BOLIVIA: MORALES' MAY DAY WEEKEND

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000655 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR ENVR ASEC BL SUBJECT: BOLIVIA: MORALES' MAY DAY WEEKEND REF: A. 08 LAPAZ 1024 ¶B. 08 LAPAZ 1018 ¶C. 07 LA PAZ 1215 ¶D. 06 SAOPAULO 464 Classified By: A/EcoPol Chief Brian Quigley for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Continuing a three-year tradition of May Day nationalization announcements, Bolivian President Evo Morales on May 1 nationalized AirBP, a jet fuel provider and subsidiary of British Petroleum. Morales announced the nationalization in conjunction with several supreme decrees regarding workers rights. The same day, National Electoral Court President Jose Luis Exeni announced his immediate retirement "strictly for family reasons." Morales replaced Exeni within hours with Roxana Ibarnegaray, who served on the court from 2000 to 2004. Post welcomes the relatively quiet May Day weekend, but notes the ongoing government investigation into an alleged terrorist cell continues to dominate the headlines. End summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Continuing Tradition, Morales Nationalizes Company - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) As part of his traditional May Day speech, President Evo Morales announced the pending nationalization of AirBP, a subsidiary of British oil company BP. AirBP, which commercializes and sells jet fuel throughout Bolivia, will become part of state oil company YPFB. A BP company spokesperson said the company "had agreed to a handover of our operations," and that while "we were surprised by today's takeover process (when army troops surrounded the company's headquarters),we will continue to support the handover." Hydrocarbons Minister Oscar Coca said the government would enter a 120-day negotiation with AirBP to agree on the company's valuation. Coca added that the company had shown itself to be willing to sell the company to the state. AirBP, which owns 12 jet fuel stations at Bolivian airports and has approximately 90 employees, was sold to BP in 2000 as part of then-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's "capitalization" program. ¶3. (C) AirBP reportedly earned the ire of Morales administration members by selling jet fuel to private airline company Aerosur at discounted prices, including selling fuel for international flights with a small domestic hop at 100 percent domestic prices. Post is investigating this charge further and will report more septel. ¶4. (U) Morales has used the May Day pulpit to make nationalization announcements in three of his four years in office. In addition to his announcement regarding AirBP, in 2008 Morales nationalized Italian-owned telecommunications company Entel and three foreign-owned hydrocarbon companies (reftel A, B). In 2007, while Morales did not formally nationalize any companies, he did declare Bolivia's national territory a "state mineral reserve" and awarded administrative control of all mineral resources to Comibol, the state-owned mining company (reftel C). In 2006, Morales effectively nationalized the country's hydrocarbons production by raising taxes to 82 percent in Bolivia's two mega fields (run by Petrobras, Repsol, and Total) and regaining state control of other capitalized companies (reftel D). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Morales Decrees More Workers Rights - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) After marching at the head of a workers' parade, Morales announced a package of five reforms via supreme decree. The five reforms are designed to achieve the following: first, equalize contractors' rights and benefits with permanent employees; second, ensure workers receive uniforms and protective gear when appropriate; third, award severance payments to workers serving longer than 90 days; fourth, pay low-level government workers a one-time award of 1000 Bolivianos; and fifth, transfer one percent of many workers' basic salaries to support their unions. ¶6. (U) While the first three decrees were met with mild opposition by business leaders complaining it would lead to job cuts, the latter two decrees generated more political heat. The award of 1000 Bolivianos was widely panned by opposition political leaders as nothing more than an attempt to buy votes, given that it did not serve a wider social purpose, such as other government programs (bonos),which assist senior citizens, pregnant women, and poor youth. Regarding the automatic donation to unions, Morales commented this provision would help unions steer away from support by NGOs and political parties. The opposition characterized Morales' comments as pure politicking and another attempt to garner votes for the MAS. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Exeni Out, Ibarnegaray In - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) In what appeared to be a surprise announcement, National Electoral Court (CNE) President Jose Luis Exeni sent a note to President Morales April 30 advising him of his intent to resign from the court immediately "strictly for family reasons." The announcement was publicized May 1, and Exeni reportedly went immediately to Tarija to be with a dying aunt. Despite his statement and actions, Morales implicitly criticized the decision, saying: "Guaranteeing profound state transformations will always be difficult, and there will always be people who stand for Bolivia, for change, and for democracy, and others who aren't prepared to assume responsibility." Autonomy Minister Carlos Romero said, "I would not discard the idea that he was afraid of not being able to complete his difficult tasks," including the implementation of a new biometric electoral roll. ¶8. (U) Within hours of the public announcement of Exeni's departure, Morales appointed Roxana Ibarnegaray, who served on the court from 2000 to 2004 under the second Sanchez de Lozada administration. Ibarnegaray was praised widely for her professionalism and her capacity to ensure continued progress toward a new biometric electoral roll before the December 6 national elections. At the news conference announcing her appointment, President Morales commented that "he hoped he didn't make a mistake" in selecting her. Opposition leaders took the opportunity to pan the selection process itself, noting that Ibarnegaray's selection was necessary just to maintain a quorum of three members out of five total. They called for renewed efforts to fill out the remaining two slots through a Congressional agreement. Although Ibarnegaray replaces Exeni, she will not be CNE president. The three members instead picked current member Antonio Costa to be president in a private meeting late on May 3. - - - - Comment - - - - ¶9. (C) Prior to the May Day weekend, there was much speculation (especially in Santa Cruz) that Morales would announce a nationalization of Santa Cruz-based businesses, arrests of political opposition members including Branko Marinkovic, and/or establishment of significantly increased troop presence in Santa Cruz's capital itself. The relatively quiet weekend was welcome, but the government's investigation into an alleged terrorist cell continues, and government media is increasingly implying U.S. (and potentially USG) involvement, including financing of the terrorists and the Santa Cruz Civic Committee. With forty percent of the country's armed forces in Santa Cruz state, we are not ready to relax just yet. End comment. URS