REPLACEMENT CONGRESS SWORN IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000659

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TEN YEARS
TAGS: PGOV PREL EC
SUBJECT: REPLACEMENT CONGRESS SWORN IN

REF: QUITO 554

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


1. Summary: (SBU) The festering confrontation between the
government-backed Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Congress
continued on March 20 as President of Congress Jorge Cevallos
swore in 21 new replacement congressional deputies and then
opened a new session of Congress with 52 members. Dismissed
opposition deputies complained loudly but were prevented from
entering Congress by a strong police presence. Dismissed
deputies from the PRIAN, PSC and PSP are meeting separately
to plan their next move. The PSP may propose forming a rival
Congress in Guayaquil. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Under the cover of darkness, at around 5am on the
morning of March 20, two chartered buses with police
protection delivered 22 substitutes (note: every elected
member of congress has a designated substitute, supported by
the same political party) for the 57 dismissed deputies to
the Congress building. Later that morning, President of
Congress Cevallos (a member of Alvaro Noboa's PRIAN party),
opened the floor of Congress for debate on the current
political crisis, without formally calling Congress into
session. The debate focused on the legality of swearing in
22 alternate deputies to replace enough of the 57 deputies
that had been stripped of their political rights by the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on March 7 (see reftel) to
form a quorum. After several speeches in favor of swearing
in the alternate deputies, Cevallos recognized the decision
of the TSE removing the 57 deputies, and swore in 21 of 22
alternates (one alternate hadn't turned in his personal
financial declaration),and formally opened the congressional
session.


3. (SBU) The new Congress is made up of 31 deputies from
leftist-populist parties (ID, PRE, Pachakutik, MPD, and a
handful of single-seat parties),nine PSP substitutes, nine
PRIAN substitutes and three PSC substitutes. Once sworn in,
the new Congress debated whether to pass a resolution
censuring the 57 ousted deputies. Cevallos, accused by his
party of selling out to do the Correa government's bidding,
justified his actions and maintained that he had never given
in to political pressure, threats or, implicitly, bribes.
The Congress then adjourned for the day without a vote.


4. (SBU) The ousted opposition members, meanwhile, squawked
but remained on the sidelines. The PSC and PSP parties are
rumored by the press to be caucusing in Quito, while PRIAN is
meeting in Guayaquil. Alvaro Noboa complained from Miami
that the substitute PRIAN deputies were not returning his
calls. He repeated a proposal which originated with PSP
leader Lucio Gutierrez, to revoke Congress's original
resolution attempting to "substitute" TSE President Acosta in
exchange for the TSE canceling its ruling to eject the 57
deputies. PSC Deputy Luis Fernando Torres accused
"Comandante" Correa of "taking over the Congress" by ordering
police protection for the alternates and paying for the buses
that transported them to Congress. The opposition is aswirl
with rumors about alleged deal-making between the Correa
camp, Cevallos and the alternates; unsubstantiated assertions
are that each alternate received $250,000.


5. (SBU) The Constitutional Court (TC) has agreed to review
the case presented by ousted PSC Deputy Pascual del Cioppo.
Del Cioppo requested the TC suspend four members of the TSE
for six months to one year for acting unconstitutionally to
strip the political rights of the 57 ousted deputies. Legal
commentators note that del Cioppo may have filed too late -
suits under the electoral law must be filed within five days
of the infraction. In any case, the TC has 15 days to
resolve the case and Cevallos has said he will respect the
rulings of all judicial authorities on the current crisis.


6. (SBU) Comment: Congress' quorum gives it the possibility
of legislating, but apparently just taking office was enough
for the first day. Cevallos' declaration that the
newly-constituted body enjoys "full legitimacy" will earn him
the ire of the 57 and presumably his party. Noboa's late
return to the ring, via satellite, was typically ineffective.
Divided internally by the turncoats, the PRIAN, PSP and PSC
are facing a difficult choice--concede defeat and attempt to
control the new congress through their substitutes, or form a
rival body, muddying further the thick sludge of Ecuadorian
constitutional process.


7. (C) Where does this leave Ecuadorian democracy? If the
courts don't act first, then it will be up to the voters, who
will decide on April 15 whether to risk all in an unbounded
national constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution
(and potentially dissolve the Congress or any other
institution). Correa has basked in public approval for his
willingness to challenge a discredited opposition. It remains
to be seen if he may ultimately pay a price for his apparent
political victory. The move against Congress could undermine
momentum and support for the assembly and any new
constitution it produces, although that does not seem to be
happening at this point. End Comment.
JEWELL