PRESIDENT BOLANOS VETOS ASSEMBLY REFORM LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002724

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM NU
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BOLANOS VETOS ASSEMBLY REFORM LAW

REF: MANAGUA 2696 AND PREVIOUS

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


1. (C) Summary: Responding to civil society demands,
Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos vetoed the National
Assembly's recently passed ways and means bill ("Ley
Organica"). The veto met with mixed response in the
Assembly, but ultimately the Sandinista Front (FSLN) and
Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) deputies decided to call
for a special session of the Assembly to override the veto.
The Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) is investigating ways
to derail or delay the vote. End Summary.


2. (U) President Bolanos vetoed the Ley Organica (reftel) on
December 18, calling it "anti-democratic" and "somewhat
dictatorial." Bolanos justified the veto by claiming that
the Assembly was attempting to grant itself the
unconstitutional authority to summon private citizens, and
also to strip individual deputies of the power to present
bills to the Assembly's Executive Board by transferring this
right exclusively to caucus chiefs.


3. (U) The reaction of the National Assembly deputies to the
veto has been mixed. Deputies in the Nicaraguan Liberal
Alliance (ALN) caucus agreed with Bolanos that the bill is
unconstitutional. Maximino Rodriguez, the likely future head
of the Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) caucus, responded
that the President has a constitutional right to veto bills,
and the PLC has not yet decided how to respond. Sandinista
Front (FSLN) deputy and Executive Board vice president Rene
Nunez stated that the FSLN will call for a special session of
the Assembly to override Bolanos' veto.


4. (C) On December 19, PLC deputy and first secretary of the
Assembly's Executive Board Maria Auxiliadora Aleman, with the
support of the FSLN Board members, called on the deputies to
meet in special sessions on December 21 and 23. ALN deputy
Miguel Lopez informed us that the ALN is attempting to track
down ALN-affiliated Assembly president Eduardo Gomez and
bring him back from vacation abroad to attempt to block the
special sessions. Lopez stated that Aleman did not define an
agenda for the sessions, but business will undoubtedly
include a vote to override the Ley Organica veto and possibly
other prejudicial votes cooked up by the FSLN-PLC pact before
more opposition deputies join the Assembly next year.


5. (SBU) The President and Assembly caucuses disagree on the
Executive Board's authority to call a special session.
Bolanos and the ALN contend that only the President of the
Republic may convoke the Assembly after the official closing
of the session (which occurred on December 15). The FSLN
argues that the Executive Board may convoke the session.
According to the National Assembly's procedural regulations,
the Assembly technically remains in session during the final
year of its term until the new Assembly is inaugurated --
which seems to support the FSLN's interpretation.


6. (C) Comment: Senior Assembly functionary Armando Garcia
reported that President-elect Daniel Ortega is upset that
Bolanos reneged on an agreement to ignore the bill, which
would have allowed the Assembly to enact it without a vote to
override the veto. Robust civil society pressure has forced
the PLC and FSLN to back away from some of the more
controversial elements of the bill, and may sway the new
Assembly to scrap it altogether if the FSLN and PLC are not
able to orchestrate a vote to override Bolanos' veto before
January 9.
TRIVELLI