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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000824 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018 
TAGS: PGOV KINR KDEM HA
SUBJECT: ANATOMY OF A DECISION: WHY PREVAL WENT WITH TI-BOB 
 
REF: A. PAP 764 
     ¶B. PAP 701 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson, reason 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary. Recent discussions with President Preval's 
friends and advisors indicate that he selected Bob Manuel as 
his second Prime Ministerial candidate, following the 
rejection of Ericq Pierre by the Lower House, after being 
pressed by associates to dump the putative front runner, 
Planning Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. Other candidates 
disqualified themselves by lobbying too hard, thus irritating 
the stubborn president, or stating that they were not 
interested in the job. Manuel apparently played somewhat hard 
to get. Although Manuel's fate has yet to be decided, what we 
know about the process that led to his nomination says much 
about Preval - and the environment in which he operates. End 
Summary. 
 
Introduction 
------------ 
 
¶2. (C)  Discussions with Rene Preval's intimates and close 
advisors during the past week have allowed us to piece 
together an outline of the process which saw Bob Manuel 
emerging as Preval's new Prime Ministerial nominee. Although 
the nomination's fate is still uncertain, the personalities, 
pressures and preoccupations that played into the president's 
decision-making process speak volumes about Rene Preval. It 
also highlights the dense skein of relationships and 
interests which shape all decisions here. Haiti's friends 
ignore these influences at their peril; they have tripped up 
many an outsider in the past. 
 
Lining Up 
---------- 
 
¶3. (C) Friends and close political associates tell us that 
Preval waffled about next steps following Parliament's 
rejection of IDB official Ericq Pierre as the Prime Minister 
candidate. Unsure whether to pick a technocrat or politico, 
Preval's short list included Minister of Plan Jean-Max 
Bellerive, Ministry of Agriculture Director General Jonas 
Gue, and Presidential Secretary General Fritz Longchamps. 
Other names, including Preval's former business partner and 
FOKAL Director Michelle Pierre-Louis, floated to the surface 
as well. 
 
¶4. (C) Jean-Max Bellerive appeared to have the upper hand 
after Pierre retired from the scene, but Preval remained 
reluctant to commit. He instead continued to canvass private 
sector and political party leaders on possible names. There 
were those around Preval who thought he leaned towards close 
friend and counselor Bob Manuel, but told us that Preval had 
dismissed the idea early on when key Senators advised him 
Manuel would not pass Parliament. Furthermore, Preval was not 
convinced that the former State Secretary for Public Security 
had the economic experience for the job. He was also 
reluctant to put Manuel in the position of having to shill 
for votes with a parliament that distrusted him.  Other 
candidates had drawbacks as well: Gue's blatant lobbying for 
the post, particularly following his trip to Venezuela, 
angered Preval. Michelle Pierre-Louis took herself out of the 
running, saying firmly that she wouldn't work for Preval. 
Bellerive, in many ways, appeared a the most attractive, 
experienced candidate. 
 
 
With Friends Like These... 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Not everyone was convinced, however. Bellerive's 
candidacy disquieted Preval's close friends, business leaders 
Carl Braun and Edouard Bassan. Worried that a Bellerive 
candidacy would favor their business rivals, the Mevs family, 
 Braun (Preval's single largest known financial contributor) 
intervened. He reminded the president of Bellerive's father's 
long service with the Mevs Company and apparently suggested 
that this would impact Bellerive's decision on future 
decisions relating to privatization of the ports. 
Braun/Bassan and the Mevs family are competing for this sale, 
should it go through.  He further noted the current security 
environment demanded a strong law-and-order candidate. 
Although sources deny that Braun's pitch was so blatant, 
Bassan himself acknowledged that he and Braun were indeed 
uncomfortable with the Bellerive candidacy. He made pointed 
reference to the minister's close associations with Lavalas 
 
PORT AU PR 00000824  002 OF 003 
 
 
and, by extension, with Aristide. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Bellerive's bid was further compromised by his close 
association with former PM Jacques-Edouard Alexis. The 
Preval/Alexis relationship had irretrievably collapsed under 
the weight of the Parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 
April and the two were not speaking. Preval believed reports 
that Bellerive had spread around money in parliament to stave 
off Alexis's first interpellation vote and attempted to block 
the second. Some parliamentarians spoke out against him as 
well.  Too closely identified with Alexis, Preval saw the 
Planning Minister as a liability and privately told his 
colleagues that he didn't like being pushed towards 
Bellerive. 
 
