NORTHERNERS BEMOAN MANAGUA NEGLECT TO AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002053

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NU
SUBJECT: NORTHERNERS BEMOAN MANAGUA NEGLECT TO AMBASSADOR


Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The pressing needs of local leaders, NGO's
and election campaigns were clearly presented during the
Ambassador's recent trip to the rural northern departments of
Madriz, Nuevo Segovia, and Esteli. The Ambassador garnered
considerable support for his anti Aleman-Ortega pact message
and was courteously received by all leaders, including
members of the Sandinista Front (FSLN). The Ambassador
inaugurated various USAID development sites and lunched with
local Peace Corps volunteers. Distinct from the atmosphere
of Managua, the politics of this rural area are wrapped up in
the needs of the people. ALN and MRS campaign leaders feel
neglected by leadership in Managua and current FSLN and PLC
mayors face problems and challenges for which they lack
support. Election fraud is another area of concern in these
northern departments and democracy NGO's face specific
challenges such as educating the voter over a large area
where transportation is difficult. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) (SBU) Ambassador and poloffs traveled to the Northern
Departments of Madriz, Esteli, and Nuevo Segovia on August
29-30 as part of the Ambassadors continuing pre-election
tour. He met with the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) and
the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) campaign committees
of each department, as well as with local mayors of different
parties. He also met with the Movement for Nicaragua (MpN)
and Ethics and Transparency (EyT) representatives from the
three regions, as well as the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE)
regional representatives. In addition, he spoke to members
of the private sector and economic associations from the
three regions. The Ambassador took the opportunity to visit
two USAID project sites, the pediatric wing of a local
hospital, and a rural nutrition fair where he was very well
received and lunched with local Peace Corps volunteers. At
the end of the trip he was interviewed by Radio ABC, a
politically centrist station with a large listening audience.
His visit drew considerable attention and coverage by the
local and national press.

LOCAL LEADERS EXPRESS SERIOUS NEEDS AND CONCERNS, FEEL
NEGLECTED BY MANAGUA LEADERSHIP
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


3. (C) All three ALN committees expressed a strong need for
more attention and dedication from their party's campaign
leadership in Managua, noting they feel neglected and lack
campaign materials and funds. (Note: This disconnect was
also the main flaw of the ALN campaign on the Atlantic Coast.
While the party leadership is aware of the problem, it still
persists. END NOTE.) Domination by the FSLN and PLC of the
primary means of communication in the area also hinders local
ALN campaign efforts. Raul Herrera, National Assembly deputy
candidate for Esteli was confident that with well trained
party poll watchers (fiscales) and support from central
leadership, they can win one of the Assembly seats in the
department, but doubted that Montealegre will carry
FSLN-dominated Esteli. He believed that an alliance with the
MRS is potentially a more viable option than one with the
PLC, which may still be necessary to prevent FSLN candidate
Daniel Ortega from winning on the first round.


4. (C) MRS Committee members noted that since the July death
of leader Herty Lewites, campaign funds have dried up.
Nevertheless, they were very enthusiastic about their party's
efforts and asserted that the polls are improving and
presidential candidate Edmundo Jarquin is popular with
educated youth. First Assembly deputy candidate in Esteli,
Amado Briones, enthusiastically declared that the 2006
election is the greatest chance in Nicaraguan history to
establish a true democracy and the first election that
involves more than two major parties. They reiterated that
most MRS members used to be members of the FSLN, their
parents were FSLN, but Ortega has betrayed them and the
revolution. They accused the FSLN of changing their
long-standing position on therapeutic abortion to appease the
Catholic church and said that the FSLN is using intimidation
tactics (such as threatening people that they will lose their
jobs if they don't vote for Ortega) to secure the vote in
these rural departments. Nuevo Segovia and Madriz MRS
members assured the Ambassador that in the event of a second
round, they would support Eduardo Montealegre and they would
cooperate with the ALN after the election. However, MRS
members in Esteli held firm that if any party other than the
MRS wins, it will equate to an FSLN victory, given the nature
of the Aleman-Ortega pact and Eduardo Montealegre's continued
problems with the CENI scandal. All involved are very
concerned about Nicaragua's options if the FSLN steals the
election as well as being wary of close ties with the United
States, at the risk of negative public perception.


