CUZCO PROVINCE: TARGET FOR EVO MORALES?

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001059 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER PE SUBJECT: CUZCO PROVINCE: TARGET FOR EVO MORALES? REF: A. LIMA 1731 ¶B. LIMA 904 ¶C. LIMA 663 ¶D. LIMA 794 ¶E. LIMA 924 Classified By: Amb P. Michael McKinley for reasons 1.4b and d. ¶1. (C) Summary: There is evidence that Canchis, a protest-prone area in Cuzco region, may be a focus of Bolivian activities in Peru. Canchis is a rich target with a history of rebellion going back over two centuries and a highly politicized and ideological population. The GOP has alleged Bolivian interference in two serious protests in the region in the past year. Our contacts tell us that the key Morales emissary operating in Canchis is a leftist radical who has known Morales since studying medicine in Bolivia. This operative is reportedly actively promoting Morales's ideas and offering funds to Canchis protest leaders in an effort to undermine the Garcia government. Evidence remains sketchy, but is accumulating that Morales will use current unrest in Peru to make life more uncomfortable for Garcia. End Summary. Canchis: A History of Rebellion -------------- ¶2. (C) A growing body of evidence indicates that Bolivian President Evo Morales is seeking to foster protest and instability in Peru, and that a key target is Canchis Province in the Region of Cusco. Canchis -- located southeast of Cusco city -- has a symbolic place in the history of Peru's indigenous movement as the birthplace of iconic 18th century indigenous leader Tupac Amaru. Tupac Amaru's heroic status stems from his leadership of an indigenous rebellion against the Spanish Empire in 1780, an event sometimes referred to as "the first cry of indigenous independence". His rebellion spread from Cusco southward even after Tupac Amaru's execution in 1781 and inspired the indigenous Tupac Katari rebellion in Bolivia later that year. Revolutionary guerrillas operated in Canchis again in the late 1960s, and in the 1980s, the province was among the first militarized during the Shining Path conflict. According to a prominent analyst who has worked in the zone, a succession of leftist parties in recent decades has successfully organized and indoctrinated local communities in Canchis. ¶3. (C) Canchis returned to prominence in October 2008 when protestors demanding the cessation of a hydroelectric project shut down the provincial capital Sicuani and clashed with police, leaving over 70 injured (ref A). Prime Minister Yehude Simon negotiated an end to the conflict and the situation remained calm until June 2009, when protestors again shut down Sicuani. This time, protestors demanded an end to the same hydroelectric project as well as the repeal of a water law and of decrees affecting Amazonian indigenous groups (ref B). Simon again flew to the area and negotiated a truce, but renewed protests are expected this week. Evidence Of Bolivian Interference in Protests? -------------- - ¶4. (C) The GOP has alleged Bolivian interference in both the November 2008 and June 2009 protests in Canchis. An intelligence document acquired by the Embassy discusses a series of meetings in June 2009 among local leftist leaders in Canchis to plan the "Second Uprising of the Peoples of the Province of Canchis and the South Region". Among the attendees was a Bolivian national named Elio Cruz, who the report says later traveled to Bolivia to collect funds for the protest. According to a press report apparently based on the same document, the GOP does not know when Cruz first entered Peru, whether he has returned with financing, or whether Elio Cruz is even his real name. The article also says that another Bolivian named Martina Portocarrero participated in the protest planning, but provides no further details. Carlos Cusihuaman: Key Morales Envoy? -------------- ¶5. (C) A credible political leader from Puno Region tells us that President Morales's principle envoy to Canchis is a doctor named Carlos Cusihuaman Orconi. Cusihuaman, a former member of the now-defunct Revolutionary Communist Party, served as of 2005 as general coordinator for the Civic Committee for Peruvian-Bolivian Brotherhood, according to press reports from the time. In April of that year in Canchis, Cusihuaman founded a Peruvian version of Evo Morales's Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) to compete in local and regional elections. Cusihuaman said the Peruvian MAS admired Evo Morales, describing him as a "social fighter", but insisted that it operated autonomously. The prominent analyst told us that Cusihuaman has a friendship with Morales that goes beyond mere admiration, and that the two have known each other since Cusihuaman studied at a Bolivian medical school. ¶6. (C) The Puno political leader tells us that she has learned from two contacts in Canchis, and from her own interaction with Cusihuaman, that he is actively prosthelytizing on behalf of Morales. She said her contacts report that Cusihuaman has quietly gone from town to town speaking to locals about the Morales government and promoting anti-Garcia protests. He has arranged meetings in Bolivia between Morales and local community leaders, and has coordinated the transfer of funds from Bolivia to Canchis leaders. She said Cusihuaman has also recruited young Peruvians to travel to Bolivia presumably for ideological training, and has offered money to support the political campaigns of sympathetic candidates for municipal office (ref D). Cusihuaman's ultimate goal is to promote strikes in Canchis that spread elsewhere and ultimately undermine and even oust President Grcia, said the political leader. A contact in the Prime Minister's office told us a similar story about Cusihuaman acting as a key emissary for Morales in Cusco. Bolivian Diplomat: Interference a Reaction, Not Provocation -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) A Bolivian diplomat affiliated with the MAS party and assigned to Lima did not confirm or deny to us that his government has targeted Canchis, but argued that any interference in Peruvian affairs is only a defense against Peruvian meddling in Bolivia. He described his government's actions as a natural reaction to GOP outreach to Bolivian opposition parties, and specifically cited a visit by opposition leaders to Peru organized by Peru's Ambassador to Bolivia. The diplomat said he had not heard of Cusihuaman or Cruz, but admitted that many people enter Peru without informing the Embassy. He added that many Andean Peruvian leaders -- like Miguel Palacin (ref E) -- admire and want to imitate Evo, but that is not the GOB's fault. The Embassy, he said, focuses on maintaining stable bilateral relations, particularly by "cleaning up" whenever Morales publicly criticizes Garcia's government. Comment: Bolivian Meddling Real, But Many Unconvinced -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) The evidence here and reported reftel convincingly suggests Morales's intention to undermine President Garcia's administration by exploiting local discontent. Unfortunately for GOP leaders, they have blamed local protests on foreign intervention so often in the past that many Peruvians appear numb to the argument. Moreover, the GOP's reflex to blame outsiders for nearly everything -- rather than acknowledge real internal grievances -- appears to aggravate social conflict by angering the same protest leaders and participants the Bolivians seek to recruit. MCKINLEY