Pillow Talk? 
----------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Closer to home, Preval's fiance lobbied hard for 
Manuel. Although Manuel had led the effort to move Elisabeth 
(Babette) Delatour out of the palace last Christmas when her 
presence was beginning to negatively impact the president, 
she opted to support him over the candidate backed by her 
former in-laws.  Manuel himself told me, in some surprise, 
that he had Delatour's support. At the same time, Preval's 
closest friend, a Haitian-American living in New York, 
weighed in on Manuel's behalf. Bernard Fils-Aime, a close 
friend from the private sector counseled Preval that "you 
need a strong candidate, but you are going to have to give 
him independence and authority and trust." He added that 
choosing Manuel in the current security climate would send a 
strong message to Haitians. 
 
Don't Count Your Chickens 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Preval found himself increasingly hemmed in by the 
Bellerive candidacy. With rumors flying that the Minister was 
a shoo-in, reports began to circulate that Bellerive had 
already made deals with members of Parliament and the 
political parties for Cabinet positions. Graffiti appeared on 
Port-au-Prince walls supporting the Planning Minister and 
press commentaries already had him in office. Preval balked, 
offering the job to Manuel at some point on Saturday, May 24. 
 
 
Playing Hard to Get? 
------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  Manuel, however, played hard to get.  Ti-Bob, as he 
is known to his intimates, has a long association with Preval 
but they have had a fraught relationship. Indeed, frustrated 
by the president's lack of support and his obsession with 
Delatour, Manuel quit the country in April of last year. He 
vowed not to return until the president gave him a serious 
job. Manuel stayed away for more than four months. He 
returned last fall on a sporadic basis but often traveled 
back to Guatemala City where his wife, a Guatemalan 
journalist, and their two young sons live.  Currently serving 
as the president's security advisor, he plays many roles and 
recently involved himself in the efforts to finalize 
preparations for long-delayed Senatorial elections.  During 
the past six months, he has privately expressed frustration 
with the President's tendency to prevaricate, telling me 
during the April riots that if Preval didn't get on the radio 
and quiet the crowds, his presidency was over. Mercurial, 
hard-headed and voluble, Manuel is one of the few people who 
can tell Rene Preval no - if he wants to. 
 
¶10.  (C)  But was Bob Manuel truly reluctant?  Although he 
repeatedly told us that he had no desire for a political 
post, others report that Manuel used the ten days between 
Pierre's fall and the nomination announcement to cultivate 
key members of the Parliament and burnish his credentials 
with Lespwa, Preval's political platform. He finally said yes 
to Preval Saturday night, after getting the go-ahead from his 
wife.  But there were conditions to his acceptance of the 
offer.  According to palace sources, Manuel told the 
President that he expected him to help him sell his candidacy 
to Parliament. He also asked for independence in selecting 
his cabinet and agreed to set up a council of economic 
advisors. It remains to be seen whether Preval will meet 
these conditions. 
 
'Round Midnight 
--------------- 
 
 
PORT AU PR 00000824  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶11.  (C)  With Manuel still pondering the offer, Preval met 
with representatives of political parties, civil society and 
the private sector through the weekend of May 24-26. Many 
left those meetings as late as Sunday morning with the 
impression that Bellerive was the intended candidate. The 
Minister certainly thought so, telling us that he continued 
to work on his nominating papers through the day. However, 
shortly before midnight on Sunday, May 25, as most of Haiti 
slept, the official announcement nominating Robert Manuel as 
prime minister was made. It is unclear whether Preval let 
Bellerive know in advance. 
SANDERSON