PROFILE OF VICE PRESIDENT ALFREDO PALACIO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 000869 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR EC SUBJECT: PROFILE OF VICE PRESIDENT ALFREDO PALACIO REF: A. QUITO 852 ¶B. QUITO 794 Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Vice President Alfredo Palacio became Vice President in 2002 and hoped to reform health care and provide free coverage for the poor. He has publicly criticized Gutierrez on numerous occasions, going so far as to call him a dictator just days ago. Palacio, a green card holder, has very little influence in and access to the Government and is routinely excluded from Cabinet meetings. Left-leaning but without party affiliation, he used his position as a cardiologist to develop friendships with influential politicians, especially in Guayaquil. Palacio is a former minister of health and continues to practice cardiology. Media reports state he is a perfectionist but can come be abrupt when he doesn't get his way. Succession rules designate Palacio as the president if Gutierrez were to resign or be impeached. End Summary. Very Poor Relationship with Gutierrez - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) Palacio joined Gutierrez in order to promote health reforms, universal medical coverage, and free medical care for the poor; he became Vice President in 2002. ¶3. (C) The tension between Gutierrez and Palacio is palpable. Gutierrez excludes Palacio from many government activities, such as Cabinet meetings, and Palacio periodically makes public jabs at Gutierrez. Last year at this time, when the government was undergoing a less serious cyclical political crisis, Palacio held a press conference saying the Gutierrez had publicly badmouthed him and was using these statements as a "smokescreen" to cover up the country's political problems. On March 24 of this year, he said Ecuador "was falling to pieces" and voiced support for the mayors of Quito and Guayaquil, who rejected a Presidential decree to extend the Holy Week holidays. (The decree was widely believed to be an attempt to block Congress from meeting and naming an Attorney General, who the President did not favor.) Palacio heavily criticized Gutierrez a few days ago and called him a dictator responsible for the country's "chaos" (Ref A). Political Ties and Beliefs - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (C) The cardiologist-politician took advantage of his medical profession to cultivate relationships with politicians in Guayaquil. We believe he has friendly relations with former Presidents Leon Febres Cordero (PSC) and Rodrigo Borja (ID),Mayor of Guayaquil Jaime Nebot (PSC), and Mayor of Quito Paco Moncayo (ID). Although Palacio refuses to identify with a particular party, he said on April 19 that Gutierrez should return to the leftist-popular agenda on which he was elected. Biographical Information - - - - - - - - -- - - - ¶5. (U) Alfredo Palacio was born in 1939 in Guayaquil. He studied medicine at the University of Guayaquil, graduating in 1967, and specialized in internal medicine and cardiology at hospitals in the Ohio and Missouri from 1969 - 1974. Since 1989, he has been a member of the University of Guayaquil's medical faculty and became a professor in the university's master of public health program in 2001. Palacio was minister of health from 1994 - 1996 under then-President Sixto Duran. Palacio is a legal permanent resident of the United States, who divides his time between Quito and Guayaquil, where he still practices cardiology. ¶6. (U) Media reports indicate that Palacio is a perfectionist and obsessive about providing his patients with excellent care. He can come across as arrogant and abrupt when defending his ideas. He sometimes scolds people when what he wants isn't done correctly but typically quickly apologizes for his manner. Palacio is said to take his time and think through political decisions with the input of advisors. Comment - - - - ¶7. (C) If Gutierrez resigns or were impeached, succession rules dictate that Palacio would become President and serve the end of the four-year period in 2006 (Ref B). Our contact with him has been largely formal to date. If President Gutierrez falls, we doubt Palacio is strong enough to withstand competing political pressures for his own resignation. If he does survive, he is likely to be a weak transitional figure beholden to party leaders. KENNEY