VZCZCXRO5186
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #0318/01 0741308
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 141308Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2266
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//J2/J3/J5// PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000318 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLS PASS TO USAID LAC 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN GREENE AND NYMAN 
DEPT FOR DRL G. MAGGIO 
DEPT FOR USOAS 
NSC FOR V ALVARADO 
SOUTHCOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON KDEM NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUAN RESISTANCE PARTY REMAINS DIVIDED 
 
REF: A. 2007 MANAGUA 1592 
 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 209 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli for reasons 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: The Nicaraguan Resistance Party (PRN) 
selected Julio Cesar Blandon as its new president in 
mid-February after more than a year of turmoil within the 
party's leadership structure.  Blandon's election is unlikely 
to bring party unity, as many members accuse him of entering 
into a secret agreement with President Ortega to either sever 
the PRN's traditional relationship with the Liberals or to 
bring the party openly into Ortega's fold.  As a first move, 
Blandon announced that the PRN will run independently in 
November's municipal elections.  Critics insist that Blandon 
does not control the party base, which will continue to 
support Liberal alliance efforts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
New Resistance Party President Sympathetic With Sandinistas? 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2.  (C) In mid-February, the PRN elected Julio Cesar Blandon 
-- "Commandant Kaliman" -- as its new party president.  The 
party repeatedly tried for more than a year to convene an 
assembly to elect a new head, but failed to do so due to 
executive committee in-fighting and lack of financial 
resources (ref A).  The PRN had been in disarray since 
September 2006 when ex-PRN president Salvador Talavera, on 
the eve of the 2006 national elections, shocked his PRN 
colleagues and their then-Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) 
allies by signing an agreement with then-presidential 
candidate Daniel Ortega. 
 
¶3.  (C) Blandon's election does not appear to mark the end of 
internal conflict and division.  A former Ministry of 
Government employee, Blandon has been accused by the PRN base 
-- still loyal to Eduardo Montealegre (and the new Liberal 
coalition) -- and by Talavera of being a "Trojan Horse" sent 
by Ortega to sever PRN relations with the Liberal coalition 
and/or bring the PRN openly into alliance with Ortega's 
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).  Questioned 
about these accusations in a February 28 meeting, Blandon and 
members of his new executive committee vehemently denied any 
connection to Ortega or the Sandinistas, reminding us that he 
and his colleagues had fought the Sandinistas for years as 
Contras. 
 
Resistance Party Going it Alone in November 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4.  (C) Blandon, however, did not reserve his wrath only for 
Ortega and the FSLN.  With equal vigor, he blasted 
"unscrupulous Liberal politicians" who had "repeatedly taken 
advantage" of the PRN's "unwavering support for democracy" to 
further personal political ambitions.  Sweeping his arm 
towards his four PRN colleagues, Blandon revealed that each 
one of them had been "robbed" of a seat in the National 
Assembly or some other government position promised by 
Liberal politicians.  He complained that "the (Constitutional 
Liberal Party) PLC never fulfilled its promises.  Neither did 
the ALN." 
 
¶5.  (C) Smarting from these past injustices, Blandon 
announced that the PRN will run alone in the 2008 municipal 
elections.  In addition, he insisted that local PRN 
structures that had aligned with other Liberal political 
parties for the 2008 elections must return to the PRN fold, 
immediately severing any previously negotiated deals.  He 
claimed the PRN is legally represented in 100 percent of 
Nicaragua's 153 municipalities and had already selected 
candidates in 75 percent of them.  Asked what chances he 
thought the PRN might have if it runs a solo ticket, Blandon 
predicted the PRN could win 25-30 mayor or vice mayor 
positions and 50-60 council positions in PRN strongholds in 
the northern departments. 
 
Who Controls the Base? 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
 
MANAGUA 00000318  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (C) Luis Fley, a former member of the PRN executive 
committee and member of the Liberal alliance committee, 
discounted Blandon's bold predictions, opining that Blandon's 
victory will have "no impact" on the PRN's base.  Fley 
insists that the PRN's base remain firmly committed to the 
new Liberal alliance formed after the Supreme Electoral 
Council took control of the ALN from Montealegre  (ref B). 
As part of the Liberal alliance, Fley believes Resistance 
candidates will be selected as mayoral and vice mayoral 
candidates in 9 and 15 municipalities, respectively.  Running 
under the PRN banner, Fley predicted Blandon would win only a 
single municipality. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶7.  (C) The squabbling and in-fighting that has plagued the 
PRN -- and the Resistance movement in general -- since 
Talavera's sudden alliance with Ortega in September 2006, has 
unquestionably weakened the PRN's credibility as a political 
force in Nicaragua.  Thus, its decision, as a party, to 
strike out on its own is unlikely to siphon Resistance votes 
away from the Liberal alliance.  The party base turned its 
collective back on the PRN when Talavera sold the brand name 
to Ortega in 2006.  Traditional Resistance leaders such as 
Luis Fley have worked diligently to keep the party's bases 
focused on Montealegre, the ALN, and, now, the new Liberal 
alliance. 
TRIVELLI