FENCOMIN CONSIDERING FORMING OWN POLITICAL PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 001403 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2017 TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL BL SUBJECT: FENCOMIN CONSIDERING FORMING OWN POLITICAL PARTY Classified By: Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (C) At the request of the National Federation of Cooperative Miners of Bolivia (FENCOMIN),Emboffs met with FENCOMIN President Andres Villca Daza and Press Relations Coordinator Jose Antonio Condori on May 18. This is the first time in some time that FENCOMIN has approached the Embassy, and FENCOMIN told Emboffs that the federation is considering forming its own political party, having grown disillusioned with the policies of President Morales's Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. Villca stated that FENCOMIN currently is not politically allied with any group, having broken with the MAS over recent proposed changes to the mining code which would have been prejudicial to FENCOMIN's independent miners. Villca anticipates that a FENCOMIN-backed political party would not have the power to elect a president, but would be able to elect at least one senator, which would allow their grievances to be heard on a national level. ¶2. (C) In the meeting, Villca commented that in the past FENCOMIN had supported MAS but that now the federation feels it has no say in the government it helped elect. He claimed that in the recent violence in Huanuni, the MAS "militarized" the conflict between FENCOMIN and salaried miners, leading to violence. Villca suggested that the MAS may be trying to eliminate the cooperatives completely. The cooperativist miners have, in fact, recently been the cause of a very public retreat on the part of MAS and President Morales (over a question of increased mine taxes),and it is not hard to imagine that MAS might wish for the disappearance of a difficult former ally. ¶3. (C) Comment: A public break from MAS on the part of FENCOMIN could be both a symbolic and practical blow to President Morales. Further rupture between FENCOMIN and MAS could hurt President Morales, since his popularity is based in part on the backing of the disenfranchised sectors of society. The independent miner in Bolivia is to some extent a symbol of national pride, and the idea that this prototypical Bolivian no longer supports the populist president could cause difficulties for Morales. More practically, FENCOMIN members are estimated to number between 45,000 and 60,000, and if FENCOMIN family-members also support the new FENCOMIN-backed party, the MAS could lose a significant block of votes. Additionally, FENCOMIN members have in the past figured prominently in street protests backing the MAS: the loss of a large number of dynamite-tossing supporters could weaken the MAS's street presence. End Comment. GOLDBERG