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Wall Street Journal, Feb. 27 2015
In Spain, Hugo Chavez Lives On --- Far-left movement tied to late
Venezuelan leader gains clout, challenging mainstream
by David Roman
MADRID -- Late in his presidency, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez told a Spanish
professor he was "very much heartened" by a youth-led movement that
briefly occupied central Madrid to protest corruption and
government-mandated austerity. What recession-racked Spain needed, he
said, was "a true democracy" to replace its "capitalist" system.
His guest, Juan Carlos Monedero, said during their televised chat that
he couldn't agree more. Venezuela is a model of Socialist revolution, he
told Mr. Chavez, and "Europe is starting to look at your example."
Nearly four years later, Mr. Chavez is dead and Venezuela is mired in
economic turmoil. But in Spain a new far-left party led by Mr. Monedero
and others with ties to Mr. Chavez's movement has surged to the top of
opinion polls less than a year ahead of national elections, challenging
decades of moderate governance by mainstream parties. The party, Podemos
(Spanish for We Can), proposes to expand the powers of the state in some
of the ways Mr. Chavez did in Venezuela.
Rivals have seized on those ties to depict Podemos as the ghost of
Chavez, warning that it would undermine Spain's democracy and economy
with a regime of Chavez-style authoritarian populism.
The party's leaders deny that, describing themselves as youthful
insurgents against an entrenched "caste" of corrupt, self-serving
politicians.
Podemos's rise from the political fringe parallels that of Syriza, the
leftist coalition that upset establishment parties to win Greece's
national election in January. Appealing to angry electorates afflicted
by high unemployment, both parties reject the prevailing eurozone
policies that require harsh economic austerity to meet the demands of
creditors. On Jan. 31, Podemos gathered at least 100,000 followers in
Madrid for Spain's largest antiausterity demonstration in years.
Europe's governing mainstream parties also are under siege from the
right. Nationalist, anti-immigrant parties have led recent polls in
France, the Netherlands and Austria, and are growing in the U.K. and
elsewhere in response to concerns about terrorism and the influence of
Islam in their societies.
Podemos, founded one year ago, is led by Mr. Monedero, Pablo Iglesias
and Inigo Errejon -- technologically savvy political scientists who have
gathered remnants of the "Occupy"-style movement that flourished and
fizzled here in 2011. All three men have served as advisers to the
Chavez regime.
If current polling trends hold up, Podemos could be in a strong position
to assemble a governing coalition with smaller parties following
elections to be held late this year.
Its leaders advocate a renegotiation of Spain's enormous debt, expanded
subsidies for the poor, a 35-hour workweek, a ban on layoffs by
profitable companies, a return to a fully state-controlled health-care
system and greater state control over "strategic" industries such as
banking and the media.
They want to challenge institutional arrangements in place since Spain's
transition to democracy after Gen. Francisco Franco's death in 1975.
Podemos leaders say they favor overturning an amnesty for political
crimes during the Franco dictatorship and subjecting the future of the
monarchy and Spain's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to popular votes. They call for a broad review of Spain's
1978 constitution and are open to an amendment that would allow Spanish
regions to secede if their voters so decide.
Spain's post-Franco democracy is no stranger to far-left challenges.
What is unusual about this one is that it is openly applauded by a
foreign government.
Venezuela's ambassador in Madrid, Mario Isea, told lawmakers from his
country in November that Podemos could turn Spain into "a strong ally of
Venezuela" and "a broadcasting platform" in Europe for chavismo, the
Socialist, U.S.-bashing ideology propagated by Mr. Chavez and his
successor, Nicolas Maduro.
The remarks, coupled with Spain's demand for the release of an
imprisoned opposition leader in Venezuela, have strained relations
between the countries.
The two mainstream parties that have taken turns ruling Spain since 1982
wave Podemos's Venezuela connection as a red flag.
"This kind of party, based on demagoguery and populism, is very
dangerous for the system and for democracy," said Maria Dolores de
Cospedal, deputy leader of the governing conservative Popular Party.
