GOB NAMES LEFTIST CABINET

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON PGOV TBIO BL
SUBJECT: GOB NAMES LEFTIST CABINET


1. (SBU) Summary: President Morales announced the 16 members
of his cabinet January 23, the majority leftist, indigenous
and from the altiplano. Morales exhorted the new cabinet to
change Bolivia, integrate marginalized members of society,
eliminate corruption, and serve -- not exploit -- the people.
He created two new ministries, Justice and Water, and
eliminated the Ministries of Indigenous Affairs and of
Popular Participation. The Ministry of Campesino Affairs and
Agriculture has been revamped as the Ministry of Rural
Development and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Sustainable
Development appears to be evolving into a planning ministry,
which may supervise the Ministries of Finance and Economic
Development. Following are the names, positions, and brief
biographies of each cabinet member, including four women and
several affiliates of the left-leaning La Paz university,
Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA). End summary.


2. (SBU) - Minister of Foreign Relations, David Choquehuanca
Cespedes (DOB 5/7/61): Indigenous leader with Marxist and
nationalist tendencies who was a founder of the MAS party and
has served as Evo Morales' personal adviser on political and
indigenous affairs. He has also run key European NGOs in
Bolivia, including NINA, that have focused on training
indigenous leaders. He holds a degree in indigenous law from
the Cordillera University in Bolivia, and may have been
educated in Russia. He supports small farm production and
coca growers. It is rumored that he has served as the
treasurer for MAS for many years. After his appointment as
Minister, he delivered an address, partially in Aymara,
agreeing with Morales to change Bolivia's neo-liberal
economic model. Choquehuanca is from La Paz; he is married
with two children.

- (SBU) Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramon Quintana
Taborga: Quintana has served as a Major in the Bolivian army
and as a political analyst for the Defense Ministry, holds a
Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and a Master's Degree in
Philosophy and Political Science from UMSA, and has undergone
infantry training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Quintana was
born in 1959 in Cochabamba. He speaks some English and some
Quechua. A MAS convert in 2004, he has stated to the press
that it is essential to stop U.S. payments to Bolivian
soldiers to eliminate U.S. interference in the Bolivian
police and military. Quintana was part of Morales' political
transition team, and is reputed to be anti-American.

- (SBU) Minister of Government, Alicia Munoz (DOB 9/12/51):
Formerly a MAS senator from Oruro, she is the first woman to
serve as Minister of Government. An anthropologist with
strong interests in human rights, she played a crucial role
in Embassy efforts to get a Trafficking in Persons Law passed
in the waning days of the last Congress and has done much to
promote women's rights and improve working conditions in the
agricultural sector.

- (SBU) Minister of Education, Felix Patzi Paco (DOB
2/21/67): A sociologist by training, Patzi was formerly the
Director of the Social Research Institute of UMSA and is a
good friend of VP Alvaro Garcia Linera. In his books, he
proclaims the end of neo-liberalism and affirms that the
indigenous movement is the driver of the new hegemony in
Bolivia. Patzi, an ethnic Aymara, hails from La Paz
department. During his speech to the new ministers, Morales
encouraged Patzi to contact Cuban experts to discuss Cuba's
plans to help Bolivia eradicate illiteracy.

- (SBU) Minister of Hydrocarbons, Andres Soliz Rada (age 66):
Attorney and radical journalist who founded CONDEPA, a
leftist political party, who dedicated much of his writing to
analyzing natural resource issues and criticizing
privatization and neo-liberalism. Supports nationalization
of gas and has stated that the hydrocarbons companies are

stealing from Bolivia. Former congressman (elected in 1989
and again in 1997); former senator (elected 1993).
Hydrocarbons representatives previously stated that if he
became hydrocarbons minister, it would be a disaster for the
industry. Following his appointment, Soliz stated that his
first task would be to be sure that multinational petroleum
companies are not claiming Bolivia's gas reserves as their
own. He said the reserves, worth US$ 120 billion, would
enable the country to take steps towards industrialization.
He is known for being "aggressive" and "explosive."

- (SBU) Minister of Finance, Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (DOB
9/28/63): An economist by training, Arce holds a masters
degree from the University of California (UCLA) and another,
also in economics, from Warwick University in the United
Kingdom. A native La Paz resident, he has worked as a
professor at UMSA. He also worked for eighteen years at the
Central Bank as sub-director for international reserves. He
may be expected to report to Minister Villegas, with whom he
is said to have a close relationship (see below).

