FORMER EVO ALLY LEADS PARALLEL STATE GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000537 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL BL SUBJECT: FORMER EVO ALLY LEADS PARALLEL STATE GOVERNMENT Classified By: A/DCM Chief Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). - - - - Summary - - - - ¶1. (C) At a rally of several thousand Sucre residents, Sabina Cuellar Leanos, a former member of Evo Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS),was selected to be Chuquisaca department's (state) interim prefect (governor) on March 6. Ariel Iriarte remains the Morales administration's pick for interim prefect, meaning that Iriarte and Cuellar both claim the title of Chuquisaca's top official. The department's elected prefect, the MAS' David Sanchez, fled Sucre and resigned in late November 2007 when his home was looted and burned during the November 23-25 riots. The Morales administration immediately rejected Cuellar's selection as interim prefect, calling it illegal. The government has a legitimate argument that only the President can designate an interim prefect. Nevertheless, the opposition's selection of Cuellar was a clever political move. The selection of an indigenous campesino woman, and one-time member of the MAS, is meant to send President Morales a signal that he has lost not just Chuquisaca's white elite, but also his traditional followers. Nobody has yet explained how these "dueling prefects" will co-exist, and who most civil servants will report to. Iriarte may command the legitimate authorities (i.e., the police),but Cuellar will probably control the streets. End Summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - The "Vote" for Cuellar - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) According to a close Embassy contact who participated in the selection of Cuellar, the anti-MAS Chuquisaca Inter-Institutional Committee leadership was advised to choose a nominee based on the three criteria: someone who was originally from the MAS; a woman; and, preferably someone from rural Chuquisaca. La Paz newspaper La Razon provided a somewhat similar assessment. La Razon reported that the Committee leader Jaime Barron had actually hoped to postpone (until March 14) a vote on the interim prefect but was overcome by the crowds. Barron is alleged to have argued that since there was little rural participation at the rally, it would be prudent to select someone who represented the countryside. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Who is this New Parallel Prefect? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) Cuellar, a widow and mother of six children, was a leader in a Chuquisaca campesino (peasant) organization before her election to the Constituent Assembly. She is Quechua, the largest indigenous group in Bolivia. She also speaks Quechua fluently. According to Sucre's newspaper "Correo del Sur" until 2006, Cuellar was illiterate, and learned how to read via the Cuban literacy program "Yo, Si Puedo" (Yes I Can). An Embassy contact confirmed Cuellar is "not very educated" and argued they chose the "capable" Juan Luis Gantier to be the department's general secretary to take care of day-to-day administration. She is originally from the small town of Yamparaez located near Sucre. Cuellar was elected in 2006 to the Constituent Assembly under the MAS banner. Cuellar broke with the MAS when the party chose to strike the issue of restoring Sucre to full capital status from the Constituent Assembly's agenda in August 2007. (Note: By law Cuellar is still a member of Constituent Assembly and therefore is prohibited from holding any other public office. The MAS has already made an issue of this fact. End Note). ¶4. (SBU) Cuellar has spoken out in defense of restoring the seat of government (the executive and legislative branches) to Sucre. In morning TV interviews March 7, Cuellar stated that the Morales government "discriminates against Chuquisaca" and that "Chuquisaca merits respect." She went on to state that Chuquisaca should "move forward" with plans to hold a new referendum on departmental autonomy. (Comment: Chuquisaca in a July 2006 referendum was one of the five departments that rejected departmental autonomy. Today, due to a backlash against the MAS' handling of the Sucre-issue, Chuquisaca would likely vote in favor of greater autonomy, especially since Sucre represents over 50 percent of the department's electorate. End Comment). - - - - - - - - - - - - Why a Parallel Prefect? - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) Chuquisaca has had an interim prefect, Mr. Ariel Iriarte, since its elected prefect, the MAS' David Sanchez, fled Sucre in late November 2007 when his home was looted and burned during the November 23-25 riots. Sanchez was seen by Sucre residents as favoring the