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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LA PAZ 000831 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2016 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL EPET ENRG BL
SUBJECT: TUTO QUIROGA TRYING TO ACTIVATE OPPOSITION 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 732 
 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 351 
 
Classified By: Amb. David N. Greenlee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  In a meeting with the Ambassador on March 
22, former president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga was nonchalant 
about the possible criminal case against him for signing 
hydrocarbons contracts without congressional approval, but 
worried about the far-reaching consequences of the 
politically-motivated charges.  Quiroga proudly recounted 
Podemos' recent public attacks against Senate President 
Santos Ramirez on corruption; he also laid out plans to 
attack President Morales on GOB mismanagement of contracts 
and the recent Lloyd Airlines strike, and to force the GOB's 
hand on hydrocarbons in advance of the Constituent Assembly 
(CA).  Regarding the GOB's case against former President 
Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, Quiroga asked us to stay our 
course and delay a response to the GOB's diplomatic note, 
both for his interest and ours.  While Quiroga's party is 
mounting attacks against prominent MAS leaders, he does not 
appear to be focused on developing a concrete plan for the 
CA.  Like many former political elites in this country, 
Quiroga appears to overestimate both his ability to affect 
the political changes already underway and his understanding 
of what is driving those changes.  End summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
LAWSUITS AGAINST EX-PRESIDENTS 
------------------------------- 
¶2. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on March 22, former 
president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga was nonchalant about the 
possible criminal case against him for signing hydrocarbons 
contracts without congressional approval. (see reftel A). 
Quiroga said that during his administration,  he signed only 
four hydrocarbons contracts, all of which were for 
exploration, not exploitation. (NOTE: The Constitution 
provides that Congress must approve all contracts for 
exploitation of natural resources).  Of the four, Quiroga 
reported that one company failed to discover any reserves, 
another halted exploration for environmental reasons, and the 
remaining two companies are still in the exploration phase. 
Quiroga believes his case is "straight-forward," and he plans 
to invite media representatives to the sites of the 
hydrocarbons concessions so the public can see that there has 
been no exploitation of hydrocarbons resources. 
 
¶3. (C) Quiroga commented that the GOB's case against former 
president Carlos Mesa could be more problematic for Mesa. 
According to Quiroga, by sending hydrocarbons contracts 
(including one signed by him) to Congress, Mesa acknowledged 
they were for exploitation.  Attorney General Pedro Gareca 
gave Mesa immunity from any legal suit while he was in 
office;  Quiroga says that defense no longer applies.  Mesa 
argues that Gareca is not qualified to pursue the case 
because he presented an irrevocable resignation letter to 
Congress, which Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera 
intercepted and rejected.  Mesa told Gareca that he doesn't 
recognize his authority, but then testified anyway, thereby 
undermining his own defense.  Quiroga says the opposition 
will summon Gareca to Congress next week to review his 
resignation/legal status as Attorney General, as well as to 
account for some money he may have been improperly paid by a 
university while on the government payroll. 
 
¶4. (C) Quiroga worried that the Morales administration fails 
to understand the far-reaching consequences of its 
politically-motivated charges.  Gareca has expressed his 
intent to charge all presidents, government (mostly 
ministerial and vice-ministerial level) officials and private 
sector players who had anything to do with hydrocarbons 
contracts since 1996-- a total of 33 companies and 46 
individual defendants from Bolivia, France, Great Britain, 
Spain, Brazil and the United States.  Because many of the 
original contracts have been transferred between companies 
over the years, over 200 people could be implicated 
eventually, including, according to Quiroga, the current MAS 
 
