R 191521Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9652
INFO AMEMBASSY QUITO 
AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 
AMEMBASSY CARACAS 
AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 
AMEMBASSY LIMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000305 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2018 
TAGS: PGOV ECON EC
SUBJECT: COASTAL PARTIES PREPARE FOR APRIL 2009 ELECTIONS 
 
Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The announcement that national and local 
elections will be held in Ecuador on April 26 has spurred 
Coastal opposition parties to further their preparations to 
confront President Correa's movement.  The Coastal parties 
are displaying unusual signs of cooperation in trying to 
craft a unified approach to win important local offices, and 
ensure opposition seats in the national legislature. 
Guayaquil mayor Jaime Nebot is quietly leading informal 
meetings of parties and movements, cajoling political figures 
to work together.   Party leaders are relatively optimistic 
that economic problems and the unrealistic expectations built 
up by Correa in past elections will provide the opposition 
enough space to win local and legislative elections.  The 
opposition is still looking for what some call a 
"sacrificial lamb" to oppose the charismatic Correa in the 
presidential elections.  End Summary. 
 
 
Guayaquil Mayor Nebot Leading Opposition Efforts 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (C) Guayaquil Mayor Jaime Nebot has chaired a number of 
meetings of Coastal political leaders to come up with a 
strategy to weaken the President's PAIS (Proud and Sovereign 
Fatherland Movement) movement,s electoral juggernaut. 
Buoyed by his success in defeating the government in the 
referendum on the Constitution (though just barely), Nebot 
has been telling leaders that if they unite behind consensus 
candidates, they have a chance of defeating PAIS in key 
elections, while ensuring a substantial block in the national 
parliament.  Nebot recently told the Consul General that the 
late date for the election (April 26 vice an expected 
mid-February date) is a dream scenario for the opposition. 
Nebot also believes that the dramatic fall in oil revenue and 
decrease in remittances will weaken the President's 
popularity.  Finally, Nebot insisted that Correa's 
personality will work against him.  With economic problems, 
political scandals and the difficulty of governing, Nebot 
predicts that Correa will lash out more frequently, and 
eventually exhaust the electorate. 
 
¶3.  (C)    Nebot will run as an independent candidate; 
however, he remains the de facto leader of the Social 
Christian Party (PSC).  PSC leader Pascual del Cioppo has 
repeatedly told us that he works very closely with Nebot and 
follows his instructions to the letter.  Del Cioppo affirms 
that he has no personal political aspirations and took over 
the leadership under Nebot,s urgings.  In a recent meeting, 
del Cioppo told the CG that his party has taken the lead on 
running analyses of the best scenarios for the opposition. 
While the PSC had once considered dissolving itself to form a 
large, inclusive center-right party untainted by charges of 
corruption and unchecked political power, new campaign limits 
make such a strategy unwise.  Political campaigns will now be 
funded by the government with relatively small amounts of 
money available depending on the size of the electorate. 
(Candidates for prefect in populous provinces such as Guayas 
will receive more than candidates in smaller provinces.)   In 
such a situation, established party brand names and the 
number the party gets on the ballot are worth too much to 
throw away.  Del Cioppo said that the party' decision to 
"lie low" and focus on new faces is successfully 
rehabilitating its brand, and the party has begun polling 
much more positively.  Del Cioppo said that the party is 
going into the elections with "no pride."  Their top 
priority is supporting Mayor Nebot,s re-election.  In other 
municipalities, they will support whichever opposition 
candidate has the best poll numbers in February.  They are 
unlikely to run a candidate for prefect of Guayas Province; 
instead, they will support a consensus opposition candidate. 
Del Cioppo said that they were still analyzing the best way 
to compete in legislative elections, but promised that they 
would put a priority on trying to keep the opposition 
together. 
 
 
Center-Right Movements and Parties Fall In Behind Nebot 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  The leaders of center-right political movements are 
also very involved in these negotiations.  Eduardo Maruri, a 
founder of the UNO movement, and a delegate to the 
Constituent Assembly, said that he would sit out the 
elections as a candidate, but would work strongly to support 
the opposition slate.  (Maruri had hoped to use his 
Presidency of Ecuador' fabled Barcelona soccer team -- 
think of the NY Yankees in a long slump -- to propel his 
political career.  Despite a $10 million capital investment, 
Barcelona was left out of the playoffs again, leaving 
embittered fans, and Maruri' political career on ice.) 
Maruri said that Mae Montana, an Afro-Ecuadorian politician 
from Esmeraldas province, who won a seat at the National 
Assembly on the UNO ticket, would be running for President 
under a different political movement. 
 
