POLO: A VIABLE, LEFTIST--AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 011404 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2016 TAGS: PINR PREF PREL PTER CO SUBJECT: POLO: A VIABLE, LEFTIST--AND NON-VIOLENT--ALTERNATIVE FOR COLOMBIA? Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer - Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary. A non-violent, democratic, leftist political party--the Polo Democratic Alternative Party--has emerged as a serious political contender. A record turnout elected representatives to a Polo Congress held in early December, and the Polo's three main factions--the center-left, the traditional, unreconstructed left, and Chavista-style, 21st century socialists--presented a unified front aimed at the October regional elections. Still, the Polo's most important elected official--Bogota Mayor "Lucho" Garzon--is at odds with more radical factions, and believes the "marriage of convenience" between Polo's competing visions may not last beyond October. Polo officials from across the party maintain good relations with the Embassy and are eager for continued engagement with the United States. End Summary. Polo Organized: Congress and Platform ====================================== ¶2. (C) The Polo Alternatativo Democratico Party held a highly successful party congress in Bogota from November 28-December 1 to elect party leaders and prepare for October departmental and local elections. More than 550,000 Polo supporters, a record turnout for internal party elections in any party, elected the 550 representatives to the Congress. Polo President Carlos Gaviria told us participation was five times greater than what he had expected from a party founded in 2005. Senior members from across the Party told us the Polo emerged from the Congress unified, organized, and committed to competing nationwide against the traditional parties in the October regional elections. ¶3. (U) Polo's platform focuses on five pillars: democracy, social justice, political reform to address corruption, pluralism with an emphasis on minority and indigenous rights, and Colombian sovereignty/non-interventionism. Polo formally committed itself at the Congress to non-violence and condemned the armed left in what observers tell us was a near unanimous decision (see septel). The platform reflects the Polo's diverse makeup, mixing old-style socialist rhetoric with practical recognition of the need for open markets and international engagement. Most Polo leaders oppose extradition, but say they would approve it after a criminal serves his or her Colombian sentence. They reject the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, but claim to understand the need for international investment. Factions with the Polo ====================== ¶4. (C) There are three main factions represented on the 250-member Executive Committee: center or social democratic left; unreconstructed, communist left; and Chavista-style, "21st century socialists." The three factions emerged from the Congress with a rough balance of power: --Center or Social Democratic Left (approximately 40 percent): Bogota Mayor Luis "Lucho" Garzon, Valle Governor Angelino Garzon (no relation),former-Senator Samuel Moreno, and Senators Ivan Moreno and Jamie Dussan. This contains a strong labor union component. --Unreconstructed Left (approximately 30 percent): Representative Wilson Borja, Senator Gloria Ramirez and Senator Jorge Robledo lead this group, which consists primarily of former Communist Party members and the Independent Revolutionary Worker's Movement (MOIR). --"21st Century Socialists" (approximately 30 percent): Senator Gustavo Petro (Polo spokesman in the Senate) and Senator Alexander Lopez lead this group. This faction is most closely associated with the ideas of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Petro is a possible presidential candidate for 2010 and has gained national recognition for his public denunciation of paramilitary links with Congress. The Lucho Garzon Factor ======================= ¶5. (C) Bogota Mayor Luis "Lucho" Garzon--the Polo's most important elected official, a veteran labor leader and a party founder--is trying to position Polo as a pragmatic, European-style, social democratic party with an eye towards winning elections. As mayor, he has focused on showing the electorate that a leftist government can responsibly manage fiscal and security issues. Garzon faces strong opposition from the Polo's unreconstructed leftists and 21st century E socialists who claim he has not pursued a sufficiently aggressive social agenda. Petro told us the Polo needs to break with "corrupt, old-style union leaders who are used to making deals with the country's traditional elites." ¶6. (C) Garzon's Chief of Staff, Juan Ospina, told us Garzon appreciates the Polo's electoral appeal; Polo's 2006 presidential candidate and current Party President Carlos Gaviria received 2.6 million votes, besting Liberal Party candidate Horacio Serpa and finishing in second place. Garzon does not want to appear as a divisive figure. His statement prior to the Polo Congress, in which he pledged to support longtime associate Carlos Gaviria as the Party's presidential candidate in 2010, was aimed at maintaining the Polo's unity. Still, Gaviria and Ospina told us Garzon would run for president in 2010, with or without the Polo's support. Both said Garzon feared more radical elements would hijack the Party and move it to the left, undermining its capacity to attract moderate voters. Ospina told us the Polo's "marriage of convenience" between competing ideological visions might fall apart after October. Garzon would try to avoid provoking such a split, but would not be tied to its left wing as he bid for the presidency. Prospects for 2007 Elections ============================ ¶7. (C) Polo is gearing up for October departmental and local elections, and Polo Secretary General Antonio Navarro Wolff predicted the Polo would win more than 100 mayoral races (Bucaramanga, Riohacha, possibly Cali),several governorships (Narino--Navarro himself, Valle de Cauca, and Putumayo),and more than 1,000 local councilman races. Navarro Wolff acknowledged the Polo would have difficulty retaining the Mayor's Office in Bogota, but was not willing to concede the post. Most observers believe the Polo will do well in 2007, but not as well as the pre-merger "Polo Alternativo" in 2003, when the politics of the referendum held the day before distorted the results. Much will depend on whether the Polo and the Liberal Party run joint candidates in key races. Comment ======= 8.. (C) Polo officials from all factions maintain good relations with the Embassy. Gaviria, Garzon, Moreno, Borja, Petro and others meet regularly with us and are eager for continued engagement with the United States. Despite the far-left tendencies of some elements, the Polo committed itself at its recent Congress to democracy and political pluralism. Whether the Polo can make a serious run at the presidency in 2010 will depend on its leaders' ability to manage its internal divisions in a way that maintains party unity without constraining its ability to attract moderate voters. WOOD