PARAGUAY: CATHOLIC CHURCH TAKES ON DUARTE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000433

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD BARBARA MOORE
JOINT STAFF FOR J5 LTC SCOTT DAVIS
NAIROBI FOR MICHAEL FITZPATRICK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PA VE BO
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: CATHOLIC CHURCH TAKES ON DUARTE ON
TWO-FRONTS

REF: A. 05 ASUNCION 1436

B. ASUNCION 0348

Classified By: PolOff Sterling D. Tilley, reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: Late last year, the Catholic Church,
including leading Bishops, sharply criticized the Duarte
Administration, in particular for its handling of the
economy, its failure to address persistent poverty and its
implication in corruption. Through the early part of the
year, the Church reinitiated its criticism of the Duarte
Administration, this time criticizing Duarte,s campaign to
become the President of the Colorado Party. Duarte's
election and brief assumption of the Colorado Party
Presidency prompted much protest, including a demonstration
on 3/29 by 30,000 to 40,000 in the capital led by Monsignor
Fernando Lugo, a controversial Church figure. Lugo has
designs on becoming a political figure and the Church is
wrangling on how to deal with him. Both the Church and Lugo
apparently intend to keep up the pressure on the government,
giving vent to much of the public's frustration for Duarte's
failure to address adequately the problems of corruption and
poverty. End Summary.

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Bishops Take On Duarte
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2. (SBU) In late 2005, the Catholic Church, mostly in the
form of statements issued by the Paraguayan Episcopal
Conference (CEP),an influential Conference of Catholic
bishops, took a more forceful and formal stance against the
leadership of President Duarte. In November 2005, the CEP
released a statement criticizing the Administration for
failing to address the hunger and poverty in Paraguay and
charged that corruption was rampant in the public and private
sectors. The bishops complained, in particular, about a lack
of transparency in government and described the Judicial
branch and the Attorney General's Office as inadequate.
President Duarte assumed a defensive posture in response. He
maintained that the Bishops lacked empirical evidence for
their claims and said that some of their conclusions were
based on "misinformation." Duarte also accused those opposed
to his government of being beneficiaries of prior
governments' sins and called on them to confess "without
shame". On a more conciliatory note, he said that his
Administration has only been in office for two years and
changing conditions in Paraguay required more time. VP
Castiglioni, a devout Catholic, met with Church leaders in
mid-November as part of an effort to stem the rising
controversy over critical remarks in the press. (Ref. A)


3. (C) In the first part of 2006, the Church reinitiated its
criticisms of the Duarte Administration, this time,
criticizing Duarte,s campaign to become the President of the
Colorado Party. After Duarte's election and brief assumption
of the Colorado Party Presidency, he came under attack by
opponents within the Colorado Party, opposition parties, and
civil society, including the Church for violating the
Constitution and, separately, his alleged authoritarian
tendencies.


4. (SBU) In February, the Ambassador met with Bishop Ignacio
Gogorza, the President of the CEP. Gogorza lamented that the
government was corrupt to the core and that Duarte had not
cleaned up corruption as he had promised the people. The
Church was similarly frustrated with the slow progress in
reforming government, reducing poverty and producing jobs for
the people. In a 4/6 meeting, Pastor Cuquejo, the Archbishop
of Asuncion, took up a similar line with the Ambassador
alleging that "the President had broken faith with the people
and didn't believe in anything but himself." He also said
that given the current sentiment in society, he did not
believe that Duarte would get the Constitutional changes he
seeks for his reelection bid.

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March 29 Protest and Lugo

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5. (U) A March 29 demonstration garnered as many as 30,000 -
40,000 participants including representatives of political
parties, labor unions, NGO,s and religious organizations.
The participants protested a Supreme Court ruling that opened
the door for Duarte to briefly assume the Colorado
presidency, and, separately, Duarte's desire for reelection.
The marchers called for resignation of the five members of
the Supreme Court, who temporarily suspended the Superior
Electoral Tribunal ruling that Duarte could not assume the
Colorado presidency. Monsignor Fernando Lugo of the
Department of San Pedro led this protest and concluded the
march with a speech calling on Duarte to apologize to the
people of Paraguay. The surprising success of the protest
prompted some to suggest that Lugo has a future as a
politician in Paraguay, including as a possible candidate for
President.


6. (C) In his 4/6 meeting with the Ambassador, Archbishop
Cuquejo indicated that he did not believe that Lugo had
political designs. He also remarked that Lugo could not
count on support from the Beloved Fatherland Party (Partido
Patria Querida -PPQ),Paraguay's second leading opposition
party, whose leader is closely associated with the Catholic
Church. Cuquejo further stated that the bishops planned to
meet with Lugo to discuss his political aspirations and
insist he choose between the Church and politics.


