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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #1482/01 1631823
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121823Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0497
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 001482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN SCHIFFER, DRL FOR MAGGIO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL ELAB
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION LABOR PUSHES FOR LIBERAL UNITY 
 
REF: MANAGUA 1083 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Liberal labor federation Permanent 
Workers' Congress (CPT) seeks to form a "Pro Unity 
Committee" to create a unified Liberal platform and break 
the political impasse between the Nicaraguan Liberal 
Alliance (ALN) and the Liberal Constitutionalist Party 
(PLC).  CPT leaders worry that Liberal disunity is 
weakening their federation while bolstering Sandinista 
unions.  They believe that democracy in Nicaragua cannot 
wait for Liberal leaders to resolve personal differences 
and that a "bottom-up" social movement, led by organized 
labor, is essential to jump-start Liberal unity.  We will 
monitor this initiative and work to facilitate dialog with 
other democratic civil society groups as needed.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Liberal Disunity Hurting Democratic Unions 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2.  (C) In a June 6 meeting with poloff, leaders of the CPT 
labor federation expressed their frustration over the 
inability of the PLC and ALN to unify into a single Liberal 
opposition block.  They complained that while the two 
parties bicker and posture, Sandinista President Daniel 
Ortega continues to consolidate his control of the 
country.  As democratic union leaders, they are acutely 
concerned with his consolidation efforts within the 
organized labor sector.  Leaders claim that CPT-affiliated 
union leaders and members -- especially in ministries and 
State institutions -- are being fired, discriminated 
against, and pressured to join the National Workers' 
Federation (FNT), the Sandinista labor federation. 
Further, CPT leaders claim that ministers and heads of 
autonomous State agencies are bringing in Sandinista union 
organizers and actively advocating for 
Sandinista-affiliated unions, leaving employees with the 
impression that their membership is obligatory. 
 
Unions Advocate "Bottom-Up" Approach 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (C) CPT leaders characterized the current Liberal 
stalemate as a battle of wills between the leaders of the 
two parties - Eduardo Montealegre (ALN) and Arnoldo Aleman 
(PLC) - and that all of Nicaragua is paying the price. 
They lamented that neither one is "worth the price" that 
society is paying as their battle continues.  In an attempt 
to break the stalemate, CPT recently met with leaders of 
both parties' National Assembly caucuses to promote the 
idea of a "Pro Unity Committee" as a way of breaking the 
current political impasse. 
 
¶4.  (C) This CPT-led initiative would bring together 
leaders from both parties, civil society (i.e., labor), and 
the private sector to hammer-out a unified Liberal agenda 
that would then be formally presented to the ALN and PLC 
leadership.  CPT leaders envision an assembly of up to 400 
leaders from these various sectors working in groups to 
develop various elements of the platform. 
 
¶5.  (C) CPT leaders are convinced that a "bottom-up" 
approach -- using organized labor as the central catalyst 
and organizing element -- is the only way to kick-start the 
unification process.  They hold that creating momentum 
outside the political arena will work to "pull" political 
leaders into a labor / civil society movement vs. waiting 
for political leaders to resolve their differences and 
"push" the opposition movement from the top-down. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶6.  (C) Faced with daily complaints from their labor 
affiliates of firings and pressure, CPT leaders are very 
concerned about losing their membership base and frustrated 
with Liberal political leaders whose inaction and lack of 
leadership, they believe, is enabling Ortega's labor allies 
to operate with impunity.  As Nicaragua's biggest 
non-Sandinista labor federation, CPT's leaders believe they 
have the clout, connections, and membership to force 
Liberal unification from the bottom-up.  The problem is, 
CPT has scant resources to organize even on a small scale. 
Thus, it is unclear how they plan to organize and support 
this 400-person Pro Unity Committee, and how they plan to 
mount and sustain a pro-democracy movement long enough to 
draw in enough other disenfranchasized labor organizations, 
civil society groups, and private sector players to create 
the critical mass necessary to convince Liberal political 
leaders from both the ALN and PLC to come on board. 
 
¶7.  (C) That CPT is actively promoting the Pro Unity 
Committee idea demonstrates their fear of the sea change 
underway in the labor sector.  Post will continue to 
monitor their progress and, to the extent possible, help 
facilitate the involvement of other union organizations, 
and civil society groups that have independently approached 
the Embassy voicing similar concerns of disenfranchisement. 
In addition, post will coordinate with the Nicaraguan 
Permanent Commission for Human Rights (CPDH), Nicaragua's 
leading human rights advocate, which has begun an 
independent labor consolidation initiative centered around 
the Unified Teachers Union (USM) (reftel).  Finally, post 
will forward to the desk and DRL a CPT proposal for a 
nationwide intensive capacity building program designed to 
help fortify and energize its democratic labor base, both 
essential steps in motivating and, if necessary, mobilizing 
its work force to drive Liberal unity from the bottom up. 
Post strongly urges immediate consideration of this 
proposal. 
 
TRIVELLI