HERTY SEEKS CORDIAL, CONSTRUCTIVE, COOPERATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000251

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2016
TAGS: KDEM NU PGOV PINR PREL KCOR
SUBJECT: HERTY SEEKS CORDIAL, CONSTRUCTIVE, COOPERATIVE
RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES

Classified By: DCM Peter M. Brennan. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).


1. (C) Summary: Sandinista (FSLN) dissident Herty Lewites
seeks cordial, constructive, and cooperative relations with
the United States and will request a prestigious U.S.
delegation attend his inauguration if he wins Nicaragua's
November presidential election. In his recent meeting with
Ambassador, Lewites voiced support for CAFTA and favored
MANDPADS destruction. Lewites asserted that he and
Montealegre need one other to move Nicaragua beyond its
caudillo political culture. He warned of Supreme Electoral
Commission (CSE) fraud, asserting that if Sandinista caudillo
Daniel Ortega causes him to be disqualified from running for
office, Lewites will give Ortega some of his own medicine by
taking to the streets. In a fair election, Lewites estimates
that some 40 percent of Sandinista voters and a number of
independent and Liberal voters will vote for him. He is
clearly fluent in the kind of "talk" that puts us at ease.
Whether he will "walk" with us if he is elected is less ce
rtain, but possible; he is a pragmatist and a businessman.
End Summary.

Talking the Talk
- - - - - - - - -


2. (C) In Ambassador's February 1 breakfast meeting with
Sandinista dissident/presidential-hopeful Herty Lewites, a
relaxed and confident Lewites was effusive in his desire to
maintain cordial, constructive, and cooperative relations
with the United States. Lewites shared that if he is
elected, he will request a high-level U.S. delegation to
attend his inauguration to demonstrate that the two
governments will be strong allies. Lewites was unequivocal
in his support for CAFTA, although he noted that small
farmers must in some way be assisted. He also favors
MANDPADS destruction, predicting that the remaining MANPADS
will be destroyed well before the November elections because
they are of no good use to anybody. Lewites predicted,
however that a strong, convincing case is in order to pass
much-needed IPR legislation. Thousands of people earn their
livelihood by selling illegal cassettes; better to go after
the producers of these materials, not the street vendors,
suggested Lewites.

CSE Manipulations Weaken Chance for Change Candidates
- - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - -


3. (C) Lewites -- who shared he will meet with Liberal
dissident and presidential-hopeful Eduardo Montealegre later
today to discuss their positions on Supreme Electoral Council
(CSE) efforts to suspend Electoral Law articles 41 and 166 --
opined that they both face a "lose-lose" situation in the
Atlantic Coast elections. The two articles enable voters to
vote at a voting station (JRV) near their place of residence
even if they are not listed at that particular JRV. Removing
these articles could swing the election outcome in favor of
the "Danielistas," who control the voter registry, warned
Lewites. Further, if Lewites and/or Montealegre boycott the
March regional elections out of protest, they could be
excluded from participation in the national elections. If
however, they participate, and widespread fraud occurs, they
will be complicit with the CSE and the precedent will be set
to exclude these articles in the November election.


4. (C) Note: Articles 41 and 116 present advantages and
disadvantages. Without Articles 41 and 116, a large number
of voters could fall victim to the "raton loco" -- running
around on Election Day to find where they are registered, as
occurred in the 2004 municipal elections. In 2004, many
Nicaraguans failed to find their JRV and could not vote.
Unless scrutinized, the Sandinistas could move around on the
list the voters sympathetic to Lewites or Montealegre as a
means to limit their ability to find their proper JRV on
Election Day, preventing many from voting, and tilting the
election in favor of the Sandinistas. On the other hand,
Articles 41 and 116 could enable a person to vote more than
once, unless strong checks are in place to prevent this.
According to Dionisio Palacios, former director of CSE's
cedulation (septel),in past elections some voters greased
their fingers before voting, enabling them to wash off the
supposed indelible ink after voting at one JRV so they could
vote at another JRV later in the day. End Note.

