PROTESTERS MARCH ON CITY; DEMAND DIALOGUE WITH GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000937 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON GT SUBJECT: PROTESTERS MARCH ON CITY; DEMAND DIALOGUE WITH GOVERNMENT REF: A) 09 GUATEMALA 442; B) 08 GUATEMALA 925 SUMMARY ¶1. (U) Approximately 20,000 rural and indigenous protesters marched on Guatemala City on Monday, October 12. The protesters blocked major thoroughfares to demand the resolution of issues, including agrarian reform, mining restrictions, hydroelectric power, and environmental protections, amongst others, which they first presented to the government three months ago. Fourteen protest leaders met with representatives of the Presidential Commission for Permanent Dialogue to request a meeting with President Alvaro Colom. Following hours of negotiation, President Colom agreed to meet with the protest representatives on Thursday, October 15. Following the protests, authorities detained and expelled the leftist leader Armando "El Monje" LusquiC1os to Spain. LusquiC1os claimed (falsely) to be the principal organizer of the protest. END SUMMARY. PROTESTERS BLOCK ACCESS TO CITY - RAISE OLD DEMANDS ¶2. (U) According to press reports, approximately 20,000 indigenous and rural protesters marched on Guatemala City on Monday, October 12, blocking access to the city and demanding a meeting with President Colom. Protesters gathered at thirteen different locations early Monday morning, successfully closing major thoroughfares, and later made their way to the Presidential Palace where organizers met with Catalina Soberanis, head of the Presidential Commission for Permanent Dialogue, to request a meeting with the President. Following threats of a hunger strike and hours of negotiation, the Commission agreed to grant a meeting with President Colom on Thursday, October 15 to end the protest. Though protest participants remained peaceful, a pedestrian shot and killed ONE protester and injured two others when he tried to pass through the blockade. ¶3. (U) Several leftist groups, including the National Coordinator for the Indigenous and Peasant Peoples (CONIC) and the Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC) organized the protests and led the negotiations with the Administration (Ref B). The protesters demanded that the government: B7 Enact comprehensive agrarian reform B7 Cancel various national and international mining licenses B7 Suspend construction on the Cementos Progreso plant in San Juan SacatapC)quez (Ref A) B7 Cancel several ongoing hydroelectric power projects throughout the country and dismantle those that are already in place B7 Release four peasants detained in San Juan SacatepC)quez, Livingston, and Izabal B7 Enact and enforce stricter protections of environmental and water resources B7 Order the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to investigate private security guards that have allegedly committed violent crimes against the rural poor and indigenous citizens PRESSING THE GOVERNMENT TO BARGAIN ¶4. (SBU) Indigenous and rural community leaders have held several dialogue sessions with the government regarding similar issues since July 2009. CONIC spokesperson, CC)sar Bol, told Poloff that the discussions have been fruitless thus far and that the street protests were a means of putting pressure on the government to bargain. Bol also decried the eviction of landless peasants illegally squatting on private landholdings and stated that if evictions continued (either illegally or sanctioned by the courts) the protests would resume. "EL MONJE" ARRESTED AND EXPELLED ¶5. (U) Following the protests, the Government of Guatemala (GoG) detained Armando LusquiC1os (alias El Monje) and, with the consent of the Spanish government, expelled him on Tuesday, October 13. Protesters assaulted LusquiC1os during the march to the Presidential Palace. LusquiC1os claimed to lead the National Renovation Movement, a radical left organization that was willing to use violence to advance its objective of "completing Guatemala's internal conflict." (Note: The Embassy has no evidence that this organization exists or has carried any acts of terrorism. LusquiC1os claimed to have destroyed an electrical substation resulting in a nationwide blackout on October 12. Officials at the Energy Commission attribute the blackout to a lightning strike. End Note.) According to the GoG, upon his arrest, El Monje threatened to bomb a bridge between Guatemala and Belize and mobilize his 300,000 armed followers if the GoG did not acquiesce to the protest demands. The Minister of Governance RaC:l VelC!squez asserted his belief that LusquiC1os suffered from mental HEALTH problems. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The protest is unlikely to threaten Colom's political popularity despite the fact that it is unlikely his government will meet many of their demands. Early campaigning by First Lady Sandra Torres de Colom to solidify the rural and far-left vote gives the Colom Administration a political incentive to at least partially placate the protesters. It is yet unclear whether protest organizers are taking advantage of the political posture of the First Lady or whether the demands reflect an actual deterioration in rural conditions, in fact, both could be true. Nonetheless, the reasonably well attended protest indicates the relative frustration of the rural and indigenous population with the inability of the Colom government to successfully address their needs. Still, both CONIC and CUC are firmly aligned with the First Lady and, in particular, her advisor and Secretary of Peace Orlando Blanco. As such protest organizers are unlikely to persist in any way that seriously undermines a potential presidential bid by the First Lady. Looking ahead, if protesters are unsatisfied with the October 15 meeting with President Colom, they could return to the streets on October 20, 2009, the Day of the Revolution, to press their agenda alongside the annual celebration. End Comment. ROBINSON