PRESIDENT MORALES' NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

UNCLAS LA PAZ 000017

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MORALES' NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS


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Summary
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1. (SBU) President Morales and his Movement Toward Socialism
(MAS) party have been very active in the days leading up to
and following the start of 2007. On December 30, taking
legal advantage of the Congress not being in session, Morales
announced the appointment of four interim supreme court
justices. Following these questionable appointments, on
January 2, Morales criticized the court system as corrupt,
called the supreme court justices he had not appointed relics
of past governments, and urged judges to cooperate and
support the GOB's policies of "change." On New Year's eve
the president inaugurated a Venezuelan-financed coca-tea
factory in the Chapare region, during which the vice
president made statements that the MAS party's revolution
will produce results in eight years although Morales' current
mandate is only for five. Later, Morales kicked off 2007
with a midnight cabinet meeting where he signed off on five
decrees, two of which directly impact the United States. The
first decree requires tourist visas for Americans traveling
to Bolivia. The second decree calls for Bolivian consulates
in the United States to issue undocumented Bolivians
"intelligent identification cards" that the GOB says will
provide unspecified American health benefits, the ability to
open bank accounts, and obtain driver's licenses in the
United States. Embassy La Paz was not advised of either
measure in advance. The GOB's hectic New Year's pace will
continue at least through January 4 and 5 when the MAS will
hold a meeting in Cochabamba to discuss its 2007 strategy and
a possible cabinet reshuffling. End Summary.

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Full Court Press
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2. (SBU) On December 30, taking legal advantage of the
Congress not being in session, President Morales announced
the appointment of four interim supreme court justices. The
name of supreme court justices usually requires a two-thirds
Congressional approval if Congress is in session. The
announcement fills the vacancies of four justices who
stepped-down from the court in 2006 after the president had
cut their pay as part of government-wide reduction in
salaries. The president argued he was forced to appoint new
judges because of the extreme delays in Bolivia's judicial
system. He also stated his appointments were not MAS
loyalists. Opposition leader, and former president, Jorge
"Tuto" Quiroga called Morales' appointments an "attack on
democracy," and that the judges legally should have been
appointed by Congress.


3. (SBU) At the January 2 opening of the new judicial year,
Morales criticized the court system as corrupt, called the
supreme court justices that he did not appoint relics of past
governments, and urged judges to cooperate and support the
GOB's policies of "change." In a direct verbal attack on the
president of the supreme court, Morales stated, "Justice is
seen with fear, and as a business (corrupt). . . . If here,
Mr. President of the Supreme Court of Justice, you do not
feel the changes, the people feel the changes, they feel the
social and structural changes." He went on to attack
ex-President Rodriguez (and former supreme court president),
stating he lied regarding the decommissioning of Chinese
MANPADS missiles. Later he suggested that social sector
groups hold a summit to discuss judicial reform.

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Coca Tea Factory - Seven "MAS" Years?
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4. (SBU) On New Year's eve President Morales, Vice President
Garcia Linera, and the Cuban Ambassador inaugurated a coca
"industrialization" plant in the Chapare region. The
president announced that both Cuba and Venezuela were
contributing to the project. Morales said that Caracas is
providing one million USD for the coca-tea plant. He
emphasized that the factory was an act of national
sovereignty and that Bolivia did not have to ask the United
States' permission to industrialize coca. The vice president
took the opportunity to outline the GOB's four primary goals
for 2007 which include a more efficient bureaucracy,
investment in disadvantaged regions, universal social
security coverage, and increasing the GOB's share of mining
revenues. The vice president then inexplicably made
statements that the MAS party's revolution will produce
results in eight years, although Morales' current mandate is
only for five.

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Visas for Americans, "Intelligent Cards" for Bolivians
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5. (SBU) Morales kicked off 2007 with a January 1 midnight
cabinet meeting where he signed off on five decrees, two of
which directly impact the United States. The first decree
requires tourist visas for Americans traveling to Bolivia.
Previously, American tourists could travel to Bolivia
visa-free for up to thirty days. Embassy La Paz was not
consulted regarding the new visa requirement. On January 2,
Juan Ramon Quintana, the Minister of the Presidency,
explained the new visa requirement as a matter of
reciprocity, national sovereignty, and as a way for the GOB
to better protect its citizens. Quintana justified the new
visa requirement by citing the 2006 bombing of a La Paz hotel
by a mentally unstable American. (Note: The American entered
Bolivia on a "World Service Authority Passport," not a United
States passport. End Note). Bolivian companies (especially
those involved in tourism) are critical of the GOB's new visa
requirement. The press has already noted inconsistencies in
the reciprocity argument, noting that Cubans and Venezuelans
are not required to get visas even though both countries
require visas of Bolivians.


6. (SBU) The second decree calls for Bolivian consulates in
the United States to issue undocumented Bolivians
"intelligent identification cards" that the GOB says will
provide unspecified American health benefits, the ability to
open bank accounts, and obtain driver's licenses in the
United States. The GOB states the cards will cost
thirty-five USD. According to Foreign Minister David
Choquehuanca, the program will be piloted in the in the
Washington, DC metropolitan area. Choquehuanca has admitted
that no USG authorities were consulted regarding the program.

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Comment
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7. (SBU) In addition to the New Year's day visa and consular
card decrees, Morales approved new labor rules and a
universal health coverage program. These measures are sure
to be popular with his base. The GOB's hectic New Year's
pace will continue at least through January 4 and 5 as it
holds a meeting in Cochabamba to discuss its 2007 strategy
and a possible cabinet reshuffling. The GOB denies a cabinet
shake-up is in the works. End Comment.
GOLDBERG