VZCZCXRO2910
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #0284/01 0302038
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302038Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8893
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KCOR KDEM NU
SUBJECT: MRS LOSES CAUCUS STATUS BUT CONTINUES AS MOST 
VOCAL OPPOSITION GROUP 
 
REF: MANAGUA 0070 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4 (b and d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: The Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) has 
lost its official status as a caucus in the Nicaraguan 
National Assembly, but its deputies continue to offer the 
most vocal opposition to President Daniel Ortega.  MRS 
members are disappointed by the larger Nicaraguan Liberal 
Alliance's (ALN) apparent lack of resistance to Ortega's 
legislative assaults, and believe that convicted ex-President 
and leader of the Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) Arnoldo 
Aleman is stronger than ever.  They also assert that some of 
the Bolanos era officials were corrupt, but the level of 
corruption was at its peak during Aleman's presidency and 
that part of the judiciary's weaknesses are structural.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) During a January 26 cocktail with emboffs, MRS leaders 
Edmundo Jarquin (former presidential candidate), Dora Maria 
Tellez (MRS party president), Enrique Saenz (deputy), and 
Luis Carrion discussed the MRS' role in the National 
Assembly, the increasing power of Ortega and Aleman, and 
corruption in the Bolanos administration and the judiciary. 
The meeting was relaxed and cordial -- including former 
revolutionary commander Dora Maria Tellez, whose U.S. visa 
was denied two years ago for terrorist activities during the 
1980s. 
 
Plight of the Opposition: Shrinking MRS, Inert ALN 
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¶3. (C) MRS deputy Enrique Saenz confirmed that the party's 
deputies lost their official caucus status after Mario Valle 
left the caucus following the elections and Juan Ramon 
Jimenez was expelled for allegedly "plotting" with the 
Sandinista Front (FSLN) to exclude Saenz from the Assembly's 
Executive Board (reftel).  (Note: The MRS won five seats in 
the national elections, but the loss of Valle and Jimenez 
leaves the party with only three deputies, one short of the 
four necessary to form a caucus under Assembly rules.  End 
Note.)  Saenz explained that the MRS has lost office space 
and funds for administrative staff, as well as a special 
salary supplement for the deputies that is used to fund 
caucus expenses.  Tellez insisted that the three remaining 
deputies will retain their identity as MRS representatives 
and continue to criticize objectionable actions of the Ortega 
administration. 
 
¶4. (C) The MRS leaders expressed their disappointment with 
the ALN's lack of leadership and vocal opposition to Ortega's 
legislative assaults -- especially the reforms to the Organic 
Law and Law 290 that grant the FSLN more power.  Carrion 
repeated the rumor that Ortega is threatening to support PLC 
efforts to prosecute ALN leader Eduardo Montealegre for his 
alleged role in the Cenis (debt bonds) scandal.  (Note: 
During a January 29 meeting with Ambassador, Montealegre 
asserted that Ortega is not blackmailing him.  Montealegre 
agreed that the ALN should have been more organized and 
forceful in opposing the Law 290 reforms and explained that 
an agreement with the PLC not to "fast-track" the reforms 
fell through at the last minute.  End Note.) 
 
Caudillos More Powerful Than Ever 
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¶5. (C) The MRS representatives pledged to continue their 
vocal opposition of Ortega's anti-democratic actions, but are 
concerned that pact leaders Ortega and Aleman are "more 
powerful and emboldened than ever."  As an example of 
Ortega's confidence, Carrion noted that he had published the 
reforms in the official register before the vote in the 
National Assembly.  In addition to the Ley Organica and Law 
290 reforms, which grant the FSLN more power over the 
Assembly and centralized authority over the Executive, Ortega 
has extended his covert influence over the police and 
military.  According to Tellez, Police Commissioner Carlos 
Palacios is a corrupt FSLN hard-liner whose role is to keep 
Police Chief Aminta Granera in line with compromising 
information he reportedly possesses. 
 
¶6. (C) Carrion and Tellez agreed that Arnoldo Aleman has 
increased his influence over the PLC and marginalized critics 
such as Jose Rizo and Jose Antonio Alvarado (the former 
presidential and vice presidential candidates on the PLC 
ticket).  They noted that "everyone" in the PLC went to pay 
 
MANAGUA 00000284  002 OF 002 
 
 
homage to Aleman at his 62nd birthday party on January 23. 
Carrion and Saenz commented that the opposition forces must 
organize an "offensive" against the FSLN instead of just 
reacting and playing defense. 
 
Corruption in the Bolanos Administration and Judiciary 
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¶7. (C) When asked about corruption charges against prominent 
members of the Bolanos administration, Tellez responded that 
many officials were corrupt, including relatives of the 
former President.  She specifically mentioned the 
well-publicized cases against former Transportation Minister 
Pedro Solorzano (a Bolanos confidant) and immigration chief 
Fausto Carcabelos (married to a Bolanos relative).  They all 
commented, however, that endemic corruption reached its 
height under the Aleman administration. 
 
¶8. (C) Tellez responded to a remark by the Ambassador about 
systematic corruption in the judiciary by stating that much 
judicial corruption is caused by an organizational defect. 
In Nicaragua, judges are jointly allocated to a general 
region instead of being assigned to a specific district. 
This allows claimants to "shop around" for a 
sympathetic/bribe-able judge, she explained.  Tellez believes 
that reform efforts are doomed to failure unless structural 
adjustments occur. 
 
Comment: Aleman's Power 
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¶9. (C) While it is true that latter-day Aleman critics Jose 
Rizo and Jose Antonio Alvarado have been marginalized within 
the PLC (septel), many in the party rank and file are upset 
over the PLC's failure in the national elections and the 
pact-driven accommodation of the FSLN.  Aleman's continued 
influence will depend on the patience of moderate PLC 
deputies and local leaders to tolerate continued FSLN 
manipulation and Aleman's success in rigging the upcoming 
internal PLC elections. 
TRIVELLI