- (SBU) Minister of Sustainable Development/Planning, Carlos
Villegas Quiroga (age 56): Economic analyst and professor of
development sciences at UMSA, Villegas was in charge of the
MAS' Economic Transition Commission and accompanied Morales
on his pre-inauguration world tour. He holds a Bachelor's
Degree in Economics from UMSA, a Master's Degree in Economics
from the Center of Research and Economics Teaching (CIDES) in
Mexico, and a Doctorate in Development Sciences from the
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico. He is from
Potosi, and does not have any public sector experience.

- (SBU) Minister of Economic Development, Celinda Sosa Luna:
Hailing from Tarija, Sosa served as head of the MAS' Social
Transition Commission. She has spent most of her
professional life as a labor leader, and is a representative
of the Women's Documentation Center. After her appointment
as Minister, she stated that Bolivia must negotiate a Free
Trade Agreement with the U.S. under conditions of equality
that ensure balanced and just development. She is also
expected to focus on support for microenterprise. Sosa is
married with three children.

- (SBU) Minister of Public Works, Salvador Ric Riera (age
56): Businessman from Santa Cruz who supported the MAS during
the elections. He holds a Ph.D. in diplomacy, and is the
owner of an automobile importing company, a supermarket
chain, and several other Santa Cruz businesses.

- (SBU) Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture, Hugo
Salvatierra Gutierrez: Santa Cruz lawyer and labor advisor
who holds a degree from UMSA. As the MAS candidate for
governor ("prefecto") of Santa Cruz, he placed third on
December 18.

- (SBU) Minister of Justice, Casimira Rodriguez: Rodriguez
served as Director of the Latin American Federation of
Domestic Employees and won the 2003 World Methodist Peace
Award for her activism in promoting the 2003 Domestic Workers
Law. She began working as a domestic servant at age 13 under
difficult conditions, which led her to be an activist for
domestic workers' rights.

- (SBU) Minister of Water, Abel Mamani Marca (age 40): Leader
of FEJUVE, the El Alto neighborhood federation, which helped
topple two Bolivian presidents during protests in June 2005
and October 2003. He studied dentistry but never completed a
degree. As Minister, he has promised water service
throughout the country and to resolve the Aguas de Illimani
water dispute in El Alto. Mamani is married with three
children.
- (SBU) Minister of Health, Nila Heredia Miranda: Former La
Paz Department Director of Health, Vice President of UMSA,
President of the Medical School at UMSA, and member of the
Communist Party. Ms. Heredia is from Potosi, and is a
surgeon. Ms. Heredia was exiled to France in 1976.

- (SBU) Minister of Defense, Walker San Miguel Rodriguez:
Formerly President of the La Paz Lawyer's Union, as well as a
practicing lawyer specializing in commercial and
constitutional law. He previously worked for a Bolivian
airline (LAB) as an executive. Rodriguez is viewed as a
leftist opportunist and not necessarily a MAS true believer.

- (SBU) Minister of Mining, Walter Villaroel (age 47): Leader
of mining cooperatives. Villaroel is from Potosi, and is
married with four children.

- (SBU) Minister of Labor, Santiago Galvez Mamani (DOB
12/15/58): From La Paz, Galvez studied industrial chemistry
and business administration, but never obtained a degree. He
has 27 years of experience working in Bolivian factories,
where he held a variety of positions. He is married with
three children.

- (SBU) YPFB (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos,
the state oil company),Jorge Alvarado: MAS candidate for
governor ("prefecto") in Cochabamba, who placed second. Has
worked as a consultant for the World Bank. Reportedly,
Alvarado has links to Venezuela and wants to strengthen
Bolivia and Venezuela's hydrocarbons relationship.


3. (SBU) Comment: Morales' cabinet is more representative of
Bolivian society than his congressional candidate lists were,
as it includes women and persons of indigenous origin. It is
heavily balanced in favor of the western highlands
(altiplano) in terms of geographic representation, with a few
key ministers from the eastern part of the country named to
placate Santa Cruz and the business sector. It is no
surprise that the cabinet leans hard to the left, and that
approximately two-thirds have no prior government experience.
End comment.
GREENLEE