CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY INAUGURATION

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002139 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL SUBJECT: CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY INAUGURATION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Bolivians celebrated their independence and the inauguration of the Constituent Assembly August 6 in Sucre. Festivities included introduction of all 255 Assembly members, speeches by President Morales and Vice President Garcia Linera, a parade of Bolivia's indigenous communities, and a soccer game featuring Morales. President Morales told the Constituent Assembly that its role is a revolutionary "refoundation" of a new Bolivia through an entirely new constitution, feeding the ongoing debate about limits on the Assembly's power. While the political opposition has criticized Morales' statements, most Bolivians are euphoric about the Assembly's inauguration, and hope the Assembly will build consensus based on the interests and views of all Bolivians. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Bolivians celebrated their independence and the inauguration of the Constituent Assembly August 6 in Sucre. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and lower-level delegations from Chile, Argentina, Brazil and South Africa were in attendance. GOB officials summarily blamed the opposition for causing several regional leaders, including Argentine President Kirchner, Paraguayan President Duarte, and Brazilian President Lula, to reverse their previous decisions to attend, ultimately leading to Venezuelan President Chavez' last-minute cancellation as well. In addition to the official events, Bolivia's indigenous communities paraded around central Sucre, and the day's events were topped off by an early evening soccer game featuring Morales wearing a jersey with "Evo" on the back. Morales scored a goal. ¶3. (SBU) Following the introduction of the Constituent Assembly's 255 representatives, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera congratulated Bolivia's indigenous for "reclaiming their place in society not with bullets, but with votes and words" via the Assembly. He said Bolivia's strength is its "communitarian capacity," from which the rest of the world could learn. The Vice President decried "colonial centralism" as damaging to the country and, as an apparent gesture toward eastern Bolivia, urged the Assembly to adopt a form of decentralization that would not undermine the nation at large. Garcia Linera implored the Constituent Assembly to dialogue, debate and find points of agreement for the good of the Bolivian people. Critically, Garcia Linera spoke of the new constitution's role as implementing "equality," not equality of opportunity. ¶4. (SBU) President Morales spoke next, highlighting Bolivia's "black history" of discrimination and the "looting of natural resources." He called on the Assembly to refound and "de-neoliberalize" Bolivian society. Morales argued that the indigenous, victimized throughout history, had never dominated, discriminated or exploited anyone. He singled out National Unity party leader and constituent assembly representative Samuel Doria Medina as someone who had exploited the indigenous, but said he is still welcome to participate in the Assembly. Morales lauded the participation and representation of all Bolivians in the Constituent Assembly process. ¶5. (SBU) In Morales' speech, he referred to the Constituent Assembly as "original" and "all powerful," implying its ability to close government institutions and feeding the ongoing debate about limits on the Assembly's power. (Note: In the past few weeks, MAS officials have charged that the Assembly's powers should be "original," as if the country were being founded for the first time. Under this type of assembly, the constitution is written as if there were no previous constitution and the state powers cease to exist while the assembly is in session (in theory, because they have not yet been created). A "derived" assembly, on the other hand, means the representatives' power is based on the existing constitution and all state powers continue to operate while the assembly is sitting. The central debate surrounding the Constituent Assembly is whether it is "original" or "derivative," with MAS followers describing it as the former and most opposition using the latter term. Legal scholars assert that the enabling legislation implicitly provides for a derivative assembly, and discount the MAS' calls for an original assembly as a political tactic. End note). ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The political opposition has criticized Morales' statements and the MAS' heavy hand in Assembly preparations. However, most Bolivians are euphoric about the Assembly's inauguration, and hope that when the Assembly begins deliberations on August 15 it will build consensus based on the interests and views of all Bolivians. We expect considerable debate between opposition and government about the limits of Constituent Assembly power, particularly given the ambitions of Morales and his MAS party, as demonstrated by at least one draft we've seen of the constitution (see septel). The absence of regional leaders at the inaugural ceremony for the Constituent Assembly demonstrates just how isolated the Morales government has become in South America. Rather than a conclave of leftist presidents as originally conceived, the ceremony underscored how little support there is in the region for Morales' brand of leftism. End comment. GREENLEE