ATMOSPHERICS OF ORTEGA INAUGURATION: CHAOS AND POPULISM TRUMPS SECURITY AND PROTOCOL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANAGUA 000225 SIPDIS SIPDIS HHS FOR SECRETARY LEAVITT MCC FOR AMB. DANILOVICH DEPT FOR WHA A/S SHANNON, WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2017 TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KDEM NU SUBJECT: ATMOSPHERICS OF ORTEGA INAUGURATION: CHAOS AND POPULISM TRUMPS SECURITY AND PROTOCOL REF: A. A. MANAGUA 0106 ¶B. B.MANAGUA 0202 ¶C. C.MANAGUA 0140 ¶D. DMANAGUA 0175 Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reason 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The inauguration of President Daniel Ortega on January 10 projected an odd image of disorder, amateurism, and unceremonious conduct, where populism trumped protocol, and security was virtually non-existent. Heads of state, royalty, ministers, and other dignitaries from over 64 countries waited nearly two hours in the baking sun, until the arrival of President Hugo Chavez from Venezuela just before sundown signaled it was time for the show to begin. Instead of giving his formal remarks as programmed, President Ortega closed the proceedings with the departing words, "my people await me," and then rushed off to Plaza de La Fe for a popular rally accompanied by Presidents Chavez and Morales (reftel A),(and the President of Taiwan, looking as lost as an Eskimo in Africa.) The program commenced with a lengthy sermon by Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo and included an extended medal ceremony conferred by attractive young Nicaraguan female dancers. The following report offers a sampling of the atmospherics surrounding the inauguration, and a glimpse of the incoming government's management style and handling of its official ceremonies. End Summary Last-Minute Changes and the Murillo Effect - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) involved in the inauguration planning and logistics expressed exasperation with the overall management of the event by First Lady Rosario Murillo, Ortega's closest confidant, campaign manager, and the government's newly minted Director of Communications and Citizenry. They were particularly perturbed by Murillo's last-minute decision to change the inauguration venue without consulting the MFA team in charge of coordination. Several veterans complained to poloff that "this would be their last inauguration." Embassy officers assigned to the U.S. delegation visit also witness first hand Murillo's erratic management style and her tendency to control events, meetings, and festivities during the course of the inauguration. ¶3. (C) On January 9, the evening before the inauguration, the U.S. delegation met with Ortega and some of his key advisors at FSLN party headquarters. As a harbinger of the confusion that was to come, the timing of the meeting shifted back and forth throughout the day, up until minutes before the actual encounter took place close to 10:00 PM. (Samuel Santos, MFA-designate and longstanding FSLN militant, had instructed the U.S. delegation to wait at their hotel since Ortega was "running behind" with his other visitors.) In sharp contrast to the formal diplomatic reception for special missions hosted by outgoing Foreign Minister Norman Caldera at the MFA the same evening, the session with Ortega was bereft of protocol and no one from the FSLN ranks was present to receive the visiting delegations, creating an atmosphere of confusion and disorganization. ¶4. (C) Prior to meeting with the U.S. delegation, Ortega held an audience with the Russian delegation of two, who arrived in a pair of 7 series BMWs, and an extended conference with President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan and his entourage of several busloads of Taiwanese delegates (total size of Taiwanese delegation sent to Managua was at least 200). Rather than informing the U.S. Embassy of who would be attending the USDEL meeting with Ortega in advance, site officers had to track down the information minutes before the meeting to learn that Ortega would be joined by his wife, Santos, Ambassador-designate to the U.S. Arturo Cruz, and long-time FSLN member Bayardo Arce. Mohammed Lashtar, reportedly the nephew of Libyan President Mohammar Qadaffi, whom Ortega recently appointed as his private secretary, also sat at the table and took copious notes (reftel B). During the cordial meeting, Rosario Murillo was clearly in charge, speaking for Ortega when he faltered or had trouble answering questions. Murillo invoked the FSLN slogans of reconciliation, peace, love, and solidarity for the benefit of the delegates. A Free For All - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) The inauguration ceremony was scheduled to commence at 3:00 PM on January 10 at the Plaza de los No-Alineados (Plaza of the Non-Aligned) with the entry of national and international invitees, government and military officials, religious leaders, heads of government, and guests of honor -- but nothing went according to plan, and disorder prevailed. Although the U.S. delegation and other VIP invitees had been accorded a special seating area near the front of the dais and were in their seats promptly at 3:30 PM per MFA instructions, there was no enforcement of the seating arrangements, or any effort at crowd control by any of the uniformed officers. Shortly before the U.S. delegation arrived to take their seats, a