AMBASSADOR IN CIUDAD DEL ESTE: REFORMS STILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000857 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC MDRUCKER AND MDASCHBACH E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2033 TAGS: PGOV ECON SNAR PTER PHUM PA SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR IN CIUDAD DEL ESTE: REFORMS STILL NEEDED REF: ASUN 847 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Political, law enforcement, and private sector representatives told Ambassador in Ciudad del Este December 9-10 that the Paraguayan government needs significant political, economic, and judicial reform. Prosecutors, business leaders, and activists expressed concern over political corruption, criminality, and a lack of political will, and told Ambassador that economic crimes are a major concern even as they focus their reform efforts on formalizing the underground economy. Ambassador's first official trip to Ciudad del Este touched on many Mission objectives, including helping Paraguay combat transnational crime, corruption, and informality. END SUMMARY. -------------- AMBASSADOR MEETS LOCAL OFFICIALS -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador made her first official trip to Ciudad del Este (CDE),Paraguay's second-largest city, and situated in the Tri-Border Area, December 9-10. She discussed regional politics with Colorado Governor of Alto Parana, Nelson Aguinagalde; Colorado CDE Mayor Sandra McLeod; and her husband, former Colorado vice presidential candidate and former CDE mayor, Javier Zacarias Irun. The local chapter of the Paraguayan-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosted a lunch in Ambassador's honor, and she met with local prosecutors and members of the anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) community. She also interacted with students at the Paraguayan-American Cultural Center (CCPA) who had received microscholarships from the U.S. Embassy, and met with American citizens living in the area. Ambassador visited two new manufacturing facilities in CDE with Minister of Industry and Commerce Martin Heisecke that benefited from the first phase of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program (reftel). -------------- REFORM, REFORM, REFORM -------------- ¶3. (C) Many interlocutors told Ambassador that the Paraguayan government needed significant political, economic, and legal reform. Aguinagalde, McLeod, and Irun said that they favored political reform and decentralization. However, Irun and McLeod cautioned that both the Colorado and Liberal parties are divided internally and that these divisions would hinder the government's ability to reform itself. Irun said that Paraguay needed a "serious" government to implement true reforms -- reforms he said his Colorado faction could provide. (NOTE: Irun is a member of former Vice President Luis Castiglioni's Colorado Vanguard Movement dissident faction. END NOTE.) Irun played up his faction's support for the USG and its pro-American orientation, noting that local newspapers often depicted Castiglioni wearing an "Uncle Sam" hat. Irun said the national government failed to live up to its commitments to provide adequate services such as health care. He lamented that nearby Itaipu Dam generates ample resources that are monopolized by the national government. Irun stated that the national government budgets just USD 900,000 to CDE per year -- one-tenth of what sister-city Foz do Iguacu receives from the Brazilian government -- limiting CDE's ability to implement change. CDE has some authority to levy local taxes independent from the national government. ¶4. (C) Prosecutors told Ambassador that Paraguay's revised penal code lacked key statutes such as terrorism financing, hindering their ability to prosecute transnational crime. AmCham members advocated institutional strengthening, including reforming the Constitution, reducing bureaucracy, and nothing short of totally transforming "Paraguay's geo-political, economic, and social spheres." They emphasized that change would take time but that politicians lacked the will to implement reform. AmCham members told Ambassador that the area needed improved education opportunities, and that CDE could transform itself from a place with a reputation for lawlessness and informality into a services sector hub. They suggested that the Paraguay government achieve formality by raising taxes to fund economic reforms. -------------- CORRUPTION AND CRIMINALITY -------------- ¶5. (C) Prosecutors, local business leaders, and activists shared with Ambassador their concerns about corrupt officials, criminality, and a lack of political will. They noted that many local politicians are corrupt. Anti-narcotics Prosecutor Adelaida Vasquez singled out national Congressmen Nelson Segovia of the Liberal Party -- whom they claimed is tied to drug traffickers -- as corrupt. CDE District Attorney Eber Ovelar expressed his frustration with the corrupt judicial system. He stated that he brought several strong cases before the courts for prosecution only to have corrupt judges dismiss them or overturn convictions. Prosecutors stated that the local police are very corrupt and that the prosecutors rely on agents from the U.S.