VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #1555/01 1981340
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171340Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6987
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0739
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS MANAGUA 001555 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NU
SUBJECT: MPN URGES REFORMS IN POLITICAL PLATFORMS TO BREAK 
PARTISAN STRANGLEHOLDS 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  El Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN), a local 
pro-democracy NGO presented its "Basic Agenda of the Nation" 
to a diverse audience, including representatives from several 
European embassies.  The MpN introduced 28 proposals they 
propose that political parties incorporate into their 
presidential platforms to achieve greater transparency and 
civil society participation.  Key reforms include: reducing 
the number of deputies in the National Assembly by more than 
half; limiting deputies to two terms in office; reducing the 
number of electoral magistrates to five; and reestablishing 
the 45% minimum required to elect a president and vice 
president in the first round of voting (from the current 
35%).  END SUMMARY. 
 
MpN Openly Critical of Current Political System 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2.  (U) At a July 6 conference before a packed audience of 
students, concerned citizens, party constituents and members 
of the diplomatic corps, Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN) 
decried the current political system in Nicaragua and urged 
candidates to incorporate a series of sweeping reforms into 
their presidential political platforms.  Following the 
national anthem, MpN Committee Executive Klaus Stadthagen set 
the tone of the meeting by reading a prepared statement that 
categorized the existing political system as "undemocratic 
and corrupt", dominated by "caudillos, "big bosses enriching 
themselves at the public's expense."  With the atmosphere of 
a political rally, the audience cheered after each 
denunciation. 
 
MpN Proposes Fundamental Reforms 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (U) Having captured the crowd's attention, MpN members 
Cesar Castillo and Aurora Gurdian read a list of 28 diverse 
and sweeping reforms aimed, in broad terms, at increasing 
transparency and civil participation in the democratic 
process, improving the quality and professionalism of elected 
officials and redeploying the nation's resources to fight 
poverty and improve education and health care.  MpN leaders 
emphasized that the current political structure, in which 
individual parties or alliances run the functions of 
government as fiefdoms, must be dismantled.  Of the litany of 
proposed reforms, the speakers elaborated on a small number 
of key reforms, including:: 
 
-- Placing the issuance of voter registration cards and 
national ID cards in the hands of an independent entity, 
completely separate from the Supreme Electoral Council; 
 
-- Reducing the number of magistrates in the Supreme 
Electoral Council to five and implementing an electoral 
procedure that ensures broader multi-partisan representation; 
 
-- Cutting in half the number of National Assembly deputies, 
limiting them to two terms in office, and eliminating many of 
their privileges and benefits; 
 
--Reducing the "mega salaries" and privileges of public 
functionaries and redirecting the money for education, health 
and food programs; 
 
-- Fortifying the control mechanisms on the use of national 
resources and applying sanctions and penalties in cases of 
misuse or corruption; and 
 
-- Reestablishing the 45% minimum threshold required to elect 
a president and vice president in the first round of voting 
(from the current 35%). 
 
Room for Discussion 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4.  (U) Following the formal presentation, the MpN opened the 
meeting to audience participation.  In rapid succession, the 
microphone moved from person to person, soliciting ideas and 
comments from a diverse array of audience members who 
identified themselves as university students, professionals, 
party constituents, etc.  While the audience participation 
was lively, the only substantial critique of the MpN's 
proposals was the exclusion of any proposal related to 
denying immunity for former military and government 
officials. (Note:  Surprisingly, during the audience 
 
participation portion, there was no debate or arguing between 
the MpN and the audience or among the audience themselves on 
the issues raised.  End note) 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶5.  (SBU) MpN's public announcement of its Basic Agenda for 
the Nation is a bold step.  Not only is the MpN denouncing 
the corruption and collusion that define the existing 
political system, it is raising the bar by publicly calling 
on the parties to proactively adapt sound measures to 
increase civil participation and transparency.  Whether or 
not anyone was listening to the MpN will play out over the 
coming days and weeks as the candidates announce and clarify 
their platforms and the public responds. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Much of the MpN's success in convincing parties to 
integrate these measures may depend on its abilities to work 
collaboratively with the parties and to further define and 
clarify how to implement their proposals.  Interestingly, 
after the presentation of the 28 proposed reforms, there was 
virtually no further drill-down into any of the issues during 
the open discussion portion of the conference.  This raises a 
question about how well the MpN has fleshed-out these 
proposals. 
TRIVELLI