Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MANAGUA600
2009-06-17 18:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Managua
Cable title:  

CPC UPDATE: COLLECTING GARBAGE & ELECTRIC BILLS, GIVING SWINE-FLU REFERRALS, AND STEALING PUBLIC LAND AND JOBS

Tags:  PGOV PHUM NU 
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VZCZCXRO1563
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #0600/01 1681853
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171853Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4253
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//J2/J3/J5// PRIORITY
RHBVJPX/COMPHIBRON SIX PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 000600 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN KRAAIMOORE; DRL MAGGIO; INR/IAA EMERSON
STATE PASS USAID
STATE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM NU
SUBJECT: CPC UPDATE: COLLECTING GARBAGE & ELECTRIC BILLS, GIVING SWINE-FLU REFERRALS, AND STEALING PUBLIC LAND AND JOBS

REF: A. MANAGUA 454

B. MANAGUA 443

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 000600

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN KRAAIMOORE; DRL MAGGIO; INR/IAA EMERSON
STATE PASS USAID
STATE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM NU
SUBJECT: CPC UPDATE: COLLECTING GARBAGE & ELECTRIC BILLS, GIVING SWINE-FLU REFERRALS, AND STEALING PUBLIC LAND AND JOBS

REF: A. MANAGUA 454

B. MANAGUA 443

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Sandinista National Liberation Front
(FSLN) political party and its Citizen Power Councils (CPCs)
continue to embed themselves into the fabric of Nicaraguan
life. In addition to being behind recent public attacks
against NGOs and serving as the primary distribution points
for the Government of Nicaragua's (GON) Zero Hunger and other
populist programs, CPCs now offer new public services:
directing garbage collection priorities; collecting electric
bills for a power company; providing medical information and
referrals for swine flu victims; controlling water in rural
areas; and setting up illegal structures on public property.
Perhaps most troubling of all, CPCs are being called on by
FSLN mayors to fill the jobs of public employees who are
dismissed for not affiliating with the FSLN party. END
SUMMARY

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POLITICAL GARBAGE COLLECTION
--------------


2. (SBU) By the end of the Nicaraguan summer (December to
April),tons of garbage usually collect in Managua's
extensive open storm drains and sewer system. Every
February, the Managua municipal government spends millions of
cordobas (Nicaraguan official currency C$20/$1 USD) to remove
debris that could clog storm drains and cause flooding when
the heavy rains return in May/June. Managua's new FSLN
mayor, ex-boxer Alexis Arguello, announced on January 15 (his
first day on the job) that the CPCs and the Managua municipal
government were to work together in providing public
services. On February 10, 2009, local media reported that
CPCs would set the Managua municipal garbage collection
priorities. On a simple piece of paper stuck to a municipal
information blackboard, the Managua Fourth District work crew
announced that the FSLN would determine priorities for
garbage pickup. Local media reported that a chronological
municipal report of scheduled cleanup sites confirmed that
CPC neighborhoods received priority garbage collection
service over non-CPC neighborhoods, even where there was an

FSLN-majority.

-------------- -
COLLECTING ELECTRIC BILLS AS A PUBLIC SERVICE?
-------------- -


3. (SBU) In March 2009, local media ran a series of headline
stories about CPCs in Managua neighborhoods acting as
collection agents for Union Fenosa, a Spanish company that
distributes electricity in Nicaragua. The GON currently has
a 16 percent stake in Union Fenosa's Nicaraguan subsidiary
and most Nicaraguans do not pay for their electricity - in
one Managua neighborhood alone, it is estimated that 92
percent of 1,800 clients have not paid their bills in months.
The National Assembly had refused to pass legislation that
would pay millions of dollars owed to the company unless it
could improve customer collections. Calling them "Commissars
of Light," CPC members were organized and paid to strong-arm
their neighbors into paying their electrical bill in an
effort to improve the image of Fenosa. Union Fenosa
spokesperson, Jorge Katin, admitted that hiring collection
agents was a normal practice, but would not confirm that the
company only hired CPC members since November 2008. Marcos
Carmona, a Nicaraguan human rights activist, confirmed the
state-party confusion that the Fenosa practice of hiring CPCs
to collect unpaid bills has created.

