LUGO REPLACES FOREIGN MINISTER

id: 204754 date: 4/29/2009 21:11 refid: 09ASUNCION259 origin: Embassy Asuncion classification: SECRET destination: header: VZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHAC #0259 1192111 ZNY SSSSS ZZH O 292111Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7792 INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN PRIORITY 0016 RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0186 RHMFISS/USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY -------------- header ends -------------- S E C R E T ASUNCION 000259 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC MDASCHBACH E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2029 TAGS: PREL PGOV PA SUBJECT: LUGO REPLACES FOREIGN MINISTER Classified By: DCM Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: President Fernando Lugo named MERCOSUR Parliament (Parlasur) Representative Hector Lacognata Foreign Minister April 28. The announcement follows Lacognata's April 7 resignation from the moderate Beloved Fatherland Party and political realignment with the leftist Paraguayan Movement Toward Socialism (P-MAS). Lacognata, who served in the Chamber of Deputies from 2003 to 2008, leans left politically and has an affinity for Cuba and Venezuela. He is also an opportunist who changes political affiliations to further his own interests. We expect our relationship with Lugo's new Foreign Minister to be somewhat distant, at best. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) President Fernando Lugo named MERCOSUR Parliament Representative Hector Ricardo Lacognata Zaragoza Foreign Minister April 28, replacing Alejandro Hamed Franco. Lugo's announcement follows Lacognata's April 7 resignation from the moderate, pro-business Beloved Fatherland Party (PPQ) and political realignment with P-MAS, a leftist party in Lugo's Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) coalition. ¶3. (C) Lugo's new Foreign Minister is an opportunist who changes political affiliations to further his own interests. He began his career in politics in 2001 as a campaign manager for the left-leaning National Encounter Party (PEN) but switched his political affiliation to the PPQ in 2003, realizing he had better chances for gaining seats in Congress with the PPQ. Shortly after entering office, Lacognata distanced himself from the PPQ over ideology and conflict with Pedro Fadul, PPQ's president. Lacognata stopped attending PPQ meetings years ago, but resigned the party only April 7, when his name began to surface as a possible candidate for Foreign Minister or Ambassador to Venezuela. Lacognata accompanied Lugo to Venezuela immediately before the Summit of the Americas April 17-19, fueling speculation that he would replace Hamed as Foreign Minister. ¶4. (S) Lacognata is a controversial figure with clear leftist leanings, as well as an affinity for Cuba and Venezuela. In 1985, he participated in the Medical Students Center, a radical student group. A former secretary general of the Paraguayan-Cuban Society "Jose Marti," Lacognata has made several visits to Cuba under the pretense of learning more about its medical programs. More recently, sensitive reporting indicates that Lacognata has developed a close relationship with Venezuela. Lacognata's views of the U.S. are unknown. However, in 2006, he publicly criticized the visit by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and objected to joint U.S.-Paraguayan military exercises. ¶5. (U) Lacognata was born September 6, 1962, in Asuncion. He graduated with a degree in Medicine and Surgery with a specialty in pediatrics from the National University of Asuncion in 1987. He performed his residency in Pediatric Intensive Care and Neonatology at the Escola Paulista Hospital in Sao Paulo. He is a founding member of the Paraguayan Society of Children's Intensive Care, and is accredited by the Paraguayan Society of Pedriatrics. Lacognata entered politics in 2001. He served as a campaign manager for PEN in 2001 and PPQ in 2003, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies representing Asuncion in 2003. He was Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies during 2004-05, and PPQ leader during 2003-04. He is married and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: We expect our relationship with Foreign Minister Lacognata, who will be sworn in on April 30, to be somewhat distant, at best. Once Lacognata officially greets the diplomatic corps the week of May 4, Ambassador will seek a courtesy call, which should give us some additional insight regarding his goals. With any luck, Lacognata's ideological leanings will take a back seat to Lugo's pragmatism. But luck may be in short supply. END COMMENT. Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion AYALDE