MAS DISMANTLING OF CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 002902

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2017
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL BL
SUBJECT: MAS DISMANTLING OF CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL

REF: LA PAZ 1664

Classified By: Acting EcoPol Chief Brian Quigley
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Two of five magistrates of Bolivia's Constitutional
Tribunal resigned on October 26 declaring that government's
"permanent aggression" against the court made it impossible
to continue their "normal activities." The Tribunal's
President Elizabeth Iniguez and it's deacon Martha Rojas each
sent a letter of resignation to Vice President Alvaro Garcia
Linera who also serves as the Congress' President. Congress
is responsible for appointing judges and magistrates. With
Iniguez and Rojas' resignation, the court has only three
magistrates left, which is the minimum to form a quorum.
However, with impeachment charges looming over the heads of
the remaining three, the tribunal is effectively near death
unless Congress acts to appoint new magistrates. Whether
Congress acts or not, the ruling Movement Toward Socialism
(MAS) now has ever greater influence over the tribunal. End
Summary.

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A Blistering Critique
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2. (U) Both magistrates offered blistering critiques of the
government and members of the MAS party in their resignation
letters. Iniguez wrote that she and her colleagues, despite
being absolved of government-sponsored impeachment charges on
October 18, continue to receive "attacks and threats of
suspension which make it impossible to carry-out normal
activities." Rojas in her resignation letter stated, "in the
current political context it is impossible to administer
constitutional justice with independence."


3. (U) Iniguez and Rojas, who are both women, also
categorized the government's campaign against the magistrates
as an attack on women. Referring to MAS deputy Gustavo
Torrico who recently stated the magistrates "lacked ethics,"
and were elected solely to meet "political quotas" and not on
merit, Iniguez stated that the declarations against the court
were "misogynistic" designed to denigrate a women's role in
high-level positions. Rojas called the MAS' campaign not
only an attack on her professionally, but an attack on her as
a woman and as a mother.

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MAS Reactions
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4. (U) As expected, the government and members of the MAS
were pleased with the resignations. Presidential
spokesperson Alex Contreras called the resignations a "good
sign," arguing it will lead to a renewal of the tribunal.
MAS deputy Gustavo Torrico stated the magistrates stepped
down not due to any threats but because they face additional
impeachment charges. He reiterated his accusation that the
magistrates acted without "ethics or morals."

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Tribunal in Jeopardy
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5. (U) The court fully staffed includes ten magistrates,
five primary magistrates (called "titulares" in Spanish) and
five alternates. With the October 26 resignations (effective
November 16 for Iniguez and November 5 for Rojas) there
remain three judges on the court and seven vacancies. (Note:
There were already five vacancies prior to the October 26
resignations. End Note). According to MAS deputies in
Congress, there are another 16 impeachment charges pending
against the magistrates. Once the MAS-dominated lower house
rules on an impeachment charge, the magistrates (included in
the charge) are suspended (reftel). Without a quorum of
three (non-suspended) magistrates the court cannot function.
It is up to Congress (by a two-thirds majority) to appoint
new magistrates.

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Comment
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6. (C) The Constitutional Tribunal now faces at least four
possible scenarios, each representing some form of victory
for the MAS. The four scenarios are:

i. The three remaining magistrates successfully defend
themselves against impeachment charges in the lower house,
but in the meantime can only minimally exercise their
judicial functions (unlikely since the MAS appears to want to
impeach the magistrates).

ii. The lower house successfully approves impeachment charges
against the three remaining magistrates thereby suspending
them and effectively shuttering the tribunal (likely).

iii. The MAS and opposition negotiate to appoint new
magistrates splitting the new appointees based upon
ideological loyalties similar to what occurred with the
recent nomination of new supreme court justices (likely given
that this option gives the opposition some control over the
composition of the court).

iv. Should Congress fail to appoint new magistrates before
its December recess, President Morales will be able to
exercise his constitutional authority to appoint interim
magistrates (unlikely but possible if the opposition does not
pursue scenario three).

In all four scenarios the MAS gains greater influence over
the Constitutional Tribunal, thus reducing the tribunal's
independence. End Comment.
GOLDBERG