This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LIMA 005396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PE
SUBJECT: FUJIMORISTAS TRYING TO SELL THEIR MAN AS THE 
MECHANISM TO STOP HUMALA 
 
REF: LIMA 5332 
 
Classified By: Political...

id: 48368
date: 12/21/2005 22:27
refid: 05LIMA5396
origin: Embassy Lima
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 05LIMA5332
header:
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.



----------------- header ends ----------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LIMA 005396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PE
SUBJECT: FUJIMORISTAS TRYING TO SELL THEIR MAN AS THE 
MECHANISM TO STOP HUMALA 
 
REF: LIMA 5332 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Alexander Margulies.  Reason: 1.4(d) 
. 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Ex-President Alberto Fujimori's brother 
Santiago, along with three other members of the Fujimorista 
brain-trust, in a 12/14 breakfast with Polcouns, described 
their movement's strategy for the upcoming elections; 
inquired as to the USG's position on the presidential 
candidacy of ex-President Fujimori, suggesting that the 
latter is the only one who can sidetrack ultra-nationalist 
Ollanta Humala; and complained about alleged political 
persecution and human rights abuses against them (all four 
face criminal prosecutions for their actions during the 
Fujimori regime).  Polcouns replied that the USG views 
Fujimori's eligibility to run for the presidency as an issue 
for the appropriate electoral/judicial authorities to 
determine in accordance with the Peruvian Constitution and 
laws.  With respect to the accusations of political 
persecution/human rights violations, Polcouns said that 
Embassy's Human Rights Officer was prepared to review any 
specific charges, supported by evidence, that the 
Fujimoristas submitted.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Ex-Congressman Oswaldo Sandoval hosted a breakfast 
for Polcouns on 12/14.  The other invitees were Santiago 
Fujimori, Jaime Yoshiyama (former President of Congress, 
ex-President of the 1992-93 Constituent Assembly and 
ex-Minister), and Augusto Bedoya (ex-Minister of Transport). 
The four Fujimoristas characterized the meeting as an overdue 
initiative by their movement to establish contact with the 
Embassy so as to keep the USG appraised of the Fujimoristas' 
objectives and strategy.  Santiago Fujimori and Bedoya did 
most of the substantive talking, with Yoshiyama interjecting 
to correct misinformation or provide emphasis to specific 
points.  Sandoval appeared to be the liaison guy, with 
minimal input on policy or organization issues.  (NOTE: 
There are media reports that Bedoya carried out the transfer 
of funds for lease of the aircraft that took Alberto Fujimori 
from Japan to Chile.  END NOTE).
 
¶3.  (C)  According to the four Fujimoristas: 
 
--  Santiago Fujimori is the undisputed leader of the 
movement in Peru and is in regular communication with his 
brother in Chile. 
 
--  The four are part of the core Fujimorista brain-trust, 
remaining in the background for two reasons:  (1) politically 
it is more advantageous to have populists like Martha Chavez, 
who appeal to the poorest sectors of the population where 
Fujimori's support is strongest, out front; and (2) the four 
are all involved in business dealings and face criminal 
charges linked to their service with the Fujimori regime, and 
are concerned that their commercial interests would suffer 
and/or they would open themselves to "increased political 
persecution" should they be seen as actively engaging in 
politics. 
 
--  They are committed to bringing about Alberto Fujimori's 
re-election to the Presidency and inquired as to the USG's 
view on this (Polcouns replied that we consider Fujimori's 
eligibility to run for the presidency to be an issue for the 
appropriate electoral and/or judicial authorities to 
determine in accordance with the Peruvian Constitution and 
laws). 
 
--  Fujimori's detention in Chile was an unexpected blow and 
damaged the movement politically, but they are hopeful that 
he will be freed on bail in early January, once Peru files 
its extradition request.  Once freed from confinement, 
Fujimori will be in a better position to rally the faithful. 
 
--  The movement's original strategy was to combine the three 
Fujimorista parties (Si Cumple, Nueva Mayoria, Cambio 90) in 
one alliance.  A 12/6 decision by the National Electoral 
Board's (JNE) Office of Party Organization Registration, 
however, rejected the inscription of the proposed alliance on 
the grounds that Alberto Fujimori, who was proposed as the 
alliance's titular head, was ineligible to occupy this post 
as a result of a 2001 vote by Congress to disqualify him from 
holding public office for 10 years.  The Constitutional 
Tribunal, in a case to which Fujimori was not/not a party, 
subsequently stated that this disqualification also prohibits 
those it covers from running for public office and restricts 
their political rights. 
--  The Fujimoristas at first considered appealing this 
decision to the JNE on the grounds that (1) the 2001 Congress 
vote was insufficient (a simple majority of 37 legislators 
present had voted for the disqualification, while a 
subsequent Constitutional Tribunal decision provided that a 
vote by two-thirds of the Congress -- 80 legislators -- is 
required to remove a president), (2) the Constitutional 
Tribunal ruling interpreting the effect of the 10-year 
congressional prohibition is not/not in accordance with the 
express wording of the Constitution (NOTE:  Article 100 of 
the Constitution empowers Congress to disqualify public 
officials from holding office for up to 10 years, but does 
not specifically state that they cannot run for office. 
Article 10 of the Organic Law on Elections, however, does 
provide that public functionaries disqualified from holding 
office cannot vote or be elected.  END NOTE); and (3) an 
electoral alliance is a private political organization, 
not/not a "public office," and so falls outside the bounds of 
the congressional prohibition. 
 