LA PAZ 00000831  002 OF 003 
 
 
administration.  Quiroga contends that if all contracts for 
exploitation of natural resources must be approved by 
Congress, then the Morales government is liable for the 
exploitation that has taken place since January 23, as the 
contracts and operations pursuant to those contracts have 
continued in force. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
PODEMOS PUTS SANTOS RAMIREZ ON THE DEFENSIVE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Quiroga proudly recounted Podemos' recent public 
attacks against Senate President and Morales insider Santos 
Ramirez.  Podemos' leader in Congress, Deputy Jose Messmer, 
went toe-to-toe with Ramirez on March 21 after Ramirez 
publicly accused previous non-MAS senators of corruption.  In 
response, Messmer exposed Ramirez's recent trip to Washington 
to participate in a Microsoft-sponsored leaders conference 
(NOTE: Ramirez had reportedly "disappeared," having kept his 
destination a secret) using Senate resources to fund his 
trip.  On March 22, Podemos further challenged Ramirez's 
credibility based on a scandal involving misappropriation of 
resources of the town of Tinguipaya in Potosi and Ramirez's 
construction company when he was a deputy last term.  Podemos 
brought Tinguipaya's mayor to La Paz to publicly denounce the 
incident, but the news story was overshadowed by the hotel 
bombings in La Paz (see septel).  Finally, Podemos plans to 
bring to light Ramirez's drunk driving accident during 
Carnaval, for which he charged a $600 car repair bill to 
Congress. 
 
------------------------------------ 
QUIROGA'S PLANS TO GO AFTER MORALES 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Quiroga appears to be focusing his efforts on 
discrediting President Morales and forcing the GOB's hand on 
the hydrocarbons issue.  Podemos will attempt to damage 
Morales by exposing a USD $130 million contract for paving 
the road between Potosi and Uyuni that the GOB awarded to a 
Brazilian company, and for which the GOB did not perform any 
studies or solicit any bids.  Quiroga speculated that money 
skimmed from the Brazilian government-financed project could 
be used to reimburse Brazil's PT party for their support of 
MAS during the election.  Additionally, Quiroga said that the 
GOB's limited intervention in the February Lloyd Aero 
Boliviano (LAB) strike will soon become full-blown to avoid 
confiscation of LAB's airplanes (see reftel B).  Quiroga 
believes that the GOB moved too late in intervening, and that 
the fallout from the loss of 3,000 LAB jobs (mostly in 
Cochabamba) will deal a huge blow to Morales on the economic 
front. 
 
¶7. (C) Quiroga also plans to force the GOB to deal with the 
hydrocarbons contracts within the next three weeks by raising 
the issue in Congress.  He believes that nationalization will 
be MAS's trump card for the CA, and wants to force his hand 
well in advance of the election of CA representatives. 
Quiroga thinks the MAS will vote to annul the contracts and 
that then "all hell will break loose" when the contracts go 
to arbitration.  He says the opposition cannot allow the MAS 
to delay the issue until mid-July. 
 
------------------ 
TUTO ON GONI CASE 
------------------ 
 
¶8. (C) The Ambassador raised the issue of the pending 
criminal charges against former President Gonzalo "Goni" 
Sanchez de Lozada, as well as the case's impact on the 
charges against Quiroga.  Quiroga stated clearly that if the 
United States refuses cooperation outright or criticizes the 
Bolivian judicial system, it will look like Bolivian 
presidents can do whatever they want and then hide behind the 
United States.  Quiroga believes the best course is continued 
non-action, so that the Goni case doesn't negatively affect 
Quiroga and his counterparts, or contribute to anti-American 
 
LA PAZ 00000831  003 OF 003 
 
 
sentiment. 
 
-------- 
COMMENT 
-------- 
¶8. (C) Quiroga displayed his trademark overconfidence with 
respect to the lawsuit against him.  Even if unsuccessful, 
the lawsuit may have some of its intended effect.  The GOB's 
intent to file formal charges has tainted the political 
opposition, including Quiroga, and might stick in voters' 
minds throughout the CA campaign, particularly since the 
charges involve the sensitive subject of Bolivia's natural 
resources.  While he is mounting attacks against Morales and 
other MAS leaders, Quiroga does not appear to be focused on 
developing a concrete plan for the CA.  Like many former 
political elites in this country, Quiroga appears to 
overestimate his ability to affect the political changes 
already underway and his understanding of what is driving 
those changes.  End comment. 
GREENLEE