JOSE RIZO, ALEMAN'S "CHOSEN ONE," SELECTED AS PLC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000738 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NU SUBJECT: JOSE RIZO, ALEMAN'S "CHOSEN ONE," SELECTED AS PLC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE REF: A. MANAGUA 0728 ¶B. MANAGUA 0720 ¶C. MANAGUA 0709 ¶D. MANAGUA 0674 Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: After receiving a large majority of votes in the March 31 PLC "mini conventions," Jose Rizo was ratified by the PLC general convention on April 2 as the party's presidential candidate. RizoQ,s large margin of victory (64%),as well as a last-minute change to divide voting into 32 local districts rather than one vote at the general convention (Ref B),was seen by many as proof that Jose Rizo is PLC leader Arnoldo AlemanQ,s "chosen one." After the vote, the other pre-candidates, initially critical of the new selection process forced on them, endorsed Rizo to maintain unity in the party. Presidential candidates Eduardo Montealegre and Jose Antonio Alvarado also commented on the vote, with Montealegre proclaiming Rizo the hand-picked candidate of Aleman and Alvarado offering platitudes about Liberal unity. End Summary. RIZO WINS BY SUSPICIOUSLY WIDE MARGIN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) With 720 of 738 possible votes counted by April 2, Jose Rizo took the lead with 463 (64.3%). Enrique Quinonez came in a distant second with 124 votes (17.2%),followed by Ramiro Sacasa with 69 votes (9.6%),Francisco Aguirre Sacasa with 53 votes (7.4%),and Haroldo Montealegre with 11 votes (1.5%). Out of 32 districts counted, Rizo lost only five: Carazo and Miami went to Quinonez; Ramiro Sacasa won one district in Nueva Segovia and Jinotega Q) RizoQ,s native department; and Francisco Aguirre Sacasa took the third district of Managua. ¶3. (U) All of the pre-candidates except Rizo initially protested the decision of the PLC's Central Committee (CEN) to transfer the voting process from a secret vote at the PLC general convention to 32 "mini conventions," possibly with open voting, depending on the preference of the local convention members. The other pre-candidates protested strongly (Ref B),stating that the vote would not be free of Aleman's influence, and eventually forced the CEN to agree that all of the voting would be private, though the "mini-conventions" remained. Despite losing a process that many saw as clearly influenced by Aleman, all of the pre-candidates ultimately closed ranks and endorsed Rizo at the April 2 general convention. Even Enrique Quinonez, one of the strongest opponents of the "mini-conventions" proclaimed, "There was no 'dedo' (Aleman's influence on the vote),long live Dr. Rizo!" ¶4. (U) Jose Antonio Alvarado, presidential pre-candidate for APRE, equivocated when asked if he would consider becoming Rizo's vice presidential candidate, instead repeating his desire to promote "Liberal unity." Alvarado confirmed that APRE is negotiating with both the PLC and ALN-PC to form an alliance and again mentioned proposals to use multi-party primaries to unite the anti-Sandinista forces. ALN-PC: PLC CONVENTIONS A "SHOW" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) ALN-PC spokesman Eliseo Nunez called the PLC "mini-conventions" a "party show," claiming that all of the convention members were selected by Aleman. Nunez claimed that Rizo's defeat in Jinotega was planned on purpose to try to give the vote an air of legitimacy. (Note: We have heard repeatedly first hand that Rizo is not popular in Jinotega as locals blame him for not delivering any benefits to the department during his tenure as vice president. End Note.) Eduardo Montealegre stated that the results clearly indicate that Jose Rizo is Aleman's "chosen one." Rizo responded by enjoining the PLC to unite to defeat the FSLN and the "party of the bankers" (ALN-PC). COMMENT: TIME IS RIPE FOR PRIMARY PROPOSAL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (C) Rizo has repeatedly signaled his willingness to participate in primaries, whether internal or multi-party. Now that he has been designated as the PLC's candidate, we can use our primary proposal (Ref C) to test his resolve. Businessman Carlos Pellas told Ambassador on April 3 that he would support the primary proposal, financially if necessary, and encourage the candidates to accept the terms. The PLC's response to the proposal will show if Rizo truly has the ability to direct the party away from Aleman, as he claims, or if he is merely a figurehead. TRIVELLI