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### Viewing cable 07MANAGUA2466, THE CITIZEN COUNCILS' GROWING SHADOW

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07MANAGUA2466 | 2007-11-13 18:12 | 2011-06-23 08:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Managua

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    PP RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHMU #2466/01 3171812
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 131812Z NOV 07
    FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1670
    INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
    RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002466

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    DEPT FOR WHA/CEN
    NSC FOR V. ALVARADO

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
    TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON KDEM NU
    SUBJECT: THE CITIZEN COUNCILS' GROWING SHADOW

    REF: A. MANAGUA 1783
         ¶B. MANAGUA 2207

    Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4(b,d)

    ¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: President Ortega's Citizen Power Councils
    (CPC) continue to penetrate Nicaraguan society, increasing
    fear among civil society leaders.  Over the past month, cases
    have been reported in which the CPCs have incited civil
    unrest, demanded CPC membership in exchange for emergency
    aid, and toppled legally elected community representatives.
    Police Commissioner Aminta Granera publicly acknowledged that
    the 2008/9 police strategy will incorporate the CPCs into
    their citizen education efforts and the Minister of
    Government confirmed that the Ministry is training the CPCs.
    Ortega continues to implement his Zero Hunger program through
    the CPCs, which incurred USD 1.7 million in questionable
    administrative expenses in 2007.  While opposition
    legislative forces do have sufficient votes to overturn
    Ortega's veto of legislation forbidding the creation of the
    CPCs, there are serious questions about their capacity to
    align the necessary votes, especially in the face of overt
    threats from the Sandinista National Liberation Front's
    (FSLN) caucus chief.  For Ortega, maintaining the legal basis
    for the CPCs is essential to facilitate his future political
    aspirations, as it allows him to expand and strengthen a
    centrally run patronage state at the expense of locally
    elected authorities.  END SUMMARY.

    Ortega's Octopus - The Growing Reach of the CPCs
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶2.  (U) Since President Daniel Ortega's late-September veto
    of legislation designed to curb the CPCs' legal power (ref
    B), their reach and influence have grown dramatically.  The
    following is a brief summary of some CPC "services" rendered
    since the beginning of October:

    - Civic Action:  On November 6, residents in two of Managua's
    poorer neighborhoods took to the streets and burned tires in
    protest against Union Fenosa, the Spanish electricity
    distributor.  Press reports allege that CPC members organized
    and participated in the activities.  Three weeks earlier,
    during a march against Fenosa in the northern town of Jalapa,
    CPC representatives threatened to organize "block-by-block,
    neighborhoods, and communities" against Union Fenosa in a
    protest over price increases.

    - Job Placement:  A number of organized labor contacts in the
    health and education sectors have complained that CPC
    representatives are targeting non-Sandinista labor union
    leaders and members to be fired and replaced by CPC-approved
    teachers, doctors, etc.  In addition, CPC representatives
    exert growing influence over the hiring decisions in schools,
    clinics and hospitals, ministries, and other public
    institutions, creating fear and uncertainty among
    non-Sandinista employees.

    - Community Involvement:  In the northern department of
    Esteli, the coordinator of the legally-mandated Departmental
    Development Council (DDC) alleged that CPC members pressured
    and forced the resignation of most DDC members and, in a
    surprise meeting on September 24, the new DDC members deposed
    him six months before the end of his term.

    - Humanitarian Assistance:  Although they have no legal basis
    to perform State responsibilities, First Lady Rosario Murillo
    has dispatched the CPCs to participate in a month-long
    campaign to clean up the country and educate the population,
    in coordination with the Ministry of Health, about dengue and
    the recent outbreak of leptospirosis that has swept across
    the northern departments in recent weeks.  In the North
    Atlantic Autonomous Region's (RAAN) "mining triangle,"
    citizens affected by Hurricane Felix alleged that the CPCs
    were demanding "loyalty" to the CPCs in exchange for relief
    assistance.  In the aftermath of the flooding and mass
    displacement in several northern departments caused by heavy
    rains, there were similar allegations of coercion.

    CPCs - Counterweight to American "Imperialism"
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶3.  (U) During a November 8 public event, Ortega declared
    that "if the Nicaraguan right has its movements financed by
    the North American taxpayers, being the spokespeople for
    imperialism, then the FSLN has every right to organize the
    CPCs."  He went on to say that "We would be stupid to believe
    the CPCs aren't important; to accept that the CPCs don't
    matter is to accept that the people don't matter."