¶5.  (C) Humberto Mata, President of the centrist Fuerza 
Ecuador movement, told the CG that his movement would also 
strongly support concerted efforts by the opposition to forge 
a strategy for the April elections.  Mata termed the current 
PAIS dominance of the branches of government "dangerous for 
democracy."  Mata said that he had never seen political 
party leaders more willing to cooperate with each other.  He 
was "cautiously optimistic" that the opposition's 
determination would hold until the April elections, thanks to 
Mayor Nebot's "intimidating leadership."  However, he 
noted that Alvaro Noboa, the billionaire leader of the PRIAN 
party was so "mercurial and unpredictable" that the union 
could come crashing down in the coming months. 
 
¶6.  (C)  PRIAN leaders have been active participants in 
coordination and strategy sessions among opposition 
movements, including Noboa's closest advisors Slyka Sanchez 
and Gloria Gallardo.  However, Noboa himself has not 
participated, leaving his associates feeling exposed.  In 
late November, Noboa told the CG that he did not feel rushed 
to make any commitments or decisions as "all elections are 
decided one month before the election."  Nevertheless, 
Constituent Assembly member Vladamir Vargas told the CG that 
he would definitely run for parliament, "with Alvaro or on 
another ticket."  While Vargas is a native of Guayaquil, he 
stated that he will run for the Province of Pichincha since 
he was born there, in an attempt to strengthen PRIAN's 
profile in the Sierra, or highlands of Ecuador.  Sanchez told 
us that cooperating was the only option for opposition 
parties.  After a bout with life-threatening infection, the 
feisty Gallardo told the CG that she would fight "the 
communist (Correa) with all the energy she had left." 
 
¶7.  (C)  The Patriotic Society Party (PSP) led by former 
President Lucio Gutierrez and his brother Gilmar has had the 
most success challenging PAIS in recent elections.  Observers 
also report that they have been the most elusive in 
conversations with other political parties.  Both Guttierrez 
brothers have pledged to cooperate on developing a winning 
slate, but their participation in coordinating sessions has 
been unconvincing.  PRIAN and PSC leaders have told us that 
they expect PSP to run its own slate in most elections. 
However, they expected PSP to be open to joining forces in 
particularly contested areas. 
 
 
Some Likely Candidates 
------------------------ 
 
¶8. (C)  While leaders stress that it is still early, our 
contacts agree that Jaime Nebot will run for mayor of 
Guayaquil, facing no candidates from major opposition 
parties.  (PAIS on the other hand is very focused on 
identifying a strong candidate to challenge Nebot.) 
Similarly, there is a strong consensus that the opposition 
parties will field only one candidate to confront what is 
likely to be a strong PAIS candidate for Prefect of Guayas 
Province, the most important provincial elected office.  At 
this point Jimmy Jairala of the PRE party is the most likely 
opposition candidate, but contacts agree that it will all 
depend on polling and the global picture.  Jairala told the 
CG in November that he was polling stronger than possible 
PAIS candidates, including the President,s sister Pierina 
Correa, the new Minister for the Coast Nicolas Issa and 
former television personality and Constituent Assembly member 
Rolando Panchana.  Machala Mayor Falquez (also of the PSC) is 
likely to be the consensus candidate for Mayor of the 
southern city, with a non PSC candidate for Prefect. 
Discussions, polling and jockeying for position are still 
on-going for the electoral positions in Manabi and Los Rios 
provinces.  PSC Vice Mayor of Portoviejo Veronica Mendoza in 
Manabi Province, told pol/econoff she was approached by the 
far-left Movimiento Popular Democratico (MPD) to run for 
mayor.  The current mayor, Patricia Briones, is PSC and 
according to Mendoza will not seek reelection.  Mendoza said 
that she was surprised to be approached by the MPD, as her 
politics tend to the center.  She guessed that it might be a 
result of some sort of agreement with PAIS.  Complicating 
matters is that some rural leaders elected as candidates of 
opposition parties are aiming to run this time under the PAIS 
banner, in hopes of protecting their positions.  However, 
Pierina Correa, the President's sister and director of PAIS 
in Guayas Province, told the CG that PAIS was aiming to avoid 
these 'tainted' candidates.  She said that the President 
has made it clear that he would rather lose some elections 
than bring in corrupt old faces. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Comment:  Over the past two years, Ecuadorian 
opposition parties have struggled to come up with a strategy 
to confront Correa at the polls.  Their strategy to work 
together and focus on pocketbook issues appears to be the 
best approach, though the personal nature of Ecuador's 
political parties complicates matters greatly.  Much of the 
success of the coordinated effort will depend on how much 
time and money Alvaro Noboa is willing to put into the 
elections, and if he is willing to play ball with the other 
parties.  In addition, limits on campaign spending will 
hamstring the opposition.  PAIS has been especially adept at 
linking its potential candidates with public work programs. 
Further, the government's relentless propaganda campaigns 
position the government of the "citizens, revolution" on 
the side of the voter.  Perhaps the opposition's greatest 
hope would be a quick economic downturn.  End Comment. 
 
GRIFFITHS