5. (C) Current PLC and FSLN leaders also expressed needs and
frustrations with national leadership. PLC mayors from
municipalities in Nuevo Segovia report they need money for
nutrition programs and education that they are not receiving
from the central government. Mayor of San Juan del Rio Coco,
Santos Javier Castellon lamented a "political poverty" that
accompanies the extreme poverty present in the region. Mayor
of San Nicolas in Esteli, Damacio Rizo (PLC) said that his
municipality does not have a health center and is completely
ignored by the Ministry of Health. For this neglect, they
both blame the Bolanos administration. Even the FSLN mayors
from Madriz told us they wished the central government would
give them more attention. They are aware that "aid money
pours into this country" and are frustrated that "they never
see it". Mayor of San Juan de Limay in Esteli, Maria
Espinoza, noted that money approved for local projects seldom
reaches its destination. Their most real concern is the
development of their municipalities and providing general
services to their citizens.


6. (C) The FSLN leaders also desire that an elected
Sandinista (FSLN) government be able to work with the United
States and are very anxious about whether or not this will
happen. According to FSLN mayors, this is the first meeting
of a U.S. Ambassador with FSLN mayors in the region. On the
whole, they see themselves as democratically elected leaders
who are respectful of democracy -- noting their interest in
helping their people -- and seemed disconnected from the
central leadership that directly hinders their efforts.


TWO TALES OF ONE CSE
- - - - - - - - - - --


7. (C) The leadership of all parties we saw, without
exception, criticized the behavior of local CSE offices,
claiming that they only issue national ID/voter
identification cards (cedulas) to supporters of their own
party. Briones, MRS deputy candidate in Esteli called the
CSE "16 mafiosos and 92 bums". ALN committee leaders wanted
to know what pressure international observers could place on
the CSE to encourage them to be more transparent and
accountable. MRS leaders also related that the FSLN is
registering its, but not other voters. The PLC in Nuevo
Segovia was concerned that the FSLN controls all government
offices and have been consolidating power and control since

1990. (Note: In fact, all of the mayors in Madriz are
members of the FSLN. END NOTE.)


8. (C) Democracy NGO's such as MpN and EyT are critical of
the CSE, observing that only PLC and FSLN members hold CSE
positions and it is a partisan organization. A majority of
FSLN mayors in three departments signifies that the party
controls local government mechanisms and enjoys access to
voter lists and ballots. They also reported major flaws in
the voter registration process including lack of leadership
will, parties filling out forms for voters, the high cost of
registration, partisan bias on the part of local mayors, and
FSLN control of local radio stations. MpN representative in
Esteli Xochilt Merlo, reported that of the 650 cedulas
solicited during the extension, not one has been returned
from Managua. Now, there is little they can do but pressure
the CSE to deliver the cedulas. Concerning voter
abstentionism, Merlo believes that many young voters are
disillusioned and do not want to vote because they cannot
identify a viable option. MpN representative in Nuevo
Segovia, Harold Bermudez, was concerned about the status of
Montealegre's campaign. He opined that the campaign must
retune its message towards anti-pacto themes and away from
anti-FSLN themes, as the local citizens are intelligent
voters who need information to link the PLC to corruption and
to the FSLN.


