PRIME MINISTER BLASTS BOLIVARIAN CENTER IN PUNO

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 002490

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2027
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PE VE
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER BLASTS BOLIVARIAN CENTER IN PUNO

REF: A. LIMA 2000


B. LIMA 2236

C. LIMA 2319

Classified By: A/POLCON David Boyle, for Reasons 1.4 (c,d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Prime Minister Jorge Del Castillo has
publicly criticized the Venezuelan-funded Bolivarian
Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA) center
in Puno as a front for foreign political meddling in Peru and
has said ALBA exists "on the margins of the law." Other
officials have joined in what has become a chorus of
criticism directed at Puno regional president Hernan Fuentes.
Defending himself vigorously, Fuentes has insisted that the
ALBA center, opened earlier this year, seeks only to increase
Latin American solidarity and to improve medical services for
the poor. Fuentes also declared Castillo "persona non grata"
in Puno. Most Puno politicians see the affray as the result
of a blundering regional president trying to redirect local
discontent away from his administration's failings. At the
same time, the renewed public attention directed to the ALBA
center has revealed, once again, Venezuelan efforts to stir
unrest in Peru. End Summary

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ALBA's Critics
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2. (C) On July 8, Prime Minister Del Castillo said the
existence of an ALBA center in Puno was "on the margins of
the law" and asked Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde to
investigate whether Fuentes had broken Peruvian law by
entering into an agreement with a foreign state. (Comment:
Garcia Belaunde told Ambassador Struble July 16 that the
center probably does not violate any laws and would be
difficult to shut down. End Comment) Del Castillo rejected
the claim made by President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez that the
center's role was merely "symbolic" and insisted ALBA
represented a clear example of foreign meddling in Peruvian
affairs. Del Castillo told the Ambassador July 9 that in his
view, Venezuelan Charge Virily Torres should be expelled for
her public association with radical protesters and the ALBA
center, although the GOP had not made a final decision on her
status.


3. (SBU) Other government officials seconded del Castillo's
criticisms. Minister of Commerce Mercedes Aaroz said
Venezuela had funded the ALBA center to coordinate radical
protests against the Garcia administration. Congressman
Caesar Zumaesta claimed ALBA's purpose was to slow Peru's
economic growth and to create opposition to the PTPA.
Rolando Sousa, head of the congressional committee on
external relations, said Venezuelan money was flowing into
the ALBA center to fund the street protests that have broken
out in different regions of Peru (reftel C).

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ALBA's Defenders
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4. (SBU) Fuentes refused to back down in the face of
widespread criticism and said that he was an admirer of
Chavez and the Bolivarian model of government. He declared
del Castillo and President Alan Garcia "persona non grata" in
Puno and insisted he would continue to lead street protests,
including marches to demand an international highway through
Puno. In an interview with poloff on June 7, Fuentes said
the real issue was the central government's unwillingness to
fund social development in Puno, which had forced him to turn
to Venezuela for help (reftel A). Fuentes admitted he was a
radical, but a "pragmatic radical."


5. (SBU) The head of the Alba center, Marcial Maidona, gave
Poloff a two-hour tour of the center on June 7. ALBA is
housed in a decaying building two blocks from downtown Puno.
Although pictures of Chavez and Castro adorn the walls, the
center lacks chairs, telephones, computers, and staff, and
every door in the building hangs crooked. Meetings are held
in one of two open courtyards. Maidona said the center
exists to coordinate medical treatment for the poor as part
of Mission Milagros, funded by Venezuela, and to coordinate
regional political meetings. Poloff attended one of the
meetings, which consisted of municipal representatives from
northern Puno arguing over who was in charge of the meeting.

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Fuentes - The Immediate Threat
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6. (SBU) Residents of Puno, including the regional vice
president, congressional representatives, and the opposition,
see Fuentes as the immediate threat to democracy in the
region. Alberto Quintanilla, who lost the regional election
to Fuentes by one percentage point, told poloff that Fuentes
has been thrown out of the party that elected him and that
four former allies of Fuentes in the 12-member regional
legislature had joined the opposition. Mario Justo,
vice-president of Puno, said Fuentes was interested in
Bolivarianism because he was an "autocrat in training." Puno
congressman Yonhoy Lescano said plans are already underway to
recall Fuentes.

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Venezuela -- The Long-Term Threat
--------------


7. (SBU) For many GOP officials and civil society
representatives, the ALBA center in Puno provides an example
of how Venezuela plans to exploit local discontent to further
the cause of Bolivarian revolution. Although hard evidence
about Venezuelan funding is lacking, observers note that
demonstrations in Puno -- and throughout the region -- have
become better organized and financed since ALBA opened. The
regional presidents of Loreto and Lambayeque have announced
their interest in opening ALBA centers, and in Lambayeque,
the Venezuelans repeated the pattern established in Puno by
sending more than 100 residents to Caracas for free medical
treatment and by offering scholarships to poor students.


8. (C) Comment: Local Puno officials expect Fuentes to be
recalled in January (by law, he can only be recalled after
serving one year in office). Fuentes has, within six months,
alienated everyone he works with and has polarized an already
fragmented electorate. But the real significance of his term
in office is that it reveals Venezuela's strategy of grafting
socialist revolution onto localized discontent. Garcia
Belaunde and Defense Minister Alan Wagner told the Ambassador
that the GOP lacks evidence that Venezuela is funneling money
through the Alba center, but both are convinced that
Venezuelan funds are being used to destabilize the
countryside. What is clear is that the Venezuelans are
taking a long-term approach in Puno and elsewhere in Peru,
exploiting the weaknesses of regional and municipal
governments to fuel popular unrest that they hope, in time,
will produce a movement capable of revolutionary change. End
Comment.
STRUBLE