BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS ROLANDO

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000206

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM PHUM GT
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS ROLANDO
MORALES



1. (U) Dr. Rolando Morales Chavez (47) of the Union Nacional
para la Esperanza (UNE) party was elected President of
Congress on January 14, 2004, as part of a governability pact
negotiated between the ruling GANA party and the center-left
UNE and center-right PAN blocks in Congress. Morales is a
close political ally of UNE Secretary General (and
unsuccessful Presidential candidate) Alvaro Colom.


2. (U) Morales is a medical doctor by profession, with a
medical degree from the San Carlos University of Guatemala
and an MPA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill. He has been active in center-left politics since 1993.
He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1995, and was one of
the founders of the DIA party in 1997. He again ran
unsuccessfully for Congress on the far-left ANN slate in
1999, and joined the UNE in 2001. He was elected to Congress
on UNE's national list in November, 2003.


3. (U) Morales is married to Lucy Lainfiesta, a social
worker who is also active in UNE. They have two children.
Morales speaks fluent English, but prefers to use Spanish in
official meetings.

Revolutionary Past
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4. (SBU) There are unconfirmed reports that Morales provided
medical assistance to members of the Armed People,s
Revolutionary Organization (ORPA) during the internal
conflict.

Victim of Electoral Violence
--------------


5. (U) Morales was shot twice (in the leg and hand) by
unknown assailants on November 9, 2003, only hours before the
voting centers opened for the first round of the 2003 general
election. His aggressors made no attempt at robbery, and the
attack was widely believed to have a political motive.

Early Signs: Dialogue, Transparency, and Human Rights
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Since his appointment as President of the Congress,
Morales Chavez has sought to facilitate dialogue with other
political factions and to increase transparency in Congress.
He publicly opened the ceremonial door of the Congress
building and its galleries to the public, after former
President of Congress Efrain Rios Montt had ordered them shut
four years ago. Morales met publicly with Human Rights
Ombudsman Sergio Morales shortly after taking office,
publicly promising to consider increasing funding for the
Ombudsman's office. He also publicly expressed his personal
support for a proposed International Commission to
Investigate Clandestine Groups (CICIACS).


7. (SBU) At a January 26 meeting with the Ambassador,
Morales invited members of the Governing Board of Congress
from other parties to attend, and projected a warmly
collegial style. He was clearly comfortable with USG
interlocutors and professed a commitment to work together
with us on areas of shared interest. In a telcon the
following day with the Ambassador, he said he had expressed
publicly his support for a renewal of authority to conduct
joint anti-drug exercises and operations in Guatemala.
HAMILTON