VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0937/01 2891448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161447Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0203
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000937 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON GT
SUBJECT: PROTESTERS MARCH ON CITY; DEMAND DIALOGUE WITH GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: A) 09 GUATEMALA 442; B) 08 GUATEMALA 925 
 
SUMMARY 
 
 
 
¶1. (U) Approximately 20,000 rural and indigenous protesters marched 
on Guatemala City on Monday, October 12.  The protesters blocked 
major thoroughfares to demand the resolution of issues, including 
agrarian reform, mining restrictions, hydroelectric power, and 
environmental protections, amongst others, which they first 
presented to the government three months ago.  Fourteen protest 
leaders met with representatives of the Presidential Commission for 
Permanent Dialogue to request a meeting with President Alvaro 
Colom.  Following hours of negotiation, President Colom agreed to 
meet with the protest representatives on Thursday, October 15. 
Following the protests, authorities detained and expelled the 
leftist leader Armando "El Monje" LusquiC1os to Spain.  LusquiC1os 
claimed (falsely) to be the principal organizer of the protest. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
PROTESTERS BLOCK ACCESS TO CITY - RAISE OLD DEMANDS 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) According to press reports, approximately 20,000 indigenous 
and rural protesters marched on Guatemala City on Monday, October 
12, blocking access to the city and demanding a meeting with 
President Colom.  Protesters gathered at thirteen different 
locations early Monday morning, successfully closing major 
thoroughfares, and later made their way to the Presidential Palace 
where organizers met with Catalina Soberanis, head of the 
Presidential Commission for Permanent Dialogue, to request a 
meeting with the President.  Following threats of a hunger strike 
and hours of negotiation, the Commission agreed to grant a meeting 
with President Colom on Thursday, October 15 to end the protest. 
Though protest participants remained peaceful, a pedestrian shot 
and killed one protester and injured two others when he tried to 
pass through the blockade. 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) Several leftist groups, including the National Coordinator 
for the Indigenous and Peasant Peoples (CONIC) and the Committee 
for Peasant Unity (CUC) organized the protests and led the 
negotiations with the Administration (Ref B).  The protesters 
demanded that the government: 
 
B7         Enact comprehensive agrarian reform 
 
B7         Cancel various national and international mining licenses 
 
B7         Suspend construction on the Cementos Progreso plant in 
San Juan SacatapC)quez (Ref A) 
 
B7         Cancel several ongoing hydroelectric power projects 
throughout the country and dismantle those that are already in 
place 
 
B7         Release four peasants detained in San Juan SacatepC)quez, 
Livingston, and Izabal 
 
B7         Enact and enforce stricter protections of environmental 
and water resources 
 
B7         Order the International Commission Against Impunity in 
Guatemala (CICIG) to investigate private security guards that have 
allegedly committed violent crimes against the rural poor and 
indigenous citizens 
 
 
 
PRESSING THE GOVERNMENT TO BARGAIN 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Indigenous and rural community leaders have held several 
dialogue sessions with the government regarding similar issues 
since July 2009.  CONIC spokesperson, CC)sar Bol, told Poloff that 
the discussions have been fruitless thus far and that the street 
protests were a means of putting pressure on the government to 
bargain.  Bol also decried the eviction of landless peasants 
illegally squatting on private landholdings and stated that if 
 
evictions continued (either illegally or sanctioned by the courts) 
the protests would resume. 
 
 
 
"EL MONJE" ARRESTED AND EXPELLED 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Following the protests, the Government of Guatemala (GoG) 
detained Armando LusquiC1os (alias El Monje) and, with the consent 
of the Spanish government, expelled him on Tuesday, October 13. 
Protesters assaulted LusquiC1os during the march to the Presidential 
Palace.  LusquiC1os claimed to lead the National Renovation 
Movement, a radical left organization that was willing to use 
violence to advance its objective of "completing Guatemala's 
internal conflict."  (Note: The Embassy has no evidence that this 
organization exists or has carried any acts of terrorism. 
LusquiC1os claimed to have destroyed an electrical substation 
resulting in a nationwide blackout on October 12.  Officials at the 
Energy Commission attribute the blackout to a lightning strike. End 
Note.)  According to the GoG, upon his arrest, El Monje threatened 
to bomb a bridge between Guatemala and Belize and mobilize his 
300,000 armed followers if the GoG did not acquiesce to the protest 
demands.  The Minister of Governance RaC:l VelC!squez asserted his 
belief that LusquiC1os suffered from mental health problems. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: The protest is unlikely to threaten Colom's 
political popularity despite the fact that it is unlikely his 
government will meet many of their demands.  Early campaigning by 
First Lady Sandra Torres de Colom to solidify the rural and 
far-left vote gives the Colom Administration a political incentive 
to at least partially placate the protesters.  It is yet unclear 
whether protest organizers are taking advantage of the political 
posture of the First Lady or whether the demands reflect an actual 
deterioration in rural conditions, in fact, both could be true. 
Nonetheless, the reasonably well attended protest indicates the 
relative frustration of the rural and indigenous population with 
the inability of the Colom government to successfully address their 
needs.  Still, both CONIC and CUC are firmly aligned with the First 
Lady and, in particular, her advisor and Secretary of Peace Orlando 
Blanco.  As such protest organizers are unlikely to persist in any 
way that seriously undermines a potential presidential bid by the 
First Lady.  Looking ahead, if protesters are unsatisfied with the 
October 15 meeting with President Colom, they could return to the 
streets on October 20, 2009, the Day of the Revolution, to press 
their agenda alongside the annual celebration.  End Comment. 
ROBINSON