ELECTION CAMPAIGNS REACH FEVERED PITCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000234 SIPDIS SIPDIS WHA/BSC MDRUCKER, BFRIEDMAN, KBEAMER; CA/VO CBODEK, TSMITH; INL/LP DIANNE GRAHAM, ASMITH; ECA/PE/V/R/W METIENNE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2027 TAGS: PREL ASEC ECON SNAR PGOV PA SUBJECT: ELECTION CAMPAIGNS REACH FEVERED PITCH REF: A. ASUNCION 195 ¶B. ASUNCION 18 Classified By: DCM Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) With the April 20 elections just one week away, Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) presidential candidate Fernando Lugo continues to lead the race by a small margin. Although Lugo may have a narrow lead, most analysts believe the Colorado Party can make up 7-8 points on election day via its powerful machine. Over the past week, political campaigns fully mobilized; ruling Colorado Party supporters and opponents alike have elevated electoral politics to a crescendo. While most electoral activity has been peaceful and festive, several protests and scattered violence marred the political landscape over the past two weeks. The Oviedo camp spiced up its campaign by launching a series of controversial campaign advertisements, and pre-election drama erupted with news of the birth of the president's "love child" and an emotional outburst by Blanca Ovelar. Political tensions are running high with the most uncertain election campaign Paraguay has had in decades, and the first real chance that the Colorados could be unseated. While Lugo appears to maintain a narrow margin according to (unreliable) Paraguayan opinion polls, neither Oviedo's determination nor the Colorado Party's unlimited resources and organizational skills should be underestimated. Post continues to be concerned about the potential for unrest in the first 48 hours following the election. END SUMMARY. -------------- LUGO BY A NOSE? -------------- ¶2. (C) Most opinion polls continue to indicate that Lugo maintains a lead of around five percent over other presidential contenders just one week before elections. (NOTE: Paraguayan newspapers are prohibited from publishing opinion surveys within 15 days of voting; a judge briefly granted daily newspaper Ultima Hora permission to publish a poll but April 9 retracted that permission. They published April 13 anyways. END NOTE.) Analysis of polling from early April (by Ati Snead, First Analysis and a Brazilian poll paid for by Oviedo) place Lugo 6 to 10 points ahead of Blanca Ovelar (with the exception of the poll paid for by Oviedo, which showed him ahead of Lugo by the margin of error),and put Oviedo 2-3 points behind Ovelar. ¶3. (C) Although Lugo may have a narrow lead, most analysts believe the Colorado Party can make up 7-8 points on election day via its powerful machine. High voter turnout, however, will likely work against the Colorados, and may exceed that of 2003. (NOTE: Over 64 percent of eligible voters voted in the 2003 national elections, when President Duarte won by a sizable margin (37 percent) over Liberal candidate Julio Cesar "Yoyito" Franco (24 percent) and Beloved Fatherland candidate Pedro Fadul (21 percent). END NOTE.) -------------- EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Over the past week, political campaigns fully mobilized; Colorado supporters and opponents alike have elevated electoral politics to a crescendo. Campaign ads on billboards, banners, wall graffiti, and campaign posters visibly hawk political parties and candidates. Citizens have flooded the streets, campaigning in the political color of their choice. Colorado supporters (and to a lesser extent, Liberals and UNACE faithful) camp out at key intersections, shutting down traffic lanes to broadcast patriotic music, waving banners, and handing out bumper stickers and other campaign paraphernalia. Convoys of supporters from diverse political persuasions parade the streets displaying oversized party flags, honking and blaring loud music, and handing out political leaflets to passersby. All three major contenders appear to be caught up in the excitement, and each continues to spout rhetoric regarding his/her upcoming victory and refusal to accept a fraudulent outcome. -------------- A LITTLE CIVIL UNREST -------------- ¶5. (SBU) While most electoral activity has been peaceful and festive, several protests and scattered violence have marred the political landscape in the past two weeks. Approximately 3,500 members of the National Federation of Campesinos (FNC) protested peacefully March 26. The Roofless ("Sin Techos") Movement turned out 10,000 people to protest April 2 against