MPN URGES REFORMS IN POLITICAL PLATFORMS TO BREAK

UNCLAS MANAGUA 001555

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NU
SUBJECT: MPN URGES REFORMS IN POLITICAL PLATFORMS TO BREAK
PARTISAN STRANGLEHOLDS



1. (U) SUMMARY: El Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN),a local
pro-democracy NGO presented its "Basic Agenda of the Nation"
to a diverse audience, including representatives from several
European embassies. The MpN introduced 28 proposals they
propose that political parties incorporate into their
presidential platforms to achieve greater transparency and
civil society participation. Key reforms include: reducing
the number of deputies in the National Assembly by more than
half; limiting deputies to two terms in office; reducing the
number of electoral magistrates to five; and reestablishing
the 45% minimum required to elect a president and vice
president in the first round of voting (from the current
35%). END SUMMARY.

MpN Openly Critical of Current Political System
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2. (U) At a July 6 conference before a packed audience of
students, concerned citizens, party constituents and members
of the diplomatic corps, Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN)
decried the current political system in Nicaragua and urged
candidates to incorporate a series of sweeping reforms into
their presidential political platforms. Following the
national anthem, MpN Committee Executive Klaus Stadthagen set
the tone of the meeting by reading a prepared statement that
categorized the existing political system as "undemocratic
and corrupt", dominated by "caudillos, "big bosses enriching
themselves at the public's expense." With the atmosphere of
a political rally, the audience cheered after each
denunciation.

MpN Proposes Fundamental Reforms
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3. (U) Having captured the crowd's attention, MpN members
Cesar Castillo and Aurora Gurdian read a list of 28 diverse
and sweeping reforms aimed, in broad terms, at increasing
transparency and civil participation in the democratic
process, improving the quality and professionalism of elected
officials and redeploying the nation's resources to fight
poverty and improve education and health care. MpN leaders
emphasized that the current political structure, in which
individual parties or alliances run the functions of
government as fiefdoms, must be dismantled. Of the litany of
proposed reforms, the speakers elaborated on a small number
of key reforms, including::

-- Placing the issuance of voter registration cards and
national ID cards in the hands of an independent entity,
completely separate from the Supreme Electoral Council;

-- Reducing the number of magistrates in the Supreme
Electoral Council to five and implementing an electoral
procedure that ensures broader multi-partisan representation;

-- Cutting in half the number of National Assembly deputies,
limiting them to two terms in office, and eliminating many of
their privileges and benefits;

--Reducing the "mega salaries" and privileges of public
functionaries and redirecting the money for education, health
and food programs;

-- Fortifying the control mechanisms on the use of national
resources and applying sanctions and penalties in cases of
misuse or corruption; and

-- Reestablishing the 45% minimum threshold required to elect
a president and vice president in the first round of voting
(from the current 35%).

Room for Discussion
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4. (U) Following the formal presentation, the MpN opened the
meeting to audience participation. In rapid succession, the
microphone moved from person to person, soliciting ideas and
comments from a diverse array of audience members who
identified themselves as university students, professionals,
party constituents, etc. While the audience participation
was lively, the only substantial critique of the MpN's
proposals was the exclusion of any proposal related to
denying immunity for former military and government
officials. (Note: Surprisingly, during the audience

participation portion, there was no debate or arguing between
the MpN and the audience or among the audience themselves on
the issues raised. End note)

Comment
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5. (SBU) MpN's public announcement of its Basic Agenda for
the Nation is a bold step. Not only is the MpN denouncing
the corruption and collusion that define the existing
political system, it is raising the bar by publicly calling
on the parties to proactively adapt sound measures to
increase civil participation and transparency. Whether or
not anyone was listening to the MpN will play out over the
coming days and weeks as the candidates announce and clarify
their platforms and the public responds.


6. (SBU) Much of the MpN's success in convincing parties to
integrate these measures may depend on its abilities to work
collaboratively with the parties and to further define and
clarify how to implement their proposals. Interestingly,
after the presentation of the 28 proposed reforms, there was
virtually no further drill-down into any of the issues during
the open discussion portion of the conference. This raises a
question about how well the MpN has fleshed-out these
proposals.
TRIVELLI