--  After due consideration, however, the decision was taken 
not/not to appeal.  This was based first on the brain-trust 
concluding that the key JNE ruling will be on whether Alberto 
Fujimori is eligible to run for office, and that they should 
not expose their legal hand on less important issues. 
Secondly, the Fujimorista leadership realized that splitting 
the proposed alliance in two would enure to their benefit, as 
they would then have a back-up electoral vehicle should the 
JNE disqualify Fujimori. 
 
--  As a result, Si Cumple will go it alone, presenting a 
presidential ticket with Alberto Fujimori at the top. 
Meanwhile, Cambio 90 and Nueva Mayoria have formed the 
Alliance for the Future (AF for short, Fujimori's initials), 
and will nominate an as-yet undecided ticket that does not 
include the ex-President.  If Fujimori is permitted to run, 
then AF will withdraw its presidential slate from the race. 
 
--  The Fujimoristas have had discussion with JNE 
magistrates, and believe that the JNE will permit Fujimori to 
run, even though technically he cannot take office. 
(COMMENT:  Polcouns raised the issue of Fujimori's 
eligibility to run for the Presidency with JNE President 
Enrique Mendoza at a 12/14 reception.  Mendoza said that the 
JNE will apply the constitution and law, adding that Article 
10 of the Organic Law on Elections is dispositive.  END 
COMMENT.) 
 
--  If Fujimori runs and wins the election, they expect that 
the sitting Congress will vote to lift the prohibition on his 
taking office.  If it does not, then the new Congress will do 
so. 
 
--  If Fujimori is prevented from running, then the 
Fujimoristas do not/not expect to win the presidency, but 
they still hope to win a sizable legislative bloc, which will 
pressure for the disqualification of Fujimori to be lifted. 
(COMMENT:  Keiko Fujimori, the highly popular daughter of 
Alberto Fujimori and ex-Acting First Lady, has announced that 
she will lead the Alliance for the Future.  Presumably she 
will also head its list of congressional nominees.  END 
COMMENT.) 
 
¶4.  (C)  The four Fujimoristas claimed that, under their 
leadership, a new Fujimori government would emulate the 
positive actions of Fujimori's first term, while avoiding the 
massive corruption of its second term.  They also emphasized 
that Fujimori was the best bet to stop surging 
ultra-nationalist presidential contender Ollanta Humala, 
noting that many of those shifting to Humala are Fujimori 
supporters disheartened by the ex-President's captivity in 
Chile. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Polcouns acknowledged that Fujimorista followers 
seem to be migrating to the Humala camp, but pointed out that 
over the past year Humala's candidacy has been highly 
publicized, if not outright supported, by pro-Fujimori media 
organs like daily "La Razon."  Santiago Fujimori admitted 
that this was the case, indicating that in retrospect this 
was unfortunate.  He then declared that the USG should have 
no/no political concerns over the election of a strong 
Fujimorista legislative bloc, as this would ally itself with 
center-right presidential candidate Lourdes Flores' Unidad 
Nacional alliance, "with whom we have excellent relations," 
in the next Congress. 

¶6.  (C)  Santiago Fujimori took the lead in bringing up the 
issue of human rights, arguing that there were "no 
systematic" violations under the Fujimori regime.  He 
declared that the real human rights violations are occurring 
today, with former Fujimori regime officials like those at 
the table being the victims of political persecution.  The 
other three Fujimoristas present firmly assented, with each 
complaining that "unfounded" criminal allegations against 
them are being slowly processed by the criminal justice 
system, negatively affecting their business activities and, 
in some case, preventing them from traveling outside the 
country.  With breaking voice and tears welling in his eyes, 
Santiago resumed his litany of complaints, embarking upon a 
lengthy description of his mother's hardships coping with a 
judicial embargo on her bank accounts and properties.  He 
concluded by asking Polcouns for the USG to recognize these 
alleged human rights abuses. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Polcouns replied that he was unaware of the facts in 
the criminal cases against his four interlocutors, but said 
that the Embassy's Human Rights Officer was prepared to 
review any specific allegations and supporting evidence that 
the Fujimoristas cared to put in writing.  Polcouns 
acknowledged that the Peruvian criminal justice system was 
overloaded and inefficient, but observed that this is a 
problem common to most defendants, not just the Fujimoristas, 
noted that some American companies have had problems with 
cases that move at the speed of continental drift, and 
concluded that while this was regrettable, it did not by 
itself constitute a violation of defendants' human rights. 
 
¶8.  (C)  COMMENT:  This group of Fujimoristas claim to be the 
real brains and brawn of the movement, but their leadership 
is, in fact, in dispute.  Alberto Fujimori's imprisonment 
clearly has deprived them of the direction they need, and 
their confidence and courage have suffered accordingly.  The 
four looked less like political conspirators planning a 
return to power and more like a group of retired business 
executives sharing drinks at their country club while 
reminiscing about their glory days in the corporate jungle. 
Their presentation to Polcouns was unfocused, shifting from 
topic to topic as the Fujimoristas sought to find an argument 
that would spark a positive response.  In the end, their main 
pitch was that since much of Humala's support seems to be 
coming from voters who previously backed Alberto Fujimori, 
the way to stop Humala is by letting Fujimori run.  While it 
does indeed appear to be the case that Humala has inherited a 
substantial part of the Fujimori vote (Reftel), there are 
other options to wean these voters away from the former 
without promoting the latter.  END COMMENT. 
STRUBLE 

=======================CABLE ENDS============================