Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister -

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000021 CONFIDENTIAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018 TAGS: PGOV EC SUBJECT: Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister - Admiration for Secretary Clinton and America Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griff... id: 189085 date: 1/27/2009 20:03 refid: 09GUAYAQUIL21 origin: Consulate Guayaquil classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: header: R 272003Z JAN 09 FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9686 INFO AMEMBASSY QUITO AMEMBASSY BOGOTA AMEMBASSY LIMA AMEMBASSY CARACAS AMEMBASSY LA PAZ -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000021 CONFIDENTIAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018 TAGS: PGOV EC SUBJECT: Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister - Admiration for Secretary Clinton and America Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: At a friendly lunch with President Rafael Correa's mother (Norma Delgado) and Sister (Pierina Correa) Correa?s mother expressed great admiration for Secretary Clinton, gratitude for her extended family's opportunities in the United States and recognition that "Rafael" could sometimes be a bit outspoken. Pierina Correa spoke of her campaign to be elected Prefect for Guayas Province and her family's leftist political tendencies, especially in supporting the rights of migrants. The Ambassador used the intimate setting to stress the successes of our Forward Operating Location in Manta, and the negative impact of its closing. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) The President's mother, Norma Delgado told us that after raising her children in Ecuador, she went to the U.S. in order to care for her elderly parents. She became an American citizen and cared for her parents in an age-restricted mobile home community in Lake Forest, CA until their deaths in 2008. Following the death of her father, at the age of 101, Delgado decided to return to Guayaquil to be near her children and grandchildren. Delgado said that her entire extended family had settled in the United States, and expressed gratitude for the opportunities that the U.S had given her family. Delgado also repeatedly expressed her admiration for Secretary Clinton, and noted that she was a long-time Clinton supporter. Mrs. Delgado largely avoided politics, but she made it clear that she was pained by attacks on her son the President. However, she did acknowledge that "Rafael" could be a bit outspoken. ¶3. (C) President Correa's sister, Pierina Correa, is an architect by training, but most recently has been working for a foundation advocating on behalf of Ecuadorian migrants. She is currently a "pre-candidate" for the position of Prefect of Guayas Province. Pierina Correa told us that she was polling strongly, and that she expected to win the Pais Movement's primary election for prefect. She said that her candidacy had caused a fissure in the Pais Movement as traditional leftists in Guayas, including Constituent Assembly member Gustavo Darquea and Ricardo Patino (currently Coordinating Minister for Politics) and his brother Raul Patino, resent her success and accuse her of trading on her relation with the President. ¶4. (C) Pierina Correa said that she and her brother have adopted the "progressive" political tradition of her family. She noted that her grandfather was injured in the "war" between progressive thinkers and President Eloy Alfaro. Pierina Correa made some pointed comments critical of U.S. immigration policy, which her mother quieted by references to her own positive immigration experience. When Pierina Correa erroneously linked the U.S. Foreign Operating Location in Manta to the interception of intended migrants, the Ambassador set the record straight and used the opening to detail the achievements of the FOL. Intending the remarks to reach the President, the Ambassador stressed our regret at having to abandon the successful operations, and underscored the damage the closure would have on the international counter-narcotics effort. ¶5. (C) Comment: We had heard from other members of the family that the President's mother wanted to meet with the ambassador. She was clearly delighted by the invitation and was a bit nervous about dining with the representative of her adopted nation's President. Pierina Correa who spent extended periods in the U.S. during her youth and speaks excellent English engaged with us in her trademark direct style. She also showed signs of her brother's perplexing blend of practicality and leftist ideology. In any case, she clearly is proud of her U.S. connections and is convinced her brother is not anti-U.S. GRIFFITHS =======================CABLE ENDS============================