Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08LIMA490
2008-03-18 22:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Lima
Cable title:
REGIONAL PRESIDENT PROPOSES AUTONOMY FOR PUNO
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C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000490
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BO PE
SUBJECT: REGIONAL PRESIDENT PROPOSES AUTONOMY FOR PUNO
REF: LIMA 3853
Classified By: POL/C ALEXIS LUDWIG FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000490
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BO PE
SUBJECT: REGIONAL PRESIDENT PROPOSES AUTONOMY FOR PUNO
REF: LIMA 3853
Classified By: POL/C ALEXIS LUDWIG FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
1. (C) Summary: Puno Regional President Hernan Fuentes on
March 16 publicly proposed converting his region into an
autonomous federal state. This latest proposal follows
several initiatives by Fuentes that have irked the central
government, including a recent decree decriminalizing coca.
Fuentes has faced a series of corruption charges in the past
week that threaten his hold on office, and his
extreme-sounding proposals appear to be designed to shore up
support with his radical base. Qd Summary.
Fuentes Proposals Irk the GOP
--------------
2. (SBU) Puno Regional President Hernan Fuentes told the
press on March 16 that he favored converting his region -- on
Peru's southern border with Bolivia -- into an autonomous
federal state. Fuentes justified his statements by
contrasting the centralization of Peru's political system
with the regional autonomy enjoyed in Brazil and Venezuela.
(In Fuentes' statements and the media's coverage of them,
autonomy and independence have been used almost
interchangeably; the blurring of these two distinct concepts
has contributed to the government's swift and vehement
response.)
3. (C) Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo and ruling APRA
party Secretary General Mauricio Mulder responded swiftly to
Fuentes's proposal by accusing him of promoting "sedition and
separatism" and of "undermining the rule of law". Fuentes'
Vice President joined the criticism by accusing his boss of
ties to radical Bolivian indigenous leader and convicted
terrorist Felipe Quispe, who has called for the formation of
an Aymara republic in the Peruvian and Bolivian altiplano.
(Quispe is rumored to have recently given armed training to
radical Peruvians in Puno -- Ref.) Fuentes has also drawn
fire from the central government this month for announcing a
qualification exam for Puno teachers that would supersede the
nationwide exam -- which only one teacher in Puno reportedly
passed -- and for issuing a decree decriminalizing coca. In
a recent television interview, Fuentes claimed that many Puno
residents were only able to eke out a living thanks to coca.
Fuentes Under Legal Pressure, Appealing for Radical Support
-------------- --------------
4. (SBU) Fuentes' call for autonomy comes as he faces an
increasing number of corruption allegations. Fuentes has
been accused of using government resources to pay off cronies
and of purchasing a luxury vehicle for $40,000. Prime
Minister Del Castillo also accused Fuentes of complicity in
drug trafficking after a drug-trafficking airstrip was
discovered in Puno, and intelligence information leaked to
the press alleges that Fuentes is using a Venezuelan
friendship or ALBA house in Juliaca, Puno to coordinate
violent actions during protests and strikes.
5. (C) Fuentes, elected with less than 19% of his region's
vote and facing the likelihood of a recall referendum,
appears to be using the autonomy issues to shore up his
radical support base and to distract attention from his legal
and political troubles. Anthropologists describe Puno's
large Aymara population as a proud, insular people that see
Lima and the central government as distant and racist, and
that often have closer links to the Bolivian altiplano.
Press reports from the prominent newspaper El Comercio
earlier this year warned that these attitudes are
increasingly taking the form of radical indigenous
nationalism and in some cases even separatism. Fuentes,
these reports said, has sought to channel this radicalism for
political gain and regularly peppers his speeches with
references to Aymara identity and calls for greater regional
autonomy.
Comment: Autonomy as Pretext
--------------
6. (C) Although Hernan Fuentes may privately favor
independence for his region, his public comments -- however
confusingly or ambiguously expressed -- called mostly for
greater administrative autonomy. Whatever his real views or
his alleged support from Venezuela (ALBA or "friendship"
houses in Peru first appeared in the Puno region),the
political maverick Fuentes seems more likely to be revoked or
impeached than to achieve an autonomous Puno.
