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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LA PAZ 000275 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI ELAB BL
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL BRENNAN: GREETING THE NEW BOLIVIA 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 06 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 195 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: During their January 24-27 visit to 
Bolivia, staffdel Brennan (House International Relations 
Committee staff Ted Brennan, Kristen Gilley, Paul 
Oostburg-Sanz, Mark Walker, and Dan Getz) met with Vice 
President Alvaro Garcia Linera, newly-minted legislators and 
ministers, Santa Cruz civic sector leaders and others.  They 
heard from Garcia Linera that the GOB would seek to address 
Bolivia's economic and racial inequalities while cooperating 
with the United States on counternarcotics.  MAS legislators 
displayed a pragmatic approach towards future relations with 
the United States while Santa Cruz leaders expressed concerns 
about the preservation of Bolivian democracy. The staffdel 
effectively conveyed U.S. Congressional concerns about the 
future course of Bolivian democracy and the hope that a 
constructive USG-GOB relationship could be maintained.  End 
summary. 
 
VP Garcia Strikes the Right Tone 
-------------------------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) In his January 25 meeting with the staffdel, Vice 
President Alvaro Garcia Linera sounded most of the right 
notes.  He said the electoral victory of the MAS was a 
triumph of democracy and remarked that the integration of 
indigenous people into power was comparable to the struggle 
for civil rights in the United States and to the overthrow of 
apartheid in South Africa.  He said the main goal of the 
government would be to reduce the endemic poverty in which 
most Bolivians, particularly the indigenous, have lived for 
centuries, and noted that the state would assume a stronger 
role in promoting productivity.  He welcomed international 
investment and assistance dedicated to that end and promised 
that disputes would be resolved legally.  In this connection, 
he did not rule out the possible need to punish certain 
companies that might have broken the law. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Garcia reaffirmed President Morales' intention to 
seek an alliance with the United States against 
narco-trafficking and said the government was open to 
negotiating a mutually acceptable solution, even if some 
aspects of the current strategy would need to be modified. 
Echoing Morales' assertions in past meetings (refs), Garcia 
said the "cato" agreement in the Chapare (exempting 3,200 
hectares from eradication) could be the basis for future 
negotiations, but that the Yungas would be more complicated. 
In response to questions from the staffdel, Garcia reiterated 
that the government would not seek to "import the problems of 
other countries into Bolivia" and said he was well aware of 
international sensitivities surrounding the establishment of 
close ties with Iran.  Bolivia will behave pragmatically in 
this respect, he averred, "we have no friends, just 
interests."  Responding to an invitation from staffdel leader 
Brennan, Garcia said he and Evo would look forward to 
traveling to the United States.  At the end of the meeting, 
Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) and Garcia Linera exchanged 
greetings by telephone. 
 
MAS Legislators Display Pragmatism 
---------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) In a January 25 lunch with La Paz area senators and 
deputies and at an evening reception for newly appointed 
ministers and newly elected legislators, MAS ministers, 
senators and deputies turned out in large numbers.  Dressed 
informally, most were very interested in exchanging views 
with U.S. officials.  Many came armed with questions about 
U.S. policy, programs and prospective assistance.  Judging 
from our exchanges with them, the majority of the new MAS 
ministers and legislators seemed more pragmatic than 
ideological and more interested in obtaining concrete 
benefits for their new constituents than in towing the MAS 
party line (whatever that is), and in seeing what we might be 
able to do to help them to this end. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Sounding a familiar theme, some wondered why U.S. 
assistance seemed to be intercepted by intermediaries and why 
it didn't seem to make it to those who needed it most, 
including poor people in their particular constituencies. 
"You should give the help directly to the people," they 
exclaimed.  Others inquired about U.S. counternarcotics 
 
LA PAZ 00000275  002 OF 003 
 
 
policy, which they assumed was anti-indigenous and anti-coca. 
 Both events initiated a positive dialogue between USG 
officials and this crop of inexperienced government ministers 
and legislators, who seemed eager to engage and to dispel 
stereotypes on both sides. 
 
Santa Cruz Worries 
------------------ 
¶6.  (U) Four members of the staffdel proceeded to Santa Cruz 
January 26 to receive briefings on USG counternarcotics 
efforts and to visit some alternative development projects. 
(Weather restrictions prohibited the planned visit to the 
Chapare region.)  Brennan and Embassy personnel addressed a 
group of 200 agricultural workers in Yapacani which had 
benefited from USG assistance projects in return for their 
pledge to keep their region coca-free. 
 
¶7.  (U) The staffdel and Embassy officials heard from Santa 
Cruz political and business leaders over dinner that the 
upcoming Constituent Assembly represented the next major 
political challenge for Bolivia.  Participants encouraged 
increased USG involvement in preparations for the Constituent 
Assembly, as they feared that President Morales would use the 
event to replicate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' efforts 
and further consolidate power while undermining Bolivia's 
democratic institutions.  Business leaders noted the need for 
the establishment of a sophisticated think tank in Santa Cruz 
to elaborate proposals for the upcoming Assembly and 
solicited USG financial support for the effort. 
 
MCA: Thumbs Up for Consultations, Thumbs Down for Conditions 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
¶8.  (SBU) Paul Oostburg-Sanz, Democratic Deputy Chief Counsel 
for the House Committee on International Relations, met 
January 26 with George Gray, the drafter of Bolivia's 
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) proposal; nine 
representatives from civil society, including miners, 
artisans and small business owners; Procosi, a network of 36 
NGOs; and members of the donor community, including the IMF, 
the World Bank, CAF (Andean Development Corporation) and the 
Inter-American Development Bank to discuss their views of the 
MCA consultative process and the proposal for roads and 
credit provision.  Although civil society and NGO 
representatives all wanted to ensure funding for their own 
interest areas, they generally agreed that roads and credit 
are important priorities for Bolivia.  Among the civil 
society, NGO and donor representatives, there was also a 
general consensus that the consultative process had been 
inclusive and exhaustive, as it had built on almost two years 
of national dialogue, which involved almost one percent of 
the population from different sectors and different regions. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) George Gray told Oostburg-Sanz and Econoff that he 
met with President Morales, Vice President Alvaro Garcia 
Linera and Carlos Villegas, Minister of Planning and 
Sustainable Development, the week of January 16.  Villegas 
told Gray it would take some time to choose people to work on 
the MCA but said he and Morales would work together to 
appoint a team.  Gray explained to Villegas that MCC 
Washington needs an announcement of a point person to move 
forward.  Morales said the GOB would take a "wait and see" 
approach on the MCA and would not consider it separately from 
other issues.  They expressed concern about the 
conditionality of the aid, particularly about the prospect 
that aid could be stopped midstream, even after being 
approved, by political developments in Bolivia. 
Oostburg-Sanz explained to Gray that the threshold for 
interrupting aid midstream is fairly high, such as a coup or 
a disruption in the democratic process.  Gray expressed 
concern that Sacha Llorenti (GOB appointee as ambassador to 
the United States) would be named the MCA point person, which 
would present logistical challenges as the GOB would need a 
point person in Bolivia, not in Washington. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment: The staffdel effectively conveyed U.S. 
Congressional concerns about the future course of Bolivian 
democracy and the hope that a constructive USG-GOB 
relationship could be maintained.  For Bolivian government 
interlocutors, this was a first chance to hear from 
representatives of the U.S. legislative branch and an 
opportunity to gain a broader understanding of Washington 
 
LA PAZ 00000275  003 OF 003 
 
 
concerns about Bolivian developments.  End comment. 
 
¶11.  (U) The staffdel did not have an opportunity to clear 
this report. 
GREENLEE