OLLANTA HUMALA CLAIMS HE CAN SAVE PERU FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001108

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PE
SUBJECT: OLLANTA HUMALA CLAIMS HE CAN SAVE PERU FROM
EXTREMISTS

REF: LIMA 1081

Classified By: Amb. P Michael McKinley for reasons 1.b and d.


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador McKinley met with opposition
Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) leader Ollanta Humala and
his wife (and advisor) Nadine Heredia June 18 for a cordial
two-hour discussion. Humala argued that the Garcia
government is neglecting Peru's mounting social concerns and
needs to find pragmatic solutions to prevent the spread of
conflict. He said the recent protests in Moquegua over the
allocation of mining royalties (canon) broke out after the
government first ignored the problem and then lost control.
Humala called for "pragmatic" solutions to mounting social
conflicts in the mining sector and proposed to increase taxes
on mining profits and to improve mining canon distribution
among regions. Asked about the possible impact on juridical
security and investment, Ollanta said companies have no
security if social conflicts can shut down production.
Humala claimed to favor free trade but lamented the irony
that the US Congress had done more to protect Peru's labor
and environmental norms in the FTA framework than had Peru's
own Congress. Turning to constitutional reform, Ollanta said
the 1993 Constitution was illegitimate and called for the
return of the 1979 Constitution. Ambassador McKinley closed
the conversation by addressing Humala's concerns about the
New Horizons military-humanitarian mission currently in
progress in Ayacucho. On June 25th, the Ambassador saw
Humala again at a dipomatic function, and Humala endorsed
the Ambassador's upcoming trip to Ayacucho toexplain New
Horizons to a skeptical audience, although he made clear that
he stuck to his concerns. End Summary.

Cordial Atmospherics
--------------

2. (C) Ambassador McKinley received opposition Peruvian
Nationalist Party (PNP) leader Ollanta Humala and his wife
Nadine Heredia at his residence on June 18th for a cordial
and broad-ranging two-hour conversation. Ollanta sat relaxed
and attentive throughout, making his points in a calm,
non-confrontational tone. Nadine -- the PNP's Secretary for
International Relations and effectively Ollanta's "Chief of
Staff" and principal political advisor -- sat on the edge of
her seat with a serious and guarded facial expression at
first, intermittently joining the discussion to clarify
Ollanta's comments. She let down her guard and warmed as the
discussion drew to a close.

Humala: I Can Save Peru From Radicalism
--------------

3. (C) Humala argued throughout the conversation that Alan
Garcia's government is neglecting Peru's mounting social
concerns and that, absent pragmatic solutions, regional
conflicts like the recent violent protests in Moquegua region
would spread. Ollanta expressed concern about this prospect
and warned that dangerous, anti-systemic radicals could
ultimately threaten the stability of the state. Declaring
himself "a nationalist, not a leftist", Humala said that he
represents the pragmatic change that Peru needs. (Comment:
Humala did not mention credible reports that he often seeks
to stir up, for political gain, the very social conflict he
told us he wants to prevent. End Comment.)

Conflict in Moquegua Region
--------------

4. (C) Humala cited the recent conflict in Moquegua over
regional mining canon allocations to underscore his general
thesis on the government's neglect of social problems.
Moquegua's leadership, he said, had repeatedly presented
their complaints to the government during the previous year
but received no response. The government finally paid
attention after the first week of protests when roadblocks
began to cause shortages in neighboring Tacna region. He
warned that Moquegua's elected leaders had lost credibility
with the local populace because of their inability to win