GUAYAQUIL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UNITE IN SUPPORT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000038

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2018
TAGS: PGOV EC
SUBJECT: GUAYAQUIL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UNITE IN SUPPORT OF
CITY'S AUTONOMY

REF: GUAYAQUIL 25

Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In the aftermath of Guayaquil Mayor Jaime
Nebot's successful march in support of the city's autonomy, a
group of 50 students representing nearly all of Guayaquil's
major universities joined together to produce a proposal that
they hope will be included in a paper the mayor plans to
deliver to the Constituent Assembly. This emerging student
activism is new in Guayaquil, where university students have
been politically apathetic in recent decades. Looking
forward, the group, coming from a diverse mix of
socioeconomic backgrounds and political leanings, hopes to
capitalize on the unity across universities to play a bigger
role in the political process, using Caracas's student
movement as an example. END SUMMARY.

STUDENTS BRING PROPOSAL FOR MAYOR TO BRING TO ASSEMBLY
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2. (C) Inspired by last month's march in support of
increased municipal autonomy, a politically and socially
diverse group of approximately 50 students representing
Guayaquil's major universities came together to produce a
proposal for Ecuador's new constitution. The group received
heavy media coverage when it met with Guayaquil's Social
Christian Party (PSC) Mayor Jaime Nebot on February 12 to
present the proposal and ask the mayor to include it in the
"Guayaquil Mandate" he is preparing to send to the
Constituent Assembly in Montecristi (Reftel). Cesar Coronel,
the group's Secretary General and primary spokesman, told
PolOff that he and the other students "wanted to propose
something that reflected how students feel about the
political situation and Guayaquil's autonomy. Even if they
do not care about politics, students care about their future."


3. (C) The proposals that the student group made to Nebot
are very similar to the themes the mayor himself has already
publicly outlined for the mandate: jobs and production,
respect and freedom, education, university budgets and funds
set aside for local governments. Despite this communality of
interest, Coronel insists that the group is ideologically
neutral, pointing to its diversity as evidence. "All twelve
of the city's major are represented -- even the University of
Guayaquil, which has leftist tendencies. And some of our
members are pro-Correa. We presented the proposal to the
mayor because he is the elected leader of our city," he told
Poloff. However, Coronel also admitted to more practical
considerations. "We had thought about presenting it directly
to the Constituent Assembly as well, but it would have been
logistically difficult for us to mobilize forces and get up
there," he told Poloff. "Also, we wanted it to be part of
something bigger and harder to ignore."

UNIVERSITY LEADERS HOPE TO MIMIC ROLE OF PEERS IN VENEZUELA
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4. (C) The emergence of the student group marks the first
time in recent memory that Guayaquil's university students
have united to support a common goal. While student
demonstrations are frequent in Quito and other cities in
Ecuador's highlands, Guayaquil's students have been less
politically active. "Students in this city are known for
their 'que me importismo' ('how does it concern me?'
attitude)," Coronel told Poloff. However, he noted that the
cohesion of his group underscores the importance of autonomy
issues. "It was not easy to get a consensus on our proposal
in less than two weeks, but we were able to identify common
goals," he said. Coronel added that the group hopes to build
on the publicity that they have received and continue to
represent the will and interests of the city's students. He
also said that the group would be reaching out to their peers
in Venezuela, whose demonstrations against the recent
constitutional reforms were critical to defeating the
referendum. However, he stressed that his group needed to be
careful about becoming too associated with the Venezuelan
student leaders. "We should learn from them, but we cannot
be identified with them," he told Poloff.

SUPPORT OF STUDENT GROUP GIVES NEBOT ADDED CREDIBILITY
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5. (C) COMMENT: Like the January 24 march, the emergence of
a broad-based student coalition demonstrates how strongly
many Guayaquilenos feel about the importance of defending
their city's autonomy. Getting support from this group is a

win for Nebot, as the students add legitimacy and diversity
to his proposals. However, school holidays have begun in the
coastal provinces and student leaders will have a challenge
maintaining interest and support during the beach season.

GRIFFITHS