Pedro Sanchez, leader of the opposition Socialists, challenged Podemos's
leaders to "explain whether or not they defend the Chavez regime and
Venezuela."
In response, Podemos leaders have backed away from past laudatory
statements about Venezuela and played down their association with the
country.
"There is nothing I would take from Venezuela into Spain," Mr. Monedero
said in an interview. "There's nothing they have to teach us."
After his election in November as the party's leader, the 36-year-old
Mr. Iglesias said its proposals "would be accepted by any social
democracy." He cited Denmark as a model and didn't mention Venezuela, a
country now plagued by factory shutdowns, food shortages and the world's
highest inflation rate.
But he and his top deputies are steeped in the Chavez worldview. For
years they have defended its authoritarian remaking of Venezuela and
suppression of opposition media, adopted its methods of grass-roots
organization and benefited from its largess.
Mr. Monedero, Podemos's 52-year-old chief spokesman and
second-in-command, has been the most involved. He was groomed in
Venezuela to spread chavismo to Spain, according to William Izarra, who
helped shape that ideology as a confidant of Mr. Chavez. "It's
fundamental for the revolution to foment international movements that
are with us," Mr. Izarra said in an interview.
Mr. Monedero first met Mr. Chavez in 2002. He arrived in Venezuela as a
"revolutionary tourist" awed by the president, said Heinz Dieterich, a
German-born adviser to the regime, and "became one of the tribe of court
intellectuals."
Mr. Chavez, a former tank commander and populist outsider, had been
voted into office in 1998 on a tide of citizen disgust with corruption
in two parties that had taken turns running Venezuela for 40 years. In
1999 he won voter approval for a new constitution that enabled him at
times to rule by decree, then carried out a series of educational,
health and welfare programs aimed at Venezuela's poor, financed with the
country's oil wealth.
Two Spanish mentors of Mr. Monedero, professors at the University of
Valencia in Spain, helped write the constitution.
Mr. Monedero said he developed a personal bond with Mr. Chavez after
rebellious military officers removed him from office for 48 hours in
2002. The Spaniard rallied leftist parties in his country to denounce
the coup, which collapsed.
Dividing his time between Madrid and Caracas, Mr. Monedero appeared
often on Venezuelan state TV. From 2006 to 2009 he was employed by
Centro Miranda, a Caracas-based think tank funded by the government to
advise its leaders. He toured the country to monitor Mr. Chavez's
socialist programs, touting them on Venezuelan TV as "the political path
Southern Europe should follow" to shore up the welfare state.
Mr. Monedero said he was paid an additional 425,000 euros ($482,885) for
work in 2010 to help the Chavez regime and allied governments in
Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua develop a proposal for a single Latin
American currency.
Mr. Iglesias, a former Communist who in 2012 called Venezuela "one of
the healthiest democracies in the world," established a separate tie to
the regime. In 2008 he joined the board of a Madrid-based think tank,
the Center of Political and Social Sciences, that lists the Venezuelan
government as the source of more than 60% of its income from 2004 to
2012. Mr. Errejon joined the board in 2013.
He and Mr. Iglesias, who said they traveled frequently to Venezuela,
left the board last year after their election to the European Parliament.
The center, known as CEPS, is led by Podemos member and economic adviser
Alberto Montero. Documents filed with the Spanish government and
reviewed by The Wall Street Journal list 3.7 million euros in Venezuelan
government payments to CEPS for projects including public relations for
Mr. Chavez's programs, the design of labor policies and conducting
opinion surveys in Venezuela.
Podemos officials say the party relies on crowdfunding and has never
received money from CEPS.
In 2013, after Mr. Chavez's death, Mr. Monedero secured a 200,000 euro
pledge from Venezuela to help him buy Canal 33, a Madrid station that
was televising Mr. Iglesias's political talk show, according to Enrique
Rioboo, the station's owner. The show has served as a platform for Mr.
Iglesias's views, including a defense of Mr. Chavez's closure or
takeover of media critical of his rule.