group of Palestinian delegates attempted to claim seats in the same section, but they were subsequently displaced by Central American invitees. ¶6. (U) By the time Chavez made his grand entrance nearly two hours later, the seating arrangements had turned into a "free-for-all," with people taking matters into their own hands, grabbing chairs and moving them at will, blocking aisles and walkways. Some people walked randomly on stage to take pictures. Others decided to stake out their own "standing room only" territory in front of the stage, consequently obstructing the view of people trying to remain seated in the back of the plaza -- bringing any semblance of order and formality appropriate for the occasion to an end. ¶7. (SBU) Meanwhile, former President Arnoldo Aleman, convicted of fraud and money laundering and ostensibly under house arrest, was announced on stage and enjoyed a front-row seat along with his wife in the section reserved for invited guests of honor (he subsequently proclaimed his "solidarity" with Hugo Chavez). In contrast, Presidential candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) party and National Assembly deputy Eduardo Montealegre, who placed second to Ortega in the presidential race, fended for himself along with the crowd of people straining for a glimpse in the general seating/standing section. Embassy officers along with ambassadors and assorted European colleagues who were displaced from their seats, stood on the sidelines, alongside a ragtag crowd of Salvadoran guests waving red and black Faribundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) flags and cheering for Ortega. Interspersed among the FMLN and the diplomats were a number of Venezuelans sporting radios and orchestrating the cheering for their leader. Who Needs Security? - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) The lack of security and professionalism at the inauguration contributed to a circus-like and chaotic atmosphere. While an Embassy advance team took the time to review the inauguration site and logistics, and met with Nicaraguan police to determine access points for U.S. delegation the day before the event, everything had changed by the time guests were allowed to enter the plaza. The area set aside for VIP parking was declared "off limits" at the last minute, leading to confusion and anger on the part of many attendees, and created a serious bottleneck upon departure. There was only one point of entry to the plaza for the guests, but no security or identification checks were conducted. The darkly-clad snipers from the Nicaraguan SWAT unit positioned on the roofs of the tall buildings surrounding the plaza added a touch of surrealism to the occasion. Waiting for Chavez - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (C) The entire inaugural ceremony was put on hold for approximately two hours, without any public announcement or explanation, until the later-than-expected arrival of President Hugo Chavez who flew in from Caracas after his own inauguration the same day. The delay left most of the invited guests enduring nearly two hours in the intense heat and wind. By the time Chavez arrived, however, it was nearly sundown and dark for most of the festivities. After sitting in the hot sun for 90 minutes, MFA designate Santos invited the members of the U.S. delegation to wait under cover in the Olaf Palme convention center (a facility that had been abandoned and in disrepair for several years that was serving as a holding area for VIP guests) along with the attending heads of state, leaders from the hemisphere, and Crown Prince Felipe of Spain. Many of the leaders, notably President Uribe of Colombia and President Calderon of Mexico, were noticeably not amused by the delay. ¶10. (C) As the sun was setting, Chavez finally made his grand entrance bedecked in the colors of the Sandinista flag, flanked by a phalanx of Venezuelan body guards who pushed people aside, shouting "make way for the President." Ortega and Murillo immediately made their way across the room to greet their Venezuelan comrade. Ortega then proceeded to escort Chavez around the room for introductions, further delaying the commencement of the inauguration. ¶11. (C) Chavez took the opportunity to chat with Secretary Leavitt and quiz him about the current U.S. infant mortality rate, while boasting that Cuba had lowered its infant mortality rate to 5.5 deaths per 1,000 births. After explaining that Venezuela had lowered its rate from 24 to 15, Chavez quipped: "You know Mr. Secretary, you are in the health field. Maybe there is something you could help us with on that. Just because we fight publicly about politics, doesn't mean we can't cooperate privately on such things as health, science and technology." The Venezuelan President also joked that the "only reason" he could talk to the U.S. Ambassador and Secretary in such a "friendly way" was that they were "outside Venezuela," and asked Ambassador Trivelli to send his "warmest regards" to his homologue in Caracas. (At the signing of the ALBA trade agreement the following day, Chavez reportedly said that having seen the U.S. delegation the day before he was reminded of his first inauguration and how the U.S. subsequently "boycotted" his government, warning Daniel and Evo to beware the "knife in the back.") Sermons, Miscues, and Gaffes in Protocol - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶12. (U) Following