Eying support, Venezuela's Chavez urges moderation
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made an abrupt
political shift Friday, urging his socialist movement to reach out to
the middle class and small business owners.
Chavez, whose signature red shirts have long been a symbol of his
radicalism, also suggested his allies ought to be more moderate in their
wardrobes.
"Why do we have to go around all the time wearing a red shirt?" Chavez
asked in a telephone call broadcast on state television.
The president, who in the past has scolded some aides for not wearing
the red often associated with leftist movements, chose a yellow shirt
when he addressed supporters at his 57th birthday party Thursday.
Chavez, who is undergoing cancer treatment, appeared to be taking a more
moderate stance to try to expand his support ahead of the presidential
election in late 2012.
He said his party should seek to recapture middle class support. Such
support has waned over the years amid the government's expropriations of
businesses, farmland and residential buildings, as well as expanding
price controls viewed by many as a threat to the economy.
"We can't give away the middle class to the bourgeoisie," Chavez said,
referring to the opposition.
The president also said his government has no plans to expropriate small
businesses, adding: "We have to open ourselves up to those sectors, the
private productive sector."
Chavez has had tense relations with the country's business leaders
during his more than 12 years in office. He has accused business leaders
of defending capitalism, identifying them as obstacles to his socialist
movement.
Meanwhile, he has nationalized or expropriated big businesses in
industries ranging from telecommunications to construction.
"We have to reflect ... and introduce changes in our stances and in our
actions," Chavez said.
He urged supporters to eradicate what he called political evils, "for
example, sectarianism, dogmatism."
When he addressed supporters Thursday night, Chavez offered a similar
message.
"We have to keep advancing toward other sectors, of the middle class,"
he said. "The undecided, let them come with us."
A poll released last week said Chavez's public approval rating remains
at 50 percent and hasn't significantly varied since his cancer diagnosis.
Chavez underwent surgery in Cuba on June 20 to remove a cancerous tumor.
He hasn't said what type of cancer he has been diagnosed with or
specified where exactly it was located, saying only that it was in his
pelvic region.
He underwent his first phase of chemotherapy in Cuba last week and said
the treatment aims to ensure that no malignant cells reappear.
Chavez is pivoting to try to shore up support, said Angel Alvarez,
director of the Institute of Political Studies at the Central University
of Venezuela.
"In this electoral context, the government needs to become more moderate
because all the polls show the government no longer has the middle
class," Alvarez told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
Chavez's support declined as the economy contracted during the past two
years and has remained significantly lower than the 63 percent of the
votes he got in his re-election in 2006. The economy has begun growing
again, expanding at an annual rate of 4.5 percent in the first quarter.
Alvarez said he doubts Chavez's moderation will last because it goes
against his "most important political asset, which is his fiery speech."
"That's his drama as a candidate," Alvarez said. "It's like an internal
struggle between becoming more moderate and more radical."
Chavez said his movement should "examine ourselves, starting with the
leadership ... I myself, and the leadership of the party."
Chavez denied that being more open toward small businesses would
represent giving in to the wealthy elite. He cited the example of Cuba
and the economic changes begun by President Raul Castro's government.
"If Cuba after 60 years of revolution is making those revisions ... I
doubt it's betraying socialism," he said.
He urged his allies to read the Cuban state newspaper Granma every day
to see how Fidel Castro and other leaders are engaged in self-criticism.
"Fidel isn't there frozen, no," Chavez said.
His call for change extended to one of his main political slogans.
It used to be "Socialist fatherland or death," and was repeated by
soldiers in the military under Chavez. But on Thursday night, he
proposed to do away with "death" and instead say: "Socialist fatherland
and victory."
On Friday, he made another revision and suggested: "Independence and
socialist fatherland."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/29/2337425/eying-support-venezuelas-chavez.html
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