all four major presidential candidates and demanded that the national election be nullified. An estimated 5,000 APC supporters marched in Asuncion April 9 as part of the worldwide "March of Silence." Colorado and opposition supporters resorted to fisticuffs in Ita, Central Department April 9 after President Duarte arrived for a visit and the opposition greeted him with the song, "The President Should Go." Unknown assailants April 9 seriously injured radio talk show host Alfredo Avalos and killed his wife, Silvana Rodriguez, in Curuguaty, Canindeyu Department. (NOTE: Avalos, a Lugo supporter, was a strong critic of Colorado Deputy Julio Cesar Colman, who is running for re-election. Police have not yet determined the assailants' motive. But Colman has since had the radio station forced off the air entirely. END NOTE.) This follows the March 24 killing of Geraldino Rotela in Caazapa Department. (NOTE: Rotela, a Lugo supporter, was a prominent pro-Lugo activist for the opposition movement Tekojoja. END NOTE). The Sin Techos Movement plans another protest for April 14, in which it may block key streets in Asuncion. -------------- PUSHING THE LIMITS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Oviedo camp has run the most forward-leaning campaign ads, many of which have been pulled by the electoral authorities. After Oviedo released a campaign ad in late March showing headshots of Lugo along with unauthorized headshots of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales bearing the caption "Conflict," (counter-balanced by headshots of Oviedo, Argentine President Kirchner and Brazilian President Lula with the caption "Negotiation"),the Venezuelan and Bolivian embassies protested, forcing Oviedo to pull the ad. (Oviedo astutely replaced the ad immediately with another using silhouettes -- and contrasting "censorship" and "freedom.") Following complaints by the Paraguayan-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) April 7, the Oviedo campaign pulled another ad showing a vigorous Oviedo in front of AmCham's logo and the Paraguayan and American flags. Electoral authorities April 6 pulled yet another Oviedo ad -- this one via radio -- which implicated Lugo in the disappearance and killing of former president Raul Cubas Grau's daughter Cecilia Cubas. Mirta Gusinsky, the mother of Cecilia Cubas, also aired television spots linking Lugo to her daughter's killing, prompting the Lugo campaign to respond that Gusinsky is working to spread misinformation on behalf of the Ovelar campaign. Gusinsky's ads continue to play. -------------- TELENOVELA-TYPE DRAMA -------------- ¶7. (C) Pre-election drama erupted with news of the birth of the president's "love child" and an emotional breakdown by Blanca Ovelar. An ABC Color newspaper reporter confirmed to Emboff April 7 swirling rumors that the sister of Colorado vice presidential candidate Carlos Maria Santacruz gave birth March 30 to President Duarte's illegitimate child. The First Lady, Gloria Penayo de Duarte, has denied that she and her husband are divorcing (though she was silent on reports that she has been living in Buenos Aires in recent months, returning only in early April.) Ovelar, who is known for being overly emotional, burst into tears April 8 at a campaign rally in San Pedro and accused the press of being "manipulative" and publishing misleading news designed to oust the Colorados from power (ref B). Fernando Lugo refused to seize the opportunity to criticize his opponent, instead commiserating that "the pressures" of the campaign are intense on all the candidates. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Political tensions are running high with the most uncertain election campaign Paraguay has had in decades, and the first real chance that the Colorado Party could be unseated. While Lugo appears to maintain a narrow margin according to unreliable Paraguayan opinion polls, neither Oviedo's determination nor the Colorado Party's unlimited resources and organizational skills should be underestimated. Uncertainty will continue through April 20, and political tension (perhaps accompanied by sporadic, localized violence) is likely to increase as candidates and their supporters jockey into final position. Post continues to be concerned about the potential for unrest in the first 48 hours following the election, should unofficial returns not be matched by later official results. But the higher the participation rate, the higher the legitimacy of the results -- and fewer the opportunities for fraud. END COMMENT. Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion CASON