--------------
SWINE FLU AWARENESS & REFERRALS
--------------


4. (SBU) In April 2009, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) published an emergency handbook on swine flu that states that CPCs have a primary role in disseminating information regarding the symptoms and treatment for H1N1 virus. The handbook states that CPCs have a three-fold responsibility (along with the MINSA and 35,000 community health volunteers known as "brigadistas") to inform the general population about the virus, to identify cases of infection that require treatment, and to implement health measures (such as quarantines) to prevent the spread of the disease. While not explicitly stated in the handbook, Embassy health personnel were told by MINSA that a Nicaraguan who comes down with flu-like symptoms should report to their local CPCs or go to their local health centers.

--------------
CONTROLLING WATER ACCESS
--------------


5. (SBU) In May 2009, local media reported that CPCs were
controlling water access to the rural communities of Palo de
Pan and El Roble near Diriamba in the Carazo department,
south of Managua. The two communities have over 1,000
residents and have not had adequate water supply for years
from Enacal, the National Nicaraguan water service.
Community leaders complained that for the past two years
water was available once a week and usually during the night.
Now Enacal has given CPC leaders authority to open and close
water lines. According to local contacts, these CPC leaders
were deliberately redirecting scare water resources to other
CPC households instead of sharing it equally among residents.
When community members attended CPC meetings to complain,
they were told that Enacal was at fault for the distribution
problems. Local media also reported a similar case in San
Juan del Oriente, in which CPCs moved a water pump to another
neighborhood that was "FSLN-friendly."

--------------
OCCUPYING PUBLIC PROPERTY ILLEGALLY
--------------


6. (SBU) On May 20, 2009 local media reported that CPCs were
illegally occupying public land in Chinandega. According to
the article, CPCs helped construct a vegetable stand and
install a cement latrine on land that belonged to
Chinandega's historic railroad station and now is under FSLN
mayor Enrique Hidalgo's jurisdiction. The site also
illegally borrows water and electricity from a nearby public
school. The beneficiary of the new vegetable stand told
reporters that the CPCs had permission directly from First
Lady Rosario Murillo (who directly oversees the CPCs) to
build on the site on the public land and borrow water and
electricity from the school. However, the FSLN mayor said
that the CPCs were illegally occupying the site and that the
municipality actually had plans to develop the land into a
civic center for the community.

--------------
STEALING JOBS FROM NON-FSLN PUBLIC WORKERS
--------------


7. (SBU) On May 20, 2009 a local newspaper revealed that the
FSLN Mayor of Cuidad Dario, Angel Cardoza, ordered 44 CPC
members to take over the positions of public workers he had
fired for joining a non-FSLN aligned workers union. The 44
public workers illegally fired for their political
affiliation had more than 20 years of experience in the
municipal government and many were single mothers. Starting
in January 2009, the workers began losing their jobs to CPC
members, who have no previous experience working in municipal
government. The 44 workers have filed appeals with the
Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) for the violations of Nicaraguan
labor laws and collective agreements, but have little hope
that the FSLN-control MITRAB or the justice system will
support their cause.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------

8 (C) CPCs continue to embed themselves into Nicaragua's public service delivery systems - exercising control over garbage collection, water and electricity distribution, health services and even public lands and positions of trust. In FSLN-controlled municipalities, CPC influence over these public services increases each day. CPC members represent the "executive committee" of the local FSLN party structure, and are comprised of the most loyal forces within the party. CPCs are also vertically-integrated structures for governance, controlled directly by Ortega and Murillo, that duplicate both the GON and the party. In a country where economic conditions are deteriorating, party patronage is perhaps the best mechanism for assuring a piece of a shrinking economic pie. Even in FSLN-controlled administrations or neighborhoods, it increasingly appears that CPC membership has its own privileges and special access.

CALLAHAN