NICARAGUA: CPCS RAN OUT OF PRAYERS OR MONEY?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000443

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN KRAAIMOORE
DEPT PASS USAID
DEPT FOR USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: CPCS RAN OUT OF PRAYERS OR MONEY?

REF: A. MANAGUA 37

B. 2008 MANAGUA 1343

Classified By: Amb. Robert J. Callahan for reasons 1.4 (b & d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 2, 2009, after more than 210 days of
illegally occupying Managua's key traffic rotundas to prevent
opposition rallies, the "Prayer Against Hatred - Love is
Stronger than Hate" faux religious protest ran out of prayers
(see Reftel A and B). The campaign showed signs of fatigue
on February 13 when several "volunteers" who had been
recruited from the shanty town of alleged victims of
poisoning from the agro-chemical "Nemagon" staged a protest
near the National Assembly to complain that their promised
wages and food subsidies had suddenly stopped. After this
protest, the number of "prayer volunteers" dramatically fell
from 30 per rotunda to four or five "true believers;" and
shade tents, sound systems and statues of the Virgin Mary
started to be removed from some rotundas. Finally, during the
night of April 2, the last shade tents were taken down and
the portable tiolets removed from the rotundas. The
expensive propaganda effort by First Lady Rosario Murillo and
her Citizen Power Council (CPCs) cronies may have become a
victim of the GON's austerity measures or falling political
support within the government. END SUMMARY

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EVOLUTION OF A PRAYER CAMPAIGN
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2. (C) As reported previously (see Ref B),First Lady Rosario
Murillo and the CPCs began their campaign to occupy the key
Managua rotundas 24/7 on August 26, 2008, well in advance of
the November 9, 2008 municipal elections. The campaign was
billed as a "spontaneous religious movement" by its
participants and government spokespeople; however, it is
difficult to explain why a spontaneous movement would have so
much government support, including Murillo's signature pink
and yellow graphic and CPC symbols on all of its banners.


3. (C) The occupation was declared illegal by Managua's then
Mayor Dionisio Marenco, and it was a clear violation
Nicaraguan election laws; however, police were never ordered
to remove "religious" protesters who waved Nicaraguan flags
and wore white tee-shirts with slogans in bright pink letters
"Prayer Against Hatred - Love is Stronger than Hate." During
the post election violence, prayer "volunteers" were
frequently joined by hundreds of Sandinista National
Liberation Front (FSLN) supporters, waving red and black
FSLN-flags, who were called to the streets by party leaders
to "defend the vote." During the post election melee,
statues of the Virgin Mary were installed overnight by the
GON without the Catholic Church's permission (see Reftel A).


4. (C) After the final election results were announced on
November 20, 2008 the "Love Against Hate" prayer campaign
evolved into a quasi-Christmas celebration when the GON
installed large 30-feet tall metal poles with strings of
Christmas lights in major rotundas. Volunteer banner slogans
changed from "Prayer Against Hatred" to "Singing For Love -
Completing God's Work." When the Christmas holidays ended,
the prayer campaign evolved into a pre-celebration of the
30-year anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, when
electric "30" lights were suddenly installed on the top of
each pole, replacing the traditional star of Bethlehem.
(NOTE: The 30-year anniversary of the Sandinista revolution
arriving in Managua will be celebrated on July 19, 2009. END
NOTE).

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RUNNING OUT OF PRAYERS - OR MONEY?
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5. (C) On February 13, 2009 a group of alleged survivors of poisonings from &Nemagon,8 a pesticide formerly used here, who had been hired by the CPCs to staff the rotundas and who had also been employed as campaign activists for Alexis Arguello's mayoral campaign, protested in front of the National Assembly. They demanded that the GON pay them their promised wages for occupying the rotundas. At least 30 members of the group later filed formal complaints with the Permanent Commission of Human Rights (CPDH),claiming that they were promised back wages since November. They also claimed that they had been mistreated for attempting to exercise their labor rights by filing a complaint with the Sandinista Workers Union (CST). Others alleged that their GON food subsidies were suddenly suspended. (NOTE: prayer campaign volunteers received a monthly salary of 1,000 Cordoba ($200 USD),plus meals and transportation. At the height of the campaign, there were 240 volunteers in eight major rotundas. The monthly cost of maintaining the prayer campaign was estimated at over $100,000 USD. END NOTE).


6. (C) Following the protests, the number of prayer
volunteers fell dramatically around Managua, from as many as
30 per rotunda down to four or five. Media also reported
that shade tents, sound systems and Virgin Mary statues were
suddenly removed from some of the rotundas. On February 15,
2009 media reported that some of the protesters had fled the
Nemagon shanty town after receiving death threats from CPCs
for going public with their complaints. On March 16, another
group of 36 former prayer volunteers staged a protest in
front the FSLN headquarters, demanding 36,000 Cordobas
($1,800 USD) in unpaid wages for working six months. A FSLN
representative told the group that Ortega was not familiar
with the situation and asked for a formal letter with their
demands.


7. (C) Finally on April 2, 2009 under cover of darkness, the
last shade tents and portable toilets were removed from the
rotundas. All that was left of the 210-day occupation were
piles of garbage, old tires, and bare earth where the
original grass had been trampled by the prayer volunteers.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) There was never anything spontaneous (or for that
matter religious) about the "Prayer Against Hate" campaign
launched by First Lady Rosario Murillo and her CPC forces.
It was always a cold and calculated plan to occupy high-value
symbolic Managua real estate to pre-empt opposition protests,
veiled under the cloak of a faux religious movement.
Disguising it as a religious movement may have been an
attempt to garner sympathy or at least make it awkward for
the police and courts to shut it down without the threat of
being denounced for persecuting religious people. However,
the fingerprints of Murillo's propaganda machine were all
over the "spontaneous" campaign, which evolved in purpose the
longer it remained in the Managua rotundas.


9. (C) As long as there was an adequate bank account to pay
for "volunteers," perhaps coming from Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez, the campaign could continue. Nevertheless, the
falling price of Venezuelan oil and the reluctance of the
traditional donor community to continue direct budget support
to the GON after the massive election fraud seem to have
dried up the funds for continuing the effort. But shutting
it down is a Catch-22 for the FSLN, in that with paid
volunteers finally leaving the Rotundas, the opposition could
start to occupy them again for protests against proposed
constitutional reforms that could allow President Ortega to
be re-elected. Moreover, it will be much harder politically
to start a "Prayer Against Hatred II" sequel, and there may
not be enough "true believers" within the CPCs or FSLN party
who are willing to maintain this 24/7 vigil without
remuneration.
CALLAHAN