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C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, NSC FOR V. ALVARADO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2017 
TAGS: PHUM GOV ECON KDEM NU
SUBJECT: CITIZEN COUNCILS DEALT BLOW BY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
 
REF: MANAGUA 2466 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reason 1.4d 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: On November 20, the Nicaraguan National 
Assembly voted to override with 52 votes Sandinista President 
Daniel Ortega's veto of legislation to prohibit the transfer 
of a real measure of Executive authority to the Citizen Power 
Councils (CPCs).  Deputies representing the Nicaraguan 
Liberal Alliance (ALN),  the Constitutional Liberal Party 
(PLC), and the Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS) voted 
unanimously to override the veto.  Before a power outage cut 
short discussion and forced a roll-call vote, debate in the 
chamber had been heated, with Sandinista National Liberation 
Front (FSLN) deputies loudly proclaiming that CPC activities 
would continue regardless of the vote.  Within hours, the 
Pacto-controlled Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) issued an 
injuction, preventing the publication of the law.  While the 
vote is certainly an important symbolic victory for Liberal 
alliance, its long-term legal impact on the CPCs is less 
clear.  END SUMMARY. 
 
National Assembly Overturns Ortega Veto 
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¶2.  (U) On November 20, the Nicaraguan National Assembly 
overrode Sandinista President Daniel Ortega's veto of 
legislation to prohibit the legal formation of Citizen Power 
Councils (CPCs) as an arm of the executive branch of 
government.  With a simple majority (47 of the 92 assembly 
seats) required to override the veto, 52 deputies in fact 
voted to override it.  The 52 vote count included 22 ALN 
votes, 25 PLC votes, 3 MRS votes, and the votes of two former 
MRS deputies who defected from the party shortly after being 
elected - Mario Valle and Juan Ramon Jimenez.  A sudden power 
outage mid-way through the session knocked out the electronic 
voting mechanism, leaving FSLN assembly president Rene Nunez 
to take a verbal roll call vote in the near-darkness of the 
assembly chamber.  (NOTE:  Who cast the 52nd vote is still 
being investigated.  Instead of Jimenez, there are rumors 
that FSLN deputy Gustavo Porras -- who blasted ALN president 
Eduardo Montealegre during the assembly debate -- may have 
accidently cast his vote to override the veto.  END NOTE) 
 
FSLN Deputies: "Vote Will Have no Affect on CPCs" 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (U) The debate itself was heated, as more than 20 
deputies voiced their opinions about the CPCs prior to the 
power blackout.  PLC caucus president Maximino Rodriguez 
stressed the importance of citizen participation, but 
questioned the legitimacy of the CPCs when, according to a 
recent poll, 95 percent of the population indicated they did 
not support them.  He pledged that the PLC would work with 
the FSLN to support any social movement so long as it "is 
legal" without "a government structure on top."  Echoing this 
sentiment, MRS deputy Victor Hugo Tinoco emphasized citizens' 
right to organize, but stated that the government had "no 
right" to recognize only one social organization as 
"legitimate" and to channel government funding through it. 
In turn, each FSLN deputy that spoke proclaimed that the CPCs 
would continue to operate regardless of the National 
Assembly's vote and that the "will of the people is stronger 
than the will of the Assembly."  In a show of humor, FSLN 
deputy Zochilt Ocampo, joked that the fact that all the 
Liberal deputies showed up on time for the debate was a sign 
that the CPCs are already working well. 
 
Deputies Close Assembly 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The CPC debate had captured headlines for two weeks 
prior to the vote, with the PLC and ALN deputies repeatedly 
pledging to vote as a single bloc to override the veto, and 
the FSLN vowing to move forward with the CPCs regardless of 
the outcome.  The morning of the debate, the ALN, PLC, and 
MRS caucuses met for over an hour to consolidate their votes. 
The caucuses also decided to close the session to outside 
observers due to concerns that CPC supporters would disrupt 
the debate as they had a few weeks earlier when Ortega 
pitched the CPCs on the Assembly floor  (NOTE: Emboffs 
attempted to observe the session, but were turned away when 
assembly president Wilfredo Navarro refused to co-sign an 
authorization slip.  Minutes later, an apologetic Montealegre 
confirmed by phone that the session was closed to all 
observers.  END NOTE.) 
 
Injuction Granted by Supreme Court 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  (U) Immediately following the decision, the FSLN filed an 
injuction with the Appeals Court, seeking a delay in the 
publication of the Assembly's decision (officially known as 
Law 630).  Within hours, the Supreme Court's (CSJ) Chief 
Justice Rafael Solis announced that the injunction had been 
granted and that Ortega had been notified by official 
correspondence not to publish Law 630. 
 
COMMENT 
- - - - 
 
¶6.  (C) With the override of Ortega's veto, the Liberals won 
a battle, but the war is not over.  First, Ortega is sure to 
appeal the decision to the CSJ, claiming that National 
Assembly's vote to uphold legislation forbidding the CPCs is 
unconstitutional as an infringement of citizens' right to 
organize.  If this happens, the Pacto-controlled CSJ is very 
likely to rule in Ortega's favor -- as evidenced by the speed 
with which the injunction was granted.  Second, the PLC's 
unanimous vote against the CPCs keeps the caucus together and 
enables Aleman to discredit claims that the PLC/FSLN "Pacto" 
is alive and well.  In fact, in an article published the 
morning of the vote, Aleman was quoted as saying that the 
vote would demonstrate that "there are no negotiations with 
the Sandinistas" in reference to rumors about discussions 
over the new penal code that could favor Aleman. 
 
¶7.  (C) In apparent confirmation of the FSLN deputies' claims 
that the CPCs will continue to move ahead with their social 
project whether Ortega's veto were upheld or overturned, 
local Managua CPC contacts seem unaffected by National 
Assembly wrangling, stating that they are focused on their 
local communities and spheres of influence.  They continue to 
hold weekly meetings and maintain regular interaction with 
district and departmental level councils to voice concerns 
and advocate for improvements in local services.  Thus, while 
today's National Assembly vote was an important symbolic 
victory for the Liberal alliance, it remains to be seen if 
their efforts to stop the CPCs by legal means will bear fruit. 
TRIVELLI