Lewites Platform: Clean, Lean, Government with a Liberal VP
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


5. (C) Lewites outlined his platform: lead a clean, lean,

and just government (he plans on bringing in a number of
young technocrats); with cuts in government fat, raise the
salaries of education, health, and other low-wage workers;
support CAFTA and attract investment; establish four
strategic food security/production centers in Sebaco,
Bluefields, Jalapa, and Chinandega; promote tourism; seek
non-fossil fuel energy alternatives with the help of foreign
investment; construct two Atlantic-Pacific coast highways
(North Atlantic and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions); and,
help finance construction of middle and lower income family
homes. To Ambassador's query over Lewites' VP choice, he
smiled and replied that it will be a Liberal, a real
surprise, but also reflective of the consensus government
Lewites intends to lead. "The left are good at giving, but
they do not produce anything, while the right produce but
don't share. We need a balance of the two," explained
Lewites. He expects to announce his running mate by April
(we have heard that Liberal/former INTUR president Lucia
Salazar could be Lewites' running mate.)

Montealegre and I Need Each Other
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


6. (C) Remarking that he will not be upset if Montealegre
wins the election because he knows Montealegre will also lead
the nation forward, Lewites argued that the two need one
another to change Nicaragua into a serious and prosperous
democracy. He believes that between the two of them they can
gain the 56 National Assembly seats required for much-needed
constitutional reforms. Lewites hopes to sign some sort of
pre-election commitment with Montealegre agreeing to work
together if either of them wins the presidency.

Lewites Counts on Modest Campaign Financing
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


7. (C) According to Lewites, all of his campaign financing
so far is foreign, primarily from three Panamanian families
(the Mota family has contributed some USD 1.5 million). He
is also talking to Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Costa Rican
business interests and has received some support from Costa
Rican food and cooking oils magnate Nacho Gonzalez. Lewites
estimated he will receive a total of about USD 5 million, a
much more modest sum than his competitors. According to
Lewites, Chavez is contributing generously to Ortega's
campaign, and Ortega is using the funds to deliver foodstuffs
to the most remote corners of Nicaragua. He presented no
details, however, of Chavez' contributions. (Comment: Some
Embassy contacts have alleged that Daniel Ortega's brother
Humberto is the big bucks behind Lewites' campaign, but we
have not seen evidence that supports this -- although he does
have the Costa Rican connections.


8. (C) Lewites was unwavering in his response to
Ambassador's comment that the Danielistas could attempt to
disqualify him from running in the November election: "I will
take to the streets if this happens." He asserted that he
enjoys enough support to achieve this and will take this
route if he is left with no other recourse.

Strike Hard Against Daniel, Lay Low on Sandinismo
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


9. (C) Lewites opined that Ambassador's statements have been
unusually strong from a diplomat but that this tough approach
is required to get the message out. Nonetheless, he
suggested that while the Ambassador and other officials
continue to strike hard against Ortega, we should avoid
condemning Sandinistas at large. This would help Lewites
draw more votes from Ortega. He estimated that some 40
percent of Sandinista voters plus a number of independent and
Liberal voters will vote for him.

BIO
---


10. (U) Herty LEWITES Rodriguez was born December 24, 1939
in Jinotepe, of a Jewish immigrant father and a Nicaraguan
mother. He joined the struggle against the Somoza regime in
1958 and went into exile in Brazil in 1960. Lewites' brother
Israel died in the Sandinista attack on the Masaya barracks
on October 1977. Lewites was not involved in combat, but
handled financial matters and arms smuggling. During the
Sandinista regime he was a close ally of the Ortega brothers
and served as minister of Tourism. He was elected to the
National Assembly in 1990 and aligned himself with Sergio
Ramirez' Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) against Daniel

Ortega's faction. He ran on his own ticket for mayor of
Managua in 1996 and lost (the vote split the Sandinistas and
the liberals won). Then in 2000, Ortega supported Lewites'
campaign for mayor and Lewites won. After Lewites started
removing corrupt municipal members associated with Ortega and
Bayardo Arce, he fell out again with Ortega. He was expelled
from the FSLN after he challenged Daniel Ortega to hold
primaries to select the FSLN's presidential candidate.

COMMENT
- - - -


11. (C) Lewites is clearly fluent in the kind of "talk" that
puts us at ease. Whether he will "walk" with us if he is
elected is less certain, but possible, nonetheless. Lewites
is a pragmatist and a businessman. His close ties with
Israel and Jewish communities in a number of countries
suggest he certainly will not toe the not uncommon leftist
line against Israel and its ally the United States.
TRIVELLI