9. (C) The CSE representatives from each department defended
their work to the Ambassador. Rommel Reyes, CSE rep for
Nuevo Segovia and PLC member, asserted that one cannot oblige
the people to register or to vote. He also claimed that
about 70 percent of the citizens who solicited their cedula
during the application extension period would be issued
"supplementary documents" for use on 5 November and they will
receive their actual cedulas in the spring. Reyes stated
that he believes strongly in a two party system and that the
PLC can win in his department. Jaime Borge, CSE
representative in Madriz, also of the PLC, believes that
criticisms of the CSE are entirely politically motivated and
that everyone with the desire to register in his department
has been afforded a fair opportunity. Serious and sharp, the
CSE representative in Esteli Antonio Benavides, said that
while he is a Sandinista (FSLN) as a person, in his job he
has no political motivations, accepting that criticisms come
with the position. Beyond this, he believes the CSE will
execute a fair and transparent election

THE ALEMAN-ORTEGA PACT IN ACTION
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


10. (C) Many interlocutors voiced concerns over the
possibility of massive corruption of the vote in rural areas
by interfering with the voter registration process and the
vote itself. ALN leadership reported that the PLC's claims
to have the rural vote secured are false. Quite the
opposite, they believe that the PLC's rural machinery is
crumbling and the rural vote can be fought for and won.
However, MpN and EyT representatives from the same region
believe that the PLC still maintains considerable sway in
rural areas. ALN leaders asserted that the pact is actively
at work -- displayed through the CSE actions, manipulation of
information, and Arnoldo Aleman's continued control of the
PLC. They were also very concerned that the PLC and the FSLN
are working together to prepare serious election fraud and
that very little can be done to prevent it, as the two
parties control local government, giving them control of the
telephone system and ballot transportation.


11. (C) Additionally, ALN leaders asserted that the Christian
Alternative party (AC) does not "exist"; rather it is simply
a front party for the FSLN that appeals to religious voters.
They noted that rural voters are confused because they see
two liberal parties and are unsure for whom they should vote.
According to the ALN leaders, the PLC manipulates voters
with disinformation e.g. telling voters who intend to vote
for Eduardo to mark box #1, the PLC box. ALN leaders
recognized that the rural vote will be important for this
election, with the ALN campaign leader in Madriz estimating
that 70-75 percent of the vote in that department is rural.


12. (C) Mayor of Jicaro, Hugo Gomez, formally of the PLC and
a possible candidate to transfer to the ALN, came to speak
with the Ambassador with his four-year-old son in tow. As
Ramoncito eagerly dug into a pint of ice cream, Gomez
nervously expressed that his municipality suffers from
extreme poverty, insecurity, and unemployment and that people
lack schools and health care. He termed the voter
registration process corrupt, saying there was no CSE office
in his town until three months ago and that the FSLN controls
all CSE documents. Gomez claimes that he was expelled from
the party because he complained to his local party leadership
for continuously compromising with the FSLN and granting them
undue political space. He confirmed that he is considering
joining the ALN and will certainly vote for them, but remains
afraid of the possible repercussions.

UNIFICATION OF THE RIGHT
- - - - - - - - - - - -


13. (C) Despite rising doubts about the feasibility and
benefits of the unification of the Right, the Ambassador
heard many appeals to this effect. Both PLC and ALN members
wanted to know what is being done to bring the two sides
together. There is a great deal of concern and anxiety that
Daniel Ortega will win the election; thus, Liberal
representatives see unification as the only solution. Mayor
of San Juan del Rio Coco asserted that if the Right does not
come together, the country will be open to communism, "a
cancer that eats away until Nicaragua dies." Many expressed
their belief that the PLC is the only party with enough
infrastructure to defeat the FSLN. When members of the PLC
were asked how they view polls, they stated that no private
poll is believable. MpN representatives in the region shared
this skepticism in the polls, opining that the polls are
administered to advance the interests of one party.


14. (C) Concerned members of the regional economic and
commercial sector expressed a desire for the two parties of
the right to settle their differences and come together, for
the betterment of the country. They saw what happened to the
country in the 1980's when Ortega ran it and believe that
everything should be done to prevent an FSLN victory. They
warned that the economy will continue to suffer because
people are afraid to invest and have their
property/possessions confiscated, adding that the FSLN's
economic plan is untenable.
TRIVELLI