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C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 001256 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR BL
SUBJECT: BOLIVIAN JUDICIARY CRUMPLES UNDER MAS ATTACK 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 715 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 600 
     ¶C. LA PAZ 593 
     ¶D. LA PAZ 469 
     ¶E. LA PAZ 65 
     ¶F. 08 LA PAZ 2464 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires John Creamer for reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Through a series of judicial maneuvers and 
pressure tactics reminiscent of their 2007 dismantling of the 
country's Constitutional Tribunal, Bolivian President Evo 
Morales and his ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party 
appear to be set on shutting down the Supreme Court until 
they can appoint new justices more to their liking.  After an 
August 14 Court decision went against the government, the GOB 
called the decision "politically motivated" and announced 
plans to initiate a trial of responsibilities (i.e. 
impeachment proceedings) against seven justices who 
participated in the ruling.  The justices will be suspended 
pending the trial's outcome, which will prevent the Court 
from forming a quorum and, more importantly, from reviewing 
the legality of Executive branch actions.  End summary. 
 
MAS Attacks Supreme Court Over Terrorism Case Ruling 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) President Morales and his ruling MAS party reacted 
angrily to an August 14 Supreme Court decision to grant 
jurisdiction over the much-publicized Eduardo Rozsa terrorism 
case (Reftels B, C) to the Santa Cruz District Court instead 
of the La Paz District Court, where the GOB holds more sway. 
Both district courts claimed jurisdiction in the case, with 
Santa Cruz noting the crime occurred in downtown Santa Cruz 
and La Paz referring to a recent presidential Supreme Decree, 
which directs that all terrorism-related cases be tried in La 
Paz district.  As reported in local press, most legal experts 
agreed with the decision to grant jurisdiction to Santa Cruz. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Crying foul, a variety of Morales administration 
officials, including Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, 
said the Supreme Court's ruling was biased and designed to 
give impunity to the alleged terrorists.  On August 17, Vice 
Minister for Government Coordination Sacha Llorenti announced 
that the government would open a "trial of responsibilities" 
(i.e. impeachment proceedings) against all seven justices 
involved in the ruling.  Vice Minister for Justice Cecilia 
Rocabado formally opened the case on August 25.  The case 
will first be reviewed by the MAS-controlled lower house of 
Congress, which will vote whether to forward the case to the 
Senate for the formal trial. 
 
¶4. (SBU) While similar trials of responsibility have not made 
it through the opposition-controlled Senate, they take many 
months to complete and leave the affected judges suspended 
for the duration of the trial.  The Supreme Court was already 
functioning with only eight of 12 total positions, and two 
other impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court President 
Eddy Fernandez and Justice Rosario Canedo are underway.  With 
this trial against the seven justices, the Supreme Court 
could effectively be shut down through the December 6 
national elections. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Meanwhile, on August 27, through a series of 
technical legal maneuvers, La Paz-based government 
investigator Marcelo Sosa managed to unwind the Santa Cruz' 
District Court's decision and re-open the investigation 
within the La Paz District Court's jurisdiction, handing the 
Morales administration a legal victory.  Local press greeted 
the decision as ensuring any legal ruling in the Rozsa case 
would be in keeping with the Morales administration's 
preferences. 
 
¶6. (C) Embassy legal contacts expressed uniformly criticized 
the government's actions.  Former Constitutional Tribunal 
Magistrate Silvia Salame said the MAS was in the 
process of 
"a total destruction of the judiciary." 
She noted that the 
MAS used the same approach to "destroy" the Constitutional 
Tribunal starting in 2007.  She said she and other judges had 
experienced direct pressure to change their rulings, 
including verbal warnings and physical attacks. 
 
¶7. (C) Former National Electoral Court President Oscar 
Hassenteufel predicted that the Supreme Court would be shut 
down indefinitely until the GOB is able to pass legislation 
implementing the new Constitution, which will restructure the 
courts.  Both Salame and Hassenteufel characterized this 
trial of responsibilities as a pretext to silence the Supreme 
Court, and speculated that more such trials would occur if 
necessary. 
 
Attacks Only the Latest in a Series 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) As Salame noted, two other parts of the judicial 
branch, the Constitutional Tribunal and the Judicial Council, 
are already essentially defunct.  The MAS used a similar 
campaign of intimidation, salary cuts, and impeachment 
proceedings to reduce the Constitutional Tribunal from ten 
members to zero, ending with Salame's May 26 resignation 
(Reftels A, D-F).  The Constitutional Tribunal now has a 
backlog of more than 4,000 cases.  The Judicial Council is in 
a similar situation, with only one out of five members (and 
three needed for a quorum), a backlog of over 100 
disciplinary cases, and a case pending against the sole 
remaining member initiated by the MAS-controlled lower house 
of Congress. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (C) It is difficult to disagree with Salame's warnings of 
a MAS plan to gain control of the judiciary.  The MAS have 
characterized the judiciary as "last bastions of the old 
oligarchy" since their election in December 2005 and have 
made no secret of their desire to remove judges who disagree 
with the MAS political project.  However, many Bolivians 
would not appear to mind such a change.  According to a 2007 
Transparency International survey, more than 80 percent of 
Bolivians surveyed believe the judicial system is corrupt. 
And change now seems inevitable.  With the MAS likely to win 
control of both houses of Congress in the upcoming national 
elections (and with it the ability to appoint a raft of new 
judges), they will be able to dramatically (and legally) 
change the judiciary's profile and outlook.  End comment. 
CREAMER