PANAMA: NEW CANAL MINISTER DISHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 001111 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL EWWT ECON PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: NEW CANAL MINISTER DISHES Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) While ostensibly reaching out to make himself available to address concerns U.S. firms may have concerning the canal expansion project, recently appointed Minister of Canal Affairs (and former Comptroller General) Dani Kuzniecky was more intent on dishing on the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and cabinet dynamics during his June 28 meeting with POL. If the Embassy received any complaints from American companies regarding difficulties or problems with bidding on canal expansion work, the Embassy should contact him immediately, Kuzniecky said, "the sooner the better." Having dispensed with his offer to assist the Embassy with U.S. firms who had concerns about the canal expansion project, Kuzniecky dished on his dealings with ACP Administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta and the ACP board and discussed the inner workings of Torrijos' cabinet. End summary. -------------- ACP Administrator and Minister Clash -------------- ¶2. (C) Asserting that Aleman "thought that he could manipulate me since I am new," Kuzniecky relayed a clash that he had the week of June 18 with Aleman, "the emperor," regarding the ACP's public relations efforts. Kuzniecky said, "The PR campaign stinks. Aleman keeps up this nonsense presentation highlighting the administration of the canal. We are past that point. The referendum is over. We now need to keep people informed of the progress that we are making. To do so, Kuzniecky pressed against Aleman's refusal to translate canal expansion-related documents into Spanish, particularly those posted on the ACP's website. Responding to Aleman's complaint that such a translation project was "too expensive," Kuzniecky said he lost his cool and retorted, "It is ridiculous the amount of money the canal makes and the amount of money it wastes in needless and useless studies. Now you are being thrifty with the money needed to translate documents into Panama's official language?" At the end of this meeting, Aleman invited Kuzniecky to his office for coffee and to show Kuzniecky the blueprints for the new office of the Canal Affairs Minister. The minister told POL he passed on the coffee and told Aleman, "I do not want a new office. We could use that money for translation purposes." Kuzniecky said he read "hundreds" of papers to get up to speed on canal operations and the expansion process" and indicated that Aleman was surprised "to find himself dealing with a lawyer who reads the fine print." ACP Board Member Eduardo Quiros confirmed for POLCOUNS on July 2 that the board had been pressuring Aleman to more effectively publicize the ACP's implementation of the expansion project, particularly the translation of key information into Spanish. -------------- ACP Board Dynamics -------------- ¶3. (C) Kuzniecky noted that the ACP Board was now meeting once a week. Furthermore, each board member belonged to at least two sub-committees that were also meeting at least once a week. Kuzniecky provided POL the following insights into the ACP Board's dynamics: -- First VP and FM Samuel Lewis controlled ACP Board Member Adolfo Ahumada's vote. (Note: Ahumada was re-appointed to the board on June 29. He also serves as Lewis' closest advisor at the MFA.) -- Eduardo Quiros, a close associate of former President Mireya Moscoso, controlled fellow Panamenista Party member Norberto Delgado's votes. "Thank God," Kuzniecky said, "Delgado is a jerk." Quiros also reaches out to Tono Dominguez who Kuzniecky characterized as very smart and apolitical. Kuzniecky asserted, "Dominquez hates Aleman." Quiros told POLCOUNS on July 2 that Kuzniecky was a "top-notch" minister who was quickly learning the ropes of the ACP and particularly of the expansion project, a remarkable endorsement for an ardent Panamenista to offer for any PRD member like Kuzniecky. -- Mario Galindo controlled the votes of fellow Movement of Liberal Republican Nationals (MOLIRENA) party member Billy Quijano. -- Robert Roy and Eloy Alfaro were at times independent, but Kuzniecky said at other times they followed the line of former President Ernesto "El Toro" Perez Balladares, a member of the governing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD). -- Abel Rodriguez, Kuzniecky said, was "an old engineer who has lost his way." -- Through newly appointed board member Ricardo de la Espriella, current Panamanian President Martin Torrijos would be better informed of developments on the ACP, Kuzniecky asserted. -- Kuzniecky said newly appointed board member Guillermo Chapman appeared to be more independent. -------------- Kuzniecky Dishes Cabinet Dirt -------------- ¶4. (C) Referring to the ongoing investigations into former head of the National Maritime Service (SMN) Ricardo Traad and of the head of the Social Security System (CSS) Rene Luciani, Kuzniecky asserted that President Torrijos had "not yet recovered" from the "blows" Attorney General Ana Matilda Gomez had delivered "one after the other" prior to the Organization of American States General Assembly (OASGA) in early June. Kuzniecky said Torrijos was more upset by the Luciani case explaining, "Luciani has been a public servant for thirty years and never before had a case before the Attorney General. Then this matter comes up and, though the Attorney General has to do her job, Ana Matilda does everything to try to humiliate him." For example, knowing that he was not at Luciani's mother's home, Gomez nonetheless sent the Technical Judicial Police (PTJ) to raid his 84-year old mother's home in search of Luciani. Ever since these cases arose, "Torrijos' mood has been bad, and he curses more often these days," Kuzniecky asserted. At the last cabinet meeting (date unknown),Kuzniecky said that Torrijos told the assembled ministers that he would soon resume holding cabinet meetings in the interior so that citizens could confront them directly with their questions as to why they were not doing their jobs. ¶5. (C) Turning to rumors of a cabinet shuffle, Kuzniecky said that the rumors had been circulating for months because "Martin does not know how to get rid of people. He never had the guts to ask me to leave as Comptroller General since he could not fire me, but instead made me Canal Affairs Minister." Immigration Director Ricardo Vargas, Kuzniecky said, would not be fired, but instead would be "promoted to Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) with more money, more perks, but no way to hurt Torrjos." (Note: On June 29, Vargas was elected Ombudsman by the National Assembly.) ¶6. (C) During Torrijos June trip to Brazil, Kuzniecky said, it became apparent that the relationship between Lewis and Minister of Commerce and Industry Alejandro Ferrer had deteriorated. "I noticed that they kept away from one another." On one motorcade movement, Lewis confided to Kuzniecky that Ferrer was "insufferable and had become a burden," Kuzniecky added. Nonetheless, Kuzniecky conceded that Ferrer remained very close to Torrijos. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) No U.S. company, to date, has come forth to Embassy to complain about the bid process to participate in the canal expansion project. Kuzniecky's remarkable candor though opens the door a crack into the often hermetically sealed world of the ACP's top leadership and especially of Torrijos' cabinet. Post has learned from other quarters that the Attorney General's high-visibility investigations have put Torrijos and key figures in his administration (e.g., Minister of Housing Balbina Herrera, Minister of the Presidency Ubaldino Real) on the defensive. Torrijos' anguishing over cabinet changes that seem to be perpetually in the offing but never come to fruition has become a permanent element of speculation on the political gossip circuit. As for competition between Ferrer and Lewis, post is not surprised. Lewis and Ferrer are associated with different law firms that are often in close competition. Ferrer, with the recent signing of the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA),has enjoyed at least a temporary ascendency relative to Lewis who himself aspires to succeed Torrijos as president. Post has also heard that possible presidential aspirant Balbina Herrera sounded out Ferrer for support possible out of consideration that Ferrer's strong reputation with business leaders might bolster Herrera's standing with the private sector. Eaton