE 
TO PAY ITS DEBT, AS CURRENTLY STRUCTURED, WITHOUT GUTTING MUCH 
NEEDED SOCIAL PROGRAMS.  HE SAID THE GOV WOULD NEVER WALK AWAY FROM 
ITS FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS, BUT SAID HE WOULD SEEK RESTRUCTURING OF 
DEBT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  FINALLY, CHAVEZ SAID HE INTENDED TO MAKE 
VENEZUELA INVESTOR FRIENDLY BY MAINTAINING POLICY CONTINUITY, AND 
BY ENDING CORRUPTION AND JUDICIAL INSECURITY.  CHAVEZ URGED 
VENEZUELAN INVESTORS TO LEAD THE WAY FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS, CALLING 
ON THEM TO BRING BACK TO VENEZUELA THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NOW 
DEPOSITED OFFSHORE. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
9.  (C) CHAVEZ'S THREE-DAY INAUGURAL CELEBRATION WAS DRAMATIC.  HIS 
ENERGY, AND WILLINGNESS TO SPEAK ENDLESSLY (BY THE END OF THE FIRST 
DAY OF THE CELEBRATION--FEBRUARY 2--CHAVEZ HAD SPOKEN PUBLICLY SIX 
TIMES FOR A TOTAL OF MORE THAN EIGHT HOURS), WAS IN MARKED CONTRAST 
TO THE AGED PRESIDENT CALDERA.  NOT SINCE CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ'S 
1989 INAUGURATION HAD VENEZUELANS SEEN A PRESIDENT WITH SUCH A 
COMMANDING PRESENCE.  BUT CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION WAS UNIQUE IN 
SEVERAL WAYS.  FIRST, IT WAS A POPULAR CELEBRATION.  THE CROWDS 
MASSED AROUND THE CONGRESS, AND THE CROWDS WHICH AWAITED CHAVEZ AT 
LOS PROCERES FOR HIS PUBLIC SPEECH, OFFERED LARGE AND VOCIFEROUS 
EVIDENCE THAT CHAVEZ IS A POLITICAL CELEBRITY WHOSE PERSONA AND 
MESSAGE RESONATE DEEPLY AMONG THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE.  SECOND, 
CHAVEZ'S CALL FOR FORGIVENESS AND HIS CHALLENGE TO VENEZUELANS TO 
IMPROVE THEMSELVES AND TO GET TO WORK WAS INNOVATIVE POLITICAL 
RHETORIC TO WHICH ALL VENEZUELANS RESPONDED.   IT MARKED CHAVEZ AS 
DIFFERENT.  AS ONE SPECTATOR AT THE SENATE SPEECH TOLD US, "I CAN 
NEVER REMEMBER A VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR 
ANYTHING.  IN A SINGLE SPEECH CHAVEZ HAS SET HIMSELF APART FROM 
EVERY PRESIDENT WHO CAME BEFORE HIM."  FINALLY, THERE WAS 
SUBSTANCE.  CHAVEZ LEFT NO DOUBT ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF HIS 
ADMINISTRATION.  HIS TWO-PART AGENDA, AND THE DETERMINATION WITH 
WHICH HE LAID IT OUT, LEFT LITTLE DOUBT THAT ANY ONE WHO OPPOSED 
HIM SHOULD BE READY TO FIGHT. 
 
10.  (C) CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION ALSO RAISED CONCERNS.  THE FLASHES 
OF POPULISM IN HIS SPEECH, HIS MOVEMENT FROM HUMILITY TO PRIDEFUL 
PURPOSE, AND THE AUTHORITARIAN THREAT WHICH LURKED BEHIND HIS TOUGH 
POLICY STATEMENTS WERE CONSIDERED, BY THE TRADITIONAL POLITICIANS, 
TO BE A PORTENT OF VERY TOUGH TIMES AHEAD.  THOSE ACCUSTOMED TO THE 
STYLIZED POLITICAL RHETORIC AND "YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, I'LL SCRATCH 
YOURS" CONDUCT OF PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS WERE UNPREPARED FOR CHAVEZ'S 
FORCEFUL BREAK WITH PAST PRACTICE.  THESE ASPECTS BEAR WATCHING, 
BUT IN THE MEANTIME WE CAN SAY THAT CHAVEZ'S INAUGURATION HAS LEFT 
LITTLE DOUBT ABOUT WHO IS PRESIDENT, ELECTRIFIED VENEZUELANS, AND 
DEALT A BLOW TO THE SOLAR PLEXUS OF HIS ADVERSARIES, LEAVING THEM, 
FOR THE MOMENT, GASPING AND BENT OVER.  MEANWHILE, CHAVEZ, AWARE 
THAT HE MUST CAPITALIZE ON HIS MOMENTUM, IS PUTTING IN EIGHTEEN 
HOUR DAYS WORKING ON CONSTITUTIONAL AND ECONOMIC REFORM AND MOLDING 
HIS GOVERNMENT. 
 
 
MAISTO