DEFMIN FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH, NOT

UNCLAS QUITO 000962

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS MASS EC CO
SUBJECT: DEFMIN FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH, NOT
THREATS

REF: QUITO 911


1. SUMMARY: The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on new
Ecuadorian Defense Minister Solon Espinosa April 27.
Avoiding mention of the security threats facing his nation,
Espinosa instead trumpeted new President Alfredo Palacio's
honesty and his administration's intention to raise health
standards in Ecuador. END SUMMARY.


2. Retired Brigadier General Espinosa, 76, is perhaps best
known here for establishing SOLCA, a foundation dedicated to
the fight against cancer in Ecuador (Reftel). His military
career long over, Espinosa served as Ecuador's comptroller
general (1972-1974) and as Pichincha Chamber of Industries
president (1988-1990). Embassy pol-mil contacts consider him
bright and dedicated, but long-removed from the defense
scene. Nonetheless, Espinosa was one of Palacio's first
Cabinet choices.


3. The Ambassador called on the septuagenarian minister
April 27 and found him soft-spoken and statesmanlike. Health
and governance dominated their conversation. Palacio was a
rarity in Ecuador, Espinosa asserted: an honest politician
focused on national, not personal interests. The new
administration was determined to raise the nation's dismal
health indicators, and international suggestions and
assistance were welcome.


4. The United States was Ecuador's largest foreign donor and
investor, the Ambassador responded, and numerous Embassy
entities, including USAID, the Peace Corps, and the Military
Group, managed recurring or ad hoc health programs. She
emphasized the U.S. military's well-received Medical
Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETES),which had treated
hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged Ecuadorians during her
tenure in-country. In Ecuador's most at-risk and
least-healthy region, the Colombia frontier, the U.S.
employed a "security plus development" strategy; a key
component was a USDA-funded feeding program for border
residents.


5. Espinosa didn't bite, refusing to engage on the northern
border and the threats Ecuador faced there from Colombian
narcoterrorism. Instead, he claimed the Ecuadorian armed
forces must regain the confidence of the populace and adhere
always to constitutional precepts. It was police, not
military, who had clashed recently with protesters determined
to depose peacefully former President Gutierrez.
Nevertheless, the troops received the same black eye as the
boys in blue. Responding to the Ambassador's inquiry,
Espinosa revealed he did not know new Police Commander
General Jose Vinueza. Ecuadorian military and police would
cooperate, however.


6. COMMENT: The Ambassador chose not to push substance hard
in their first encounter, as Espinosa, long-removed from
military affairs and management, was clearly still in read-in
mode (and will remain there awhile). The Defense Attache and
Milgroup Commander are preparing correspondence that details
our the U.S. military assistance program in Ecuador, and will
brief the Defmin personally in the coming weeks. END COMMENT.


7. ADDITIONAL BIO DATA: Unlike other Palacio Administration
appointees we have engaged this week, Espinosa chose not to
bash the Gutierrez team, showing a non-partisan,
stateman-like bent. He mentioned he had studied at the
Inter-American Defense College (we imagine in the 1960s).

KENNEY