NEW COORDINATING MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY BORJA

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000154

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019
TAGS: ECON PINR ETRD PREL EC
SUBJECT: NEW COORDINATING MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY BORJA

Classified by DCM Andrew Chritton. Reason: 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Sum...



id: 195027
date: 3/3/2009 21:03
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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000154

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019
TAGS: ECON PINR ETRD PREL EC
SUBJECT: NEW COORDINATING MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY BORJA

Classified by DCM Andrew Chritton. Reason: 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. Diego Borja replaced Pedro Paez in the high profile
position of Coordinating Minister of Economic Policy in December

2008. Paez was apparently replaced because he was not able to
accomplish important administration objectives in the economic arena.
Borja, an economist and politician, has switched among political
parties several times, served a six month stint as Economy Minister
in 2005/2006 (when he masterminded a controversial hydrocarbons law),
and worked as the head of Ecuador's flower exporter association. He
appears to be the /government's point person on developing a GOE
adjustment program to address its macroeconomic problems brought on
by falling oil prices, exports and remittances. End summary.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
--------------


2. (U) Borja has been a member of several political parties. He was
elected to the Constituent Assembly in September 2007, as a candidate
of the alliance between the social-democratic "Izquierda
Democratica," the Poder Ciudadano Movement (which he founded),and
two other democratic socialist movements, "Acuerdo Democratico" and
"Nuevo Acuerdo Nacional." Before forming the Poder Ciudadano
Movement, Borja was a national leader of "Movimiento Nuevo Pais" (New
Country Movement),where he was an adviser to Presidential candidate
Freddy Ehlers, as well as alternate representative from Ecuador to
the Andean Parliament.


3. (SBU) Borja served as Minister of Economy and Finance from
December 2005 to July 7, 2006 during the Palacio administration. He
was behind the 2006 Hydrocarbons Reform Law that required private oil
companies to share at least 50% of extraordinary revenues with the
state. In July 2006, Palacio called for the resignations of all his
cabinet members; Borja offered his resignation after becoming
involved in a contentious disagreement with Presidential Secretary
Modesto Apolo over implementation of the hydrocarbons law. Following
the 2006 state seizure of U.S. Occidental Petroleum's assets in
Ecuador, Borja was appointed to a commission to oversee the transfer
and operation of the fields and was instrumental in creating the
administrative unit formed to operate these fields.


4. (C) Prior to his role as Minister, Diego Borja was the Executive
Director of Ecuador's largest association of flower growers and
exporters, Expoflores. He participated in and supported FTA talks
with the U.S. during this time, representing the flower industry.
However, he left the association on contentious terms, and Expoflores
subsequently initiated a legal case stemming from some of his actions
at the association. In addition, some in the flower industry felt
that he went against their interests in his later activities in the
Finance Ministry (for example, with the hydrocarbons law, which they
felt would cause important ATPA benefits to be terminated). One
person in the flower industry has called Borja a crook, without
providing any specifics.


5. (U) Borja also worked as a consultant on competitiveness and
productivity for institutions such as the Andean Development
Corporation (CAF),taught economics at Catholic University in Quito,
and served as a visiting lecturer at other universities in Ecuador.
He has a Master's degree from the Catholic University of Louvain in
Belgium (the same school were Correa got his Master's degree) and an
Economics degree from the Catholic University of Ecuador. He was
born in Quito, Ecuador on May 1, 1964.


6. (C) Borja travelled to Washington in February 2009 along with
Finance Minister Elsa Viteri to talk to the InterAmerican Development
Bank, International Monetary Fund, and USG officials. According to
an IMF official, Borja was willing to provide economic data to the
IDB and IMF officials. In contrast, he said, Viteri was reticent and
appeared intimidated by Borja. The IMF official said that Borja
seemed pragmatic about doing what was necessary to provide the IMF
with data about Ecuador's economic program, and obtained Correa's
agreement to provide fiscal data and send Ecuadorian technicians to
talk the IDB and IMF staff about Ecuador's adjustment program.


7. (C) Comment: Borja is often described as a political opportunist
and pragmatist. In contrast to his predecessor, Pedro Paez, an
academic who appeared to accomplish little in his tenure, the GOE may
need Borja at this time, as the GOE tries to maneuver through a very
difficult economic climate. Borja is not particularly close to
Correa, but he is a political operator who will likely get more done
than Paez. It is an open question whether he has the economic
instincts to implement a sound economic program.

HODGES

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