BOLIVIA: SENATE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR INT'L HELP

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000389

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR ENVR ASEC BL
SUBJECT: BOLIVIA: SENATE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR INT'L HELP

REF: A. LA PAZ 386

B. LA PAZ 374

Classified By: CDA Krishna Urs for reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Senate President and opposition leader
Oscar Ortiz on March 12 publicly called on the diplomatic
community to "remain engaged" and encourage the Morales
administration to negotiate in good faith regarding the new
constitution's implementation, Congress' role during the
transition period, and upcoming national elections. Ortiz
and other opposition senators asked for help in strengthening
the electoral rolls and said they planned to file a case with
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the
invasion of former Vice President Cardenas' home. Ruling
Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party dissident Senator Guido
Guardia stated flatly that Morales did not represent the
country's indigenous population. End summary.

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International Audience
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2. (SBU) Responding to an invitation from Senate President
Oscar Ortiz, Charge d'Affaires Urs attended on March 12 a
presentation by Ortiz, Podemos Senator Luis Vasquez, Podemos
Senator Tito Hoz de Vila, and MAS Senator (and dissident)
Guido Guardia, among others to discuss "certain themes
related to the difficult political situation Bolivia is going
through." Ortiz invited a wide range of the diplomatic
community and members of international organizations to
attend the meeting. Attendees included representatives from
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Great
Britain, Peru, South Korea, and the Vatican, as well as
members of the UN and the Organization of American States
(OAS).

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Election Monitoring
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3. (SBU) Ortiz called on the international community to play
a positive role in the ongoing negotiations over the
implementation of the new constitution and in the mechanics
of the proposed December 6 national elections. He noted that
the international community had "helped us negotiate
compromises" in the past year and said that while he didn't
"want to be controversial" it was clear the government was
not keeping its promises.


4. (SBU) Senator Hoz de Vila said the opposition was very
concerned with the mechanics of the upcoming elections,
focusing on suspect electoral rolls. (Note: In its report on
the August 2008 revocatory referendum, the OAS gave the rolls
an overall clean bill of health, but noted significant issues
with the civil registry and other elements that inform the
electoral rolls. End note.) He reviewed how the National
Electoral Court (CNE) had said in late 2008 that the
electoral rolls could not be updated before the January 25
constitutional referendum but that they would be either
significantly updated or redone completely before the
December 2009 elections. Now, he noted, international groups
including the UN have cast doubt on this timeline, and the
CNE is now saying it will not update the electoral rolls
after all. Hoz de Vila said he spoke with CNE leaders and
extracted a pledge that the CNE would speak with donor
countries and institutions to review the situation further.
He asked that all those contacted by the CNE encourage the
Court to do whatever it can to upgrade the electoral rolls
before the elections.

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Congress Dormant?
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5. (SBU) Senator Vasquez responded to a question regarding
the Congress' role during and after the current transition
period. He was asked if he agreed with the view that
Congress' only role is to pass transition legislation
defining the parameters of the upcoming elections, and that
after this, according to the MAS, the Congress would
essentially become dormant until the seating of the new
Plurinational Assembly in January 2010. Vasquez disagreed
with this view, saying that while the name might change,
there will always be a need for a legislative branch and
particularly during this time. He pledged the Congress would
keep working throughout the transition period.


6. (SBU) Ortiz discussed the mechanics of the transition
legislation, saying informational hearings would begin next
week, after which there would be negotiations with the
administration over draft legislation. Ortiz again called on
all concerned international actors to "keep their eyes" on
the process, because he believed the MAS would attempt to
push their legislation through and avoid compromise. He said
the MAS "were not honest negotiators," noting that they had
not yet taken the CNE's proposed election law into
consideration in preparing the MAS version.

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Human Rights Violations
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7. (SBU) Ortiz also discussed the March 7 invasion and
ransacking of former Vice President Cardenas' home (Reftel A
and B). He said he planned to file a case with the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the
incident and also regarding the March 3 takeover of former
MAS Congress member Marlene Paredes' property in the Yungas
(Reftel A).


8. (C) Spanish Deputy Chief of Mission Ricardo Llosa told
Charge that the European Union delivered a demarche directly
to Foreign Minister regarding the need to ensure Cardenas'
protection and halt the illegal seizure of his property.

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MAS Not Indigenous Party
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9. (SBU) Dissident MAS Senator Guido Guardia took the floor
to denounce the Morales administration. He characterized the
administration as leftist but as "nothing new," and said they
did not have solidarity with the indigenous population. He
said there was a mistaken perception that the party was
progressive and a positive change, but that instead of being
a break with the past, the MAS was "of the past."

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Comment
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10. (C) Senator Ortiz's office delivered the invitation to
this event only hours before it started. The meeting itself
was relatively informal, with a wide range of questions and
answers among the participants. While post is sensitive to
making public appearances with the opposition that could be
taken as being "too involved" in the country's political
affairs, this event was attended by several foreign
Ambassadors and was far from a formal hearing or strategy
session. End comment.
URS