    CPC as Civilian Police Force?
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶4.  (U) In a November 2 meeting that included CPC leaders,
    senior police officials, and Ortega/Murillo to discuss the
    relationship between the police (NNP) and the CPCs, Police
    Commissioner Aminta Granera announced that she had held a
    long meeting with Murillo two days earlier to discuss "the
    best way" for the NNP and CPCs to work together.  In her
    November 2 comments, Granera emphasized that the CPCs would
    play an important role in the strategic evolution from
    "National Security" to "Citizen Security," which she
    characterized as a "return to the origins of this police
    (force)."  (NOTE:  Both the military and the police were
    created by the Sandinistas in the late 1970s to replace
    Somoza's National Guard structure.  END NOTE)

    ¶5.  (U) Although Granera did not outline a specific strategy,
    she mentioned the 15,000-member community Crime Prevention
    Committees as a possible mechanism to involve CPC stalwarts.
    She reported that some Crime Prevention Committee members are
    also CPC members.  Further, Granera remarked that
    community-level police action plans would be coordinated with
    the CPC cabinets' security representatives to ensure "perfect
    agreement."

    CPCs Receive Government Support
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶6.  (U) In spite of the dubious legal status of the CPCs,
    President Ortega is implementing his "Zero Hunger" program
    (ref A) through the CPC network, using the councils to find
    and evaluate appropriate families and distribute the
    "packets" of supplies.  Ortega and the CPCs recently came
    under fire, however, when opposition deputies in the National
    Assembly revealed that the program had incurred 32 million
    Cordobas (USD 1.7 million) in operating expenses during 2007
    despite the fact that all CPC members work as volunteers.

    ¶7.  (U) In late October, a number of civil society
    organizations asked the Comptroller's office to investigate
    the Ministry of Government (MIGOB) for allegedly providing
    weekend training and capacity building to the CPCs.  MIGOB
    Minister Ana Morales defended the twice-monthly sessions as
    an obligation to inform the people, stating that we "don't
    incur a single expense, (aside from) our time on a Sunday."

    Formation of CPC National Cabinet on the Horizon
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶8.  (U) During the November 2 meeting with Granera and CPC
    representatives, Murillo proclaimed that the CPC "National
    Cabinet" would be installed before the end of November,
    marking the nationwide completion of the CPC structure.
    Originally slated for September 14, the ceremony was
    purportedly delayed due to the Hurricane Felix crisis.
    According to earlier estimates, the CPC structure will
    encompass over 900,000 members at the neighborhood,
    municipal, departmental, and national levels.  (NOTE:  A
    variety of Managua sources have reported that the CPC
    structure in Managua is functionally well.  Neighborhood and
    district CPCs are reportedly holding regular weekly meetings,
    facilitating a smooth flow of information both vertically and
    horizontally within the structure.  END NOTE.)

    Overriding Ortega's Veto - Risky Business
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ¶9.  (C) Although announced in late September, the National
    Assembly Justice Commission did not receive Ortega's official
    Presidential Veto until early October, according to Jose
    Pallais, Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) deputy and
    President of the Justice Commission.  In public statements,
    Pallais gave assurances that the PLC, Nicaraguan Liberal
    Alliance (ALN), and Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS)
    would unite and use their combined 49 votes to overturn
    Ortega's veto.  In private, however, Pallais questioned the
    legislative experience and administrative capacity of the
    three opposition parties to quickly pull together their 49
    votes against the maneuverings of the much more experienced
    FSLN.  Pallais further revealed that Edwin Castro, head of
    the FSLN caucus, had threatened him and other opposition
    deputies if they "dared" to call a vote, stating that there
    could be "car accidents" and "sudden sicknesses" on the day
    of the vote.  Ortega has made it abundantly clear that the
    CPCs will be empowered -- with or without the National
    Assembly's blessing.

    Comment
    - - - -

    ¶10.  (C) For Ortega, Murillo, and the FSLN, establishing a
    legal basis for the CPCs is essential to facilitate their
    future political aspirations.  With a legally-mandated CPC
    structure in place, Ortega will be that much freer to channel
    his Venezuelan petro-dollar-funded programs and projects
    through the CPCs, enabling him to spread and fortify his
    power base by buying and rewarding loyalty while isolating
    and choking political, civil society, and labor opposition.
    If National Assembly opposition forces fail to override
    Ortega's veto, USG funding for democracy building and civil
    society strengthening programs will become even more critical
    as a democratic counterweight.
    TRIVELLI

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