MAS position not to restore Sucre as Bolivia's seat of government. Although, never a MAS-party hard-liner, his weak defense of Sucre's demand for full-capital status turned him into a target for pro-Sucre (anti-MAS) radicals. Sanchez later turned up in Peru and announced he was seeking asylum. ¶6. (SBU) Cuellar's "selection" was a direct result of President Morales' decision to extend Iriarte's interim status an additional three months. On March 5, the President issued two supreme decrees: one setting June 29 as the date for elections for a new prefect; and, the second extending Iriarte's interim tenure. The pro-Sucre Chuquisaca Inter-Institutional Committee has long-viewed Iriarte as beholden to Morales and not representative of its demands to promote the restoration of Sucre. ¶7. (SBU) Cuellar and her supporters are pushing for elections for a new prefect on April 27, the same date they have called for a new referendum on departmental autonomy. The Morales administration has made clear that it supports a June 29 election, and opposes a new referendum on departmental autonomy. Cuellar would likely be barred from running for prefect. Another former MAS Constituent Assembly delegate Edgar Arraya is considered the consensus candidate. Arraya also broke with the MAS over the issue of restoring Sucre to full capital status. He appears to have the backing of PODEMOS, the main opposition party. - - - - - - - - - - - Government Reactions - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) The Morales administration immediately rejected Cuellar's selection as interim prefect. Vice Minister of Justice Wilfredo Chavez made the government's position clear, "The Government will not recognize in any way another authority which is not sanctioned under the constitution or by the people's vote." Chavez continued by stating, "In every department, the Executive is in charge an administers (the department) via a Prefect designated by the President of the Republic." - - - - Comment - - - - ¶9. (C) The government has a legitimate argument that only the President can designate an interim prefect. Under the current constitution the President is responsible for designating prefects, but a recent change in the law allows for the direct election of prefects. The President still technically designates prefects but now must appoint the election winner, and not his own candidate. The first election of prefects occurred in December 2005, making Evo Morales the first President to have to govern Bolivia without prefects who are his direct appointees. There is some debate over how long an interim prefect may govern. Proponents of Cuellar argue that Iriarte has exhausted the 90 days he was permitted to serve. While Cuellar's appointment may be popular amongst some sectors, the government is correct in that it has no legal basis. ¶10. (C) Nevertheless, the Chuquisaca Inter-Institutional Committee's selection of Cuellar was a clever political move. The white-male dominated committee would have lost credibility if it had selected one if its insiders. Morales and his colleagues routinely lambaste the departmental "civic committees" in Bolivia's opposition led departments of not representing "the people" often calling their leadership "oligarchs." Cuellar has already publicly stated that "There are no oligarchs in Chuquisaca." The selection of an indigenous campesino woman, and one-time member of the MAS, is meant to send President Morales a signal that he has lost not just Chuquisaca's white elite, but also his traditional followers. Some in the government will surely argue that the Chuquisaca Inter-Institutional Committee is simply using Cuellar )- and perhaps they are )- but she had broken with the MAS long prior to her selection as interim prefect. One thing is clear, Cuellar's selection opens up yet another front in the countless battles the Morales administration now has to contend with, and provides further evidence that Chuquisaca is now firmly in the anti-Evo camp. ¶11. (C) Nobody has yet explained how these "dueling prefects" will co-exist, and who most civil servants will report to. Presumably the police will respond to Iriarte as he has the backing of the central government. However, the police may resist any orders that require the police to arrest Cuellar and her backers given the police's treatment in the November riots. Four police facilities, police records and equipment (including cars) were destroyed. The police abandoned city for three days following the violence. Iriarte may command the legitimate authorities, but Cuellar will probably control the streets. Cuellar's supporters plan to take the prefecture building "peacefully" in the coming days. Rumors are that Iriarte is setting up shop in the town of Tarabuco some 65 km outside of Sucre. End Comment. GOLDBERG