7. (U) Lugo routinely highlights his ties to the CEP,
associating himself with its criticism of the President and
seeking to project Church support for his activities. On
4/21, the executive committee of the CEP met with Lugo.
According to reporting in Paraguayan daily, Ultimoa Hora,
which favors Lugo, the CEP announced that it had no
objections to Lugo,s activities and believed his actions
were intended to address the social injustices and poverty.
(NOTE: Lugo was forced to resign as Bishop of the San Pedro
Department in 2005 because of his association with inciting
land invasions by campesinos resulting in violence as well as
a rumor that he fathered a child. Also, Maria Edith
Debernardi alleged that Lugo was involved with the
perpetrators of several high profile kidnappings, including
her own in 2001 and the 2004 Cubas kidnappings orchestrated
by the radical leftist group, Patria Libre. Lugo is now
associated with a Catholic order but is not directly tied to
a particular Archdiocese. End Note.)


8. (C) COMMENT: During the March 29 protest, Lugo reined in
his rhetoric, carefully tailoring his message to a mostly
middle class audience. His leadership of this remarkable
march was a surprising and unmitigated success. In the
aftermath, a number of commentators have suggested the
opposition should coopt him as its leader. Opposition
parties are ambivalent about how to deal with him but it is
apparent, by definition, Lugo is a political player.


9. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Post does not agree with Archbishop
Cuquejo regarding Lugo's political aspirations. Lugo has
been engaged in politics for many years with some suggesting
his association with the Church serves as a mere cover for
his political ambitions. An avowed leftist, he has
credibility and wide support among the campesino
organizations and the poor because of his work in the past,
including organizing peasants in San Pedro for the last few
years. In addition, according to sensitive reporting, Lugo
meets regularly with Venezuelan Embassy officials here in
Paraguay and has traveled to Venezuela on numerous occasions.
Lugo,s strategy, as with Chavez and Morales before him,
includes discrediting the current corrupt system and
presenting himself as an alternative. (NOTE: The political
movement, Resistencia Cuidadana, he helped create on the eve
of the 3/29 protest, has risen in stature in a very short
period of time and is now leading and planning a May 1
protest intended to keep up the pressure on Duarte. End
Note.) End Comment.


10. (SBU) On 4/24, the Ambassador conveyed our concerns to


Monsignor Orlando Antonini, the the chief of the Vatican's
diplomatic mission in Paraguay, to relay information about
both his personal conduct and political activities and trips.
Monsignor Antonini shared our concerns and indicated that he
expected the Vatican would call on Lugo to choose between his
commitment to the Church and his political aspirations.

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Church Plans for 2006
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11. (U) Gogorza and Cuquejo claim the Catholic Church will
continue to focus on "working on behalf of the population."
This includes the reduction of poverty, working with street
children, agrarian reform, and education. According to
Cuquejo, the Church education program has more than 100
million guarani (16,667 USD) for local scholars. The
Ambassador urged Church leaders to engage more in addressing
the problem of trafficking in persons but they signaled that
this issue does not figure highly in current plans.

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COMMENT
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12. (U) The Catholic Church reflects and articulates much of
the general population's frustration with the government's
failure to address adequately corruption and poverty. Its
leaders convey every intention of maintaining this more vocal
role on these matters for the indefinite future. Duarte's
ambivalent relationship with the Church -- born a Catholic,
he is now a practicing evangelical Mennonite -- makes it
difficult for him to respond forcefully. Of course, the
Catholic Church has been speaking with two voices -- one
voice being the Bishops associated with the CEP and the other
being Lugo. The messages are not necessarily competing but
they are not in sync. For its part, the Catholic Church,
mostly through the CEP, has been consistently criticizing
Duarte and his administration about poverty, corruption,
health and education issues. On the other hand, Lugo has
taken the criticism a step further by leading a major
demonstration and dealing extensively with the press,
implicitly offering himself as an alternative.


13. (C) Lugo has some real skeletons -- personal and
political -- in the closet. We have little doubt Lugo would
pursue a more prominent political role if the opportunity
should present itself. Duarte's supporters may seek to coopt
Lugo but have also signaled they are prepared to take off the
gloves and attack him should he not relent in his attacks.
The opposition agreed to join hands with Lugo in rallying its
March demonstration. Its various factions, however, are of a
much mixed mind about his future role. They may want to ride
his coattails as far as they take them but it is doubtful all
would agree to his heading an opposition ticket in 2008. End
Comment.
CASON