NEALON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BO PE
SUBJECT: REGIONAL PRESIDENT PROPOSES AUTONOMY FOR PUNO
REF: LIMA 3853
Classified By: POL/C ALEXIS LUDWIG FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
1. (C) Summary: Puno Regional President Hernan Fuentes on
March 16 publicly proposed converting his region into an
autonomous federal state. This latest proposal follows
several initiatives by Fuentes that have irked the central
government, including a recent decree decriminalizing coca.
Fuentes has faced a series of corruption charges in the past
week that threaten his hold on office, and his
extreme-sounding proposals appear to be designed to shore up
support with his radical base. Qd Summary.
Fuentes Proposals Irk the GOP
--------------
2. (SBU) Puno Regional President Hernan Fuentes told the
press on March 16 that he favored converting his region -- on
Peru's southern border with Bolivia -- into an autonomous
federal state. Fuentes justified his statements by
contrasting the centralization of Peru's political system
with the regional autonomy enjoyed in Brazil and Venezuela.
(In Fuentes' statements and the media's coverage of them,
autonomy and independence have been used almost
interchangeably; the blurring of these two distinct concepts
has contributed to the government's swift and vehement
response.)
3. (C) Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo and ruling APRA
party Secretary General Mauricio Mulder responded swiftly to
Fuentes's proposal by accusing him of promoting "sedition and
separatism" and of "undermining the rule of law". Fuentes'
Vice President joined the criticism by accusing his boss of
ties to radical Bolivian indigenous leader and convicted
terrorist Felipe Quispe, who has called for the formation of
an Aymara republic in the Peruvian and Bolivian altiplano.
(Quispe is rumored to have recently given armed training to
radical Peruvians in Puno -- Ref.) Fuentes has also drawn
fire from the central government this month for announcing a
qualification exam for Puno teachers that would supersede the
nationwide exam -- which only one teacher in Puno reportedly
passed -- and for issuing a decree decriminalizing coca. In
a recent television interview, Fuentes claimed that many Puno
residents were only able to eke out a living thanks to coca.
Fuentes Under Legal Pressure, Appealing for Radical Support
-------------- --------------
4. (SBU) Fuentes' call for autonomy comes as he faces an
increasing number of corruption allegations. Fuentes has
been accused of using government resources to pay off cronies
and of purchasing a luxury vehicle for $40,000. Prime
Minister Del Castillo also accused Fuentes of complicity in
drug trafficking after a drug-trafficking airstrip was
discovered in Puno, and intelligence information leaked to
the press alleges that Fuentes is using a Venezuelan
friendship or ALBA house in Juliaca, Puno to coordinate
violent actions during protests and strikes.
5. (C) Fuentes, elected with less than 19% of his region's
vote and facing the likelihood of a recall referendum,
appears to be using the autonomy issues to shore up his
radical support base and to distract attention from his legal
and political troubles. Anthropologists describe Puno's
large Aymara population as a proud, insular people that see
Lima and the central government as distant and racist, and
that often have closer links to the Bolivian altiplano.
Press reports from the prominent newspaper El Comercio
earlier this year warned that these attitudes are
increasingly taking the form of radical indigenous
nationalism and in some cases even separatism. Fuentes,
these reports said, has sought to channel this radicalism for
political gain and regularly peppers his speeches with
references to Aymara identity and calls for greater regional
autonomy.
Comment: Autonomy as Pretext
--------------
6. (C) Although Hernan Fuentes may privately favor
independence for his region, his public comments -- however
confusingly or ambiguously expressed -- called mostly for
greater administrative autonomy. Whatever his real views or
his alleged support from Venezuela (ALBA or "friendship"
houses in Peru first appeared in the Puno region),the
political maverick Fuentes seems more likely to be revoked or
impeached than to achieve an autonomous Puno.
NEALON