BONILLA: LIBERALS MUST MEND THEIR DIFFERENCES OR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 000181 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM NU SUBJECT: BONILLA: LIBERALS MUST MEND THEIR DIFFERENCES OR LOSE NICARAGUA TO ORTEGA REF: MANAGUA 0175 Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) lawmaker Yamileth Bonilla, who heads the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, believes that President Ortega's efforts to consolidate his power only days after assuming office have shocked the ALN and rival Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) into realizing they must either work together or Nicaragua will suffer an Ortega regime for at least ten years. Bonilla recently told us that ALN and PLC lawmakers are negotiating to downplay their differences and focus instead on their shared goal to slow Ortega's apparent rush to change Nicaragua's political model. These modest signs of ALN-PLC rapprochement are encouraging, but we can expect the Sandinistas and those PLC lawmakers still unequivocally tied to Aleman will attempt to derail these efforts. We will continue to encourage opposition lawmakers to seek common ground and will reach out to Convergencia legislators and FSLN dissidents. End Summary. Ortega Shock Therapy Prompts Liberal Rapprochement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) ALN National Assembly lawmaker Yamileth Bonilla -- who on January 19 was elected president of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee -- told PolCouns later the same day that President Ortega's rush to consolidate his power only days after assuming office has seriously shaken up the ALN and the rival Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC). Bonilla, who remarked that the two estranged liberal parties have awakened to the harsh reality that either they work together or Nicaragua will suffer an Ortega regime for at least ten years, opined that PLC caudillo/convicted money launder Arnoldo Aleman's influence on the PLC appears to be waning. Ortega's evident intentions to alter the course of Nicaragua's history along the path of an authoritarian Chavez-style regime has been a "shock therapy," for the liberals, opined Bonilla. ¶3. (C) Bonilla remarked that before Ortega's inauguration, Aleman exercised almost total control of PLC lawmakers. However, when Ortega assumed office and immediately showed his true intentions, many PLC deputies realized that Aleman's reliance on Ortega had caused him to sell his party and Nicaragua to the Sandinistas. PolCouns recounted our 1/17th meeting (septel) with PLC deputies Maximino Rodriguez (PLC caucus leader),Jose Pallais, and Victor Duarte, noting that the PLC deputies admitted that "liberal divisions and egos" had enabled Ortega to win the election and conceded that their differences with the ALN are petty in comparison to the threats posed by Ortega. Rodriguez had also reported that he and other PLC deputies are meeting with ALN lawmakers to seek a common legislative agenda to offset Ortega's aggressive power grab. ¶4. (C) Bonilla, who was pleased with our engagement with PLC lawmakers, related how earlier in the day she and other ALN deputies had met with several of their PLC counterparts -- including Maximino Rodriguez, Jose Pallais, Enrique Quinonez, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, Freddy Torrez, and Carlos Noguera. The PLC deputies reported that 19 of their members are willing to work with the ALN to block Ortega's efforts to consolidate his power through legislative reforms, including not approving Ortega's goal to "fast track" the passage of reforms to Laws 290 and 228. Rather, they will insist on dispatching the proposed revisions to either the Assembly's Defense or Judicial Committee for review, she said. Bonilla added that the PLC and ALN jointly hold the majority in both committees and can therefore exercise considerable influence over the final draft and that she had "persuaded" ALN leader/former presidential candidate Eduardo Montealegre to support sending the proposed revisions first to committee when the Assembly discusses the laws on January 24. ¶5. (C) On the subject of Law 290, which covers the authorities and duties of the Executive, PolCouns commented on the dangers posed by President Ortega's plan to establish national "advisory councils" and "community councils" that in essence will serve as parallel government structures. Through Ortega, the national councils will impose their policies on the ministries, while the community councils will "guide" the National Assembly, possibly replace the traditional role of civil society, and could end up receiving the lion's share of development assistance to the detriment of