-assisted Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) rather than the local police for law enforcement. Vasquez told Ambassador she feared the police -- who protected those she tried to prosecute -- and reported that she had once been suspended for six months without pay for prosecuting a politically-connected individual. Prosecutor Manuel Rojas confirmed that he feigned illness once to avoid following an order that would have required him to commit an illegal act. All prosecutors reported that they relied on judges outside CDE to adjudicate their cases. ¶6. (C) Prosecutors told Ambassador that drugs and illegal contraband continue to be major problems in CDE. They noted an increase in the availability of cocaine locally and that demand continued to increase. Rojas stated that many CDE police either protected drug traffickers or trafficked drugs themselves. Prosecutors also said that pirated goods frequently pass through the border with Brazil with little customs controls and that customs rarely intercepts illicit shipments. Prosecutors told Ambassador that because most local judges and prosecutors are corrupt, they believed Customs should seize and destroy the contraband on the spot rather than risk having it released by corrupt judges. ¶7. (C) International Organization for Migration (IOM) Consultant Cynthia Bendlin and members of the Tri-Border Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Network described human trafficking as a serious problem perpetuated by politicians and law enforcement officials in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. They stated that officials in all three countries -- including public officials, judges, prosecutors and the police -- are involved in or condone human trafficking. They noted that the magnitude of the problem is difficult to assess because many trafficking victims willingly allow themselves to be trafficked based on false promises. However, members of the anti-TIP network told Ambassador that the problem is widespread and that police found Paraguayan victims in virtually every brothel they raided in Argentina. They thanked Ambassador for the USG's support of the IOM anti-trafficking project funded in 2006 and concluded in 2007, and looked forward to launching the second phase of the project with USG next year. They noted that the 2006-07 project was effective in promoting TIP awareness, although they expressed concern that they would continue to meet resistance from local politicians and law enforcement officials. -------------- THE UNDERGROUND "INFORMAL" ECONOMY -------------- ¶8. (C) Local officials told Ambassador that economic "informality" is a major concern, and that they are focusing their reform efforts on formalizing the extensive underground economy. Governor Aguinagalde noted that his government lacked resources to implement substantial economic reform because the national government remits just USD 10 million to the department annually -- despite the fact that Alto Parana is one of Paraguay's wealthiest departments. He told Ambassador that the department strongly supports formalizing the local economy through projects such as "Mercosur Park," an industrial park where manufacturers take advantage of tax breaks (reftel). He noted that the department is grateful for the support provided by the USG through the MCC Threshold Program, noting that the program funded a department administrator who has been instrumental in promoting transparency and reducing informality in Alto Parana. ¶9. (C) CDE Mayor McLeod and former Mayor Irun told Ambassador that their administrations prioritized economic formalization, and had initiated several projects to "clean up" the city, including creating partnerships with local businesses, supporting "Mercosur Park," and tackling the illegal arms trade. They said that much work still needed to be done, including improving accountability at customs and working more closely with Brazil to monitor the border in lieu of Brazil's periodic crackdowns and military exercises. (NOTE: Irun resigned as CDE mayor in 2007 to seek the Colorado vice presidential nomination as Castiglioni's running mate. Irun named his wife, McLeod, as his replacement, and now serves as her personal advisor. McLeod has limited political experience, and Irun's commanding presence during the meeting -- overshadowing his wife -- showed that he wields considerable influence in the CDE mayor's office. END NOTE.) -------------- LOCAL OUTREACH -------------- ¶10. (C) The Ambassador also reached out to local students learning English and to American citizens living in the region. The Paraguayan-American Cultural Center (CCPA),with Embassy support, has helped improve the English-language skills of hundreds of students, including two chosen to study abroad as Fulbright scholars. The Ambassador met with 17 American citizens living in the area in a town hall forum to express the Embassy's support for the local community and listen to their concerns. The Amcits expressed some concern about an increase in violence and diminished security in the Tri-Border Area. They also expressed interest in having a U.S. presence post in the Tri-Border Area. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) Ambassador's first official trip to Ciudad del Este exposed her to the complexity of this city known for its transnational crime and economy lacking enforcement of the law, and characterized by lax, bureaucratic systems that have traditionally been geared towards fomenting illegality. At the same time, she was struck with positive experiences in fighting corruption, fostering a climate of transparency, and promoting business models demonstrating that there is more value to being part of the formal economy. Much remains to be done in the Tri-Border Area, and we will continue to work with those actors in Ciudad del Este who are working to further our mutual interests in fighting corruption and transnational crimes. END COMMENT. Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion FITZPATRICK