BIOGRAPHIC NOTES: ECONOMIC POLICY COORDINATOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000647

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TEN YEARS
TAGS: PGOV PREL EC
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC NOTES: ECONOMIC POLICY COORDINATOR
MAURICIO DAVALOS


Classified By: PolOff Erik Martini for reasons 1.4 (b&d).


1. (C) President Rafael Correa named Carlos Mauricio Antonio
Jose Davalos Guevara to the newly formed position of Minister
for Coordination of Economic and Production Policy on
February 17, 2007. Davalos is in charge of coordinating the
efforts of the Ministries of Economy, Industry, Agriculture,
Foreign Affairs and other independent entities. With his
background in government, business, politics, and academia,
Davalos is expected to wield substantial influence on a wide
range of economic and commercial issues in the Correa
administration.

Davalos Brings Experience to Correa's Economic Team
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2. (C) Unlike many of Correa's economic advisors, Davalos
has extensive government experience. He began his government
career as Minister of Natural Resources and Energy in 1979
during the military junta that ruled Ecuador. He then served
as Governor of Ecuador's Central Bank from 1979-1981,
Governor of the International Monetary Fund for Ecuador
during the same period, and President of the Board of
Directors of the Agricultural Development Bank of Ecuador in

1983. Davalos helped draft two Ecuadorian constitutions; as
a member of the Judicial Reconstruction Commission in 1979,
and as member of the constituent assembly in 1998. In 2000,
Davalos served for six months as Minister of Agriculture in
the Gustavo Noboa administration.


3. (U) In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Davalos
pioneered Ecuador's prosperous floriculture industry,
developing a business which has grown to be a major exporter.
He also served in a variety of business and trade
federations and associations. Most recently, he directed the
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. In the academic field,
Davalos taught at Quito's respected Catholic University and
the University of New Mexico's Center for Andean Studies.

Politically Moderate
--------------


4. (C) Davalos has been active in politics since university:
he held several high posts in the right of center Christian
Democrat University Students Organization, including
president. In the late 70s, he was a representative to the
founding congress of the alliance between the Popular
Democracy (DP) party and the Christian Democrat Union (CDU),
which survives today as the right-of-center UDC party.
Davalos remained an active leader of the DP until the mid
90s. Davalos is described as a moderate in most political
circles. Despite his past right-of-center politics, he is a
close advisor to President Correa and reportedly is one of
the few members of Correa's Cabinet who offers unvarnished
counsel.

ATPA Extension Tops Agenda
--------------


5. (C) In his role as Coordinator for Economic Affairs,
Davalos has publicly pronounced an extension of Andean Trade
Preference Act (ATPA) benefits as his first and most
important task. In his meeting with the Ambassador, Davalos
accepted that many members of Congress view ATPA as a trade
matter, but urged that the United States not lose sight of
anti-narcotics genesis of ATPA. Appointed to lead COMEXI,
the entity now guiding foreign trade policy, the task falls
squarely under his responsibility. He will likely take the
lead on most trade issues, given his official position as
"super minister" and the relative lack of experience of
Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa on trade issues.
Davalos told the Ambassador (septel) that the Correa
administration opposes a Free Trade Agreement with the United
States, but its opposition is not based on "trivial (i.e.
ideological) reasons," but because of concern for the
agricultural sector.


6. (C) In his meeting with the Ambassador, Davalos focused
on the need to identify income-generating agricultural sector
projects that government can support. In contrast to the
Ministry of Economy, which wants to cap government-backed
loans to $5,000, Davalos supports more generous government
financing to larger producers. Davalos framed almost all
issues that he discussed with the Ambassador in agricultural
terms, not surprising given his agricultural background, but
also gave the impression that he is not viewing trade and
economic issues from the broad perspective expected of his
coordinator role.


7. (U) Mauricio Davalos was born in Riobamba, Ecuador on
June 24, 1944. He studied law at Central University in
Quito, Ecuador, obtained a bachelors degree in economics from
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1970, and a
masters degree in economics from Vanderbilt in 1973.
JEWELL