non-Sandinista NGOs. Bonilla, who agreed with this assessment, added that she will raise it with ALN caucus as well as the other lawmakers representing the other opposition parties. ALN and PLC Focus on Shared Agenda, Confidence Building - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (C) Expanding on the efforts of ALN and PLC lawmakers to minimize their differences to counter Ortega, Bonilla explained that the negotiators of both parties are trying to set aside the old game of picking off each others' followers and instead are focusing on creating a common legislative agenda. While she was hopeful that eventually the two liberal parties will form a more formal alliance, perhaps to the point of running together for the 2008 municipal elections, she acknowledged that for now, the ALN and PLC must avoid falling back into the "blame game," and rather, strive to build mutual confidence through their shared interests. ¶7. (C) PolCouns recounted that ALN caucus leader Maria Eugenia Sequeira had described to her on January 18 how PLC deputy/Assembly Board secretary Wilfredo Navarro had "betrayed" the PLC caucus' decision earlier that day to oppose the fast-tracking of Laws 290 and 228. During a meeting of the FSLN, ALN, and PLC caucuses with President Ortega later in the day, Navarro had "offered up" his party's support to vote on the laws the following day. Sequeira opined that Navarro was acting on Aleman's instructions in response to Ortega's orders. Bonilla, who offered a similar readout on the incident and noted that Navarro was one of the PLC deputies who blocked a number of ALN efforts late last year to reengage the PLC outside of Aleman's orbit, then shared her frustration over "personal differences" with Sequeira. PolCouns urged Bonilla to set aside these differences, as both lawmakers are valuable leaders who can each contribute to the daunting task ahead. But Diverge over Delaying Constitutional Reforms - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) Bonilla explained that earlier in the day the ALN caucus had voted with the FSLN to delay the implementation of a number of constitutional reforms, which would erode the power of the Executive and establish new independent regulatory agencies, as part of her party's effort to "break" or at least "weaken" Aleman's pact with Ortega. While she recognized that FSLN lawmakers assurances they will "support" future Assembly deliberations on Constitutional reforms -- including ALN's proposal to end presidential reelection and to require a presidential candidate must win at least 50 percent of the popular vote to win the election on the first round -- are tenuous and could instead open a "Pandora's box" to a full-fledged constitutional assembly to Ortega's liking. However, at this juncture, any effort to erode the FSLN-PLC pact should take precedence, asserted Bonilla. The Numbers Game - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (C) Calculating out loud, Bonilla concluded that the sum of the ALN's 23 votes (Montealegre and former President Bolanos),19 PLC votes, plus the Sandinista Renovation Movement's (MRS) three votes total 45, just short of the 47 required for a simple legislative majority. PolCouns noted that with this arrangement, the FSLN plus its allies would no longer enjoy a 2/3 majority (56 votes),but it would still maintain a simple majority in the Assembly. PolCouns inquired whether any of the Assembly Convergencia lawmakers allied with the FSLN might consider voting against the FSLN on the proposed reforms to Laws 290 and 228 and other legislation, for example Augustin Jarquin or Miriam Arguello. Bonilla, who related that Jarquin and Arguello appear to be "uneasy" over Ortega's push to ram through questionable legislation and are dissatisfied with the fact he is not appointing Convergencia members to his government, agreed that Convergencia lawmakers are worth approaching. Comment - - - - ¶10. (C) These fledgling signs of ALN-PLC rapprochement are encouraging, but as in the past, we can expect that the Sandinista and PLC lawmakers unequivocally tied to Aleman will once more attempt to derail these efforts. In addition to the seemingly growing divisions in the PLC camp, the ALN must contend with its own internal rivalries. And, opposition parties must develop alternatives to the Sandinistas' growing network of NGOs offering tangible solutions to Nicaraguan communities. We will continue to encourage ALN, PLC, and MRS deputies to seek common ground and to develop a campaign for a democratic model based on good governance, justice, and accountability. We will also reach out to Convergencia legislators and maintain our dialogue with FSLN dissidents like Alejandro Martinez Cuenca. TRIVELLI