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
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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
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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
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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
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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