Mr. Rioboo said he rejected the Venezuelan-backed offer as insufficient.
He said Mr. Monedero had sought 1.2 million euros from Mr. Maduro's
government and felt let down. Mr. Monedero declined to comment.
Venezuelans who know the Podemos founders say they are struck by
parallels between the Spanish party's ascent and that of Mr. Chavez in
the 1990s. "The similarities between the end of the bipartisan system in
Venezuela in the 1990s and today's Spain are spooky," said Roberto
Giusti, a Venezuelan journalist and critic of the regime.
Rank-and-file Podemos members reject the comparison and say Venezuela
isn't discussed in party meetings or documents. "We see it as an attack
on us, not a legitimate question," said Paco Fornieles, an accountant
active in one of the party's approximately 500 circles, or neighborhood
assembly points.
The circles themselves resemble grass-roots entities in Venezuela
created and funded by the Chavez regime. Mr. Monedero once described the
Venezuelan circles, which Mr. Chavez consulted about policy while
sidestepping Congress, as "true, direct democracy" that empowers
ordinary citizens in a way that Spain's traditional political parties don't.
Jose Pablo Ferrandiz, head researcher for Spanish polling firm
Metroscopia, said Podemos's association with Venezuela hasn't hurt the
party because likely supporters are moved primarily by distaste for
Spain's political establishment.
Podemos's popularity has snowballed since it polled 8% of the Spanish
vote for European Parliament deputies in May 2014, its first contest.
Recent surveys show it is favored by about one-fourth the electorate --
ahead of all rivals in some polls and slightly trailing the governing
conservatives in others.
Voters interviewed in Madrid recently said differences between Spain and
Venezuela are too vast to imagine a Chavez-style regime here. Spain
embraced parliamentary democracy after Franco's death and lacks
Venezuela's oil-fueled capacity for expensive populist programs.
European Union rules would make it hard for Podemos to carry out some of
its economic proposals, such as banning layoffs and nationalizing banks.
"We can pick and choose what we like and what we don't like from
Venezuela," said Carlos Bravo, 38, a Madrid corporate executive who says
he is troubled by political corruption scandals and is likely to vote
for Podemos.
The party offers few details of how its economic program would be
financed without derailing Spain's recovery from recession. Some
economists say the program, if attempted, would alarm financial markets
and raise Spain's borrowing costs to prohibitive levels, pushing the
country toward default and possibly out of the eurozone.
Mr. Monedero said Podemos, like Syriza in Greece, doesn't oppose
membership in the 19-nation currency union as long as its
fiscal-austerity policies are relaxed to stimulate growth. Mr. Monedero,
who often compares German leadership on eurozone policies to Hitler's
Third Reich, said: "We effectively live under a German dictatorship."
The party's rising poll numbers have framed the early maneuvering for
parliamentary elections set for late this year. Rivals no longer speak
dismissively of Podemos, as they did a few months ago.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, elected in 2011 and seeking a new term,
stresses Spain's economic rebound over the past 18 months and predicts
"a definitive takeoff" this year. He defends Spain's domination by two
parties, warning that an unnamed upstart wants to "throw overboard" the
stability Spain has achieved since the dictatorship.
But Mr. Rajoy's Popular Party will lose its parliamentary majority
without a comeback in popularity. Recent polls show it preferred by as
few as 21% of voters, down from 44% in the 2011 election.
It is hurt by high unemployment -- 23.7%, highest in the eurozone after
Greece -- and lingering reminders of corruption during the economic boom
before the crash of 2008. King Felipe VI's younger sister and dozens of
former officials from Mr. Rajoy's party are expected to go on trial in
two separate corruption cases this year.
Podemos could emerge as a broker, capable of mustering a governing
majority with the Socialists and smaller leftist parties, according to
Antonio Roldan, an analyst with international risk consulting firm
Eurasia Group. Podemos's flexible stand on secession, he said, could
draw support from nationalist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country.
"There's every reason to think that Podemos is here to stay," he said.
"Come the election, it will have multiple options to play havoc."
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