the introductory procession, Cardinal Obando y Bravo delivered a lengthy sermon, ironically preaching on morality, ethics, and the evils of corruption, while convicted embezzler Aleman beamed in his seat of honor to the outrage and dismay of national and international observers. As the cardinal exhorted the new Sandinista government to "eradicate all possible forms of corruption in their public work," all eyes were on Aleman, who remained unfazed. Underscoring the harm that corruption posed to the country's development and its impact on the poor, the cardinal inveighed against corruption as an "insidious phenomenon" infecting many sectors of society and making a "mockery of the law." ¶13. (U) The festivities also featured musical miscues, lapses in formal procedures--including outgoing President Bolanos' failure to carry out the customary transfer of the presidential sash to the president of the National Assembly--a gun salute that was ill timed and interrupted one of the speakers, followed by the lighting of a larger than life neon image of FSLN icon Augusto C. Sandino which illuminated the facade of the Old Bank of America building overlooking the plaza. ¶14. (C) There was no plan for President Bolanos to make a graceful or escorted exit. According to the program, Ortega and Murillo were to accompany Bolanos and former First Lady Lila T. Abaunza in their departure from the event. Instead, the elder statesman Bolanos and his wheel-chair bound wife were ignored and left to fend for themselves, as Ortega and Chavez were essentially joined at the hip. ¶15. (C) Another unceremonious affront took place just before the National University of Engineering (UNI) ceremony to grant Chavez an honorary degree, (which ended up starting four hours late due to the Chavez factor.) The Brazilian ambassador (reftel. C),who was feeling ill, was stopped and challenged by a female FSLN employee when she tried to leave the auditorium. The ambassador explained she was not feeling well and needed to leave early, but the woman continued to block her exit, warning her she wanted to take a "good look at her face to remember her." The Brazilian ambassador retorted that she should remember her face well and also remember she is the ambassador of Brazil and deserved respect. ¶16. (U) One inauguration observer recounted that once Ortega donned the presidential sash, a weeping woman stood up and screamed: "Thank God the man is back!" Others gauged that Crown Prince Felipe of Spain drew noticeably louder applause than Ortega during the opening procession. ¶17. (C) Although he managed to pay a special tribute to his "twin" Chavez, Ortega did not deliver formal remarks as billed in the program. Instead, the newly inaugurated president dismissed the audience of waiting guests and dignitaries from around the world with the words "my people await me," and rushed off to the separate "popular ceremony" at Plaza de la Fe joined by Chavez and Evo Morales. Dancing Through Another Delay - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶18. (SBU) Perhaps one of the more entertaining components of the inauguration for those who could manage an unobstructed view, was the commemorative medal ceremony to honor the attending heads of state and government set to the tune of a classic Nicaraguan folk song. Although the program announced "Comandante Daniel" as granting the "Medal of Latin American Unity Free Nicaragua," instead attractive young female dancers from the Nicaraguan Dance Troupe Ballet Macehualt actually performed the honors, draping the medals over the necks of the visiting statesmen as part of the dance choreography. Marking another awkward moment, however, they ran out of medals part way through the production, leaving Presidents Calderon and Chavez without their prize. To cover up the oversight, the dancers and music continued to play repeatedly, while First Lady Murillo improvised and came up with the additional medals to complete the ceremony. Post-Inauguration Reaction: Outrage - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶19. (C) The day after the inauguration, representatives from the women's NGO Network of Women Against Violence admitted feeling "depressed" and expressed their disgust over the use of dancers to perform the commemorative medal ceremony, which they considered a form of "erotic political seduction," redolent of caudillismo harkening back to the 1980s. They remarked that the dance number was typical "Murillo style," and feared the way the inauguration had been conducted, including the presence of Aleman and the undignified treatment of Bolanos, was a "sign of things to come." Letters to the editor and on-line blog entries in the January 11 editions of leading dailies El Nuevo Diario and La Prensa railed against the presence of the "fat crook" Aleman, which one writer said sent "a clear message to the honest people of Nicaragua: the mafia will be protected by this government." Others termed his participation a "mockery" and "insult" to the Nicaraguan people, which questioned the "credibility of the new government." Another observer derided both Aleman and his wife as "Bonnie and Clyde," while a number faulted Ortega and Murillo for inviting the "sinverguenza" (one without shame),which meant that nothing was going to change, corruption would continue, and Ortega and Aleman would continue with their political pact, "sharing the wealth of the country." TRIVELLI