GUTIERREZ (AGAIN) RECONSIDERING AMBASSADORIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000282

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV EC
SUBJECT: GUTIERREZ (AGAIN) RECONSIDERING AMBASSADORIAL
CANDIDATE

REF: A. QUITO 42


B. QUITO 263

C. 04 QUITO 3302

D. 04 QUITO 3151

Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Reasons 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Despite Lucio Gutierrez informing a nationwide TV
audience January 3 that MFA diplomat Roberto Betancourt was
his choice to head Ecuador's embassy in Washington (Ref A),
the Ecuadorian president is now having second (actually,
third) thoughts. At their February 3 meeting, Gutierrez told
the Ambassador he understood Betancourt was not the Embassy's
favorite for the U.S. mission. Anyway, the career dip was
needed in Europe, where his foreign trade expertise could
help resolve a difficult dispute over the EU's banana tariff
policy (Ref B). Gutierrez thus had re-opened the nomination
process and sought the Ambassador's input.


2. (C) She offered the president no names, noting the
decision was his to make. If it were hers, however, the
Ambassador would seek someone comfortable with Congressional
caucuses, fluent in English, and connected in his home
country. Gutierrez floated two possibles: former Finance
Minister Mauricio Pozo and current Subsecretary of Production
Patricio Johnson, the brother of MFA Vice Foreign Minister
Edwin Johnson. Although Pozo was under consideration for a
position at the CAF, an Andean IFI, beginning in mid-2006, he
reportedly was interested in serving in Washington.


3. (C) The Ambassador praised Pozo's credentials and
top-notch DC reputation. Even a short-term spell in
Washington would benefit bilateral relations. She was
pointedly silent on Johnson, whom we consider a lackluster
Cabinet member. The Ambassador asked the president to keep
the Embassy informed as he deliberated the selection.


4. (C) COMMENT: Waffling over nominations ain't the
Gutierrez way. Forty-plus individuals have filled Ecuador's
15 cabinet positions since the president took office,
testament to his "choose first, consider later" modus
operandi. Betancourt, Foreign Minister Patricio Zuquilanda's
boy, was a lock for Washington one month ago yet now appears
out. Three explanations for the flip-flop come easily to
mind. First, as bananas are a major Ecuadorian export and
most growers hail from the politically potent coastal region,
it makes sense for Gutierrez to deploy an experienced trade
negotiator to Europe for EU talks. Next, the president might
consider the U.S. relationship so vital that it behooves
Ecuador to appoint an ambassador well-liked and respected in
Washington. Last (and most intriguing),the Teflon that has
coated FM Zuquilanda for eighteen months might be wearing
thin. A series of MFA miscues has brought Gutierrez recent
grief, with media and opposition questioning the president's
continued loyalty to his embattled chancellor. Betancourt's
punting just might be proof that Zuquilanda has lost the
boss's ear.
Kenney