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Viewing cable 07MANAGUA2135, NICARAGUAN CIVIL SOCIETY ALLIANCE UNITES AGAINST

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07MANAGUA2135 2007-09-18 20:33 2011-06-21 08:00 CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN Embassy Managua
VZCZCXRO0930
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #2135/01 2612033
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 182033Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1298
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 002135 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT TO WHA/CEN TLERSTON, PASS TO VALVARADO NSC, GMAGGIO DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR KDEM NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUAN CIVIL SOCIETY ALLIANCE UNITES AGAINST 
CITIZEN COUNCILS 
 
REF: A. MANAGUA 1944 
 
     B. MANAGUA 2025 
     C. MANAGUA 2043 
 
Classified By: Amb. Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4 (b and d) 
 
 1.  (C) Summary: Some ten thousand Nicaraguan opposition 
members, political leaders, and regular citizens turned out 
for a rally organized by the pro-democracy civil society 
organization Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN) on Sunday, 
September 9 in the streets of Masaya to voice a united 
opposition to the Ortega administration's Citizen Councils 
(Consejos de Poder Ciudadano or CPCs) and express solidarity 
for survivors of Hurricane Felix.  The solid showing at the 
rally during a week marked by tragedy demonstrated civil 
society's ability to mobilize and broaden civic 
participation, as well as evidence of growing public concern 
over Ortega's efforts to consolidate power. End Summary. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Leitmotif:  Participation Without Manipulation 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
2.  (C) Poloff and Pol Assistant attended a September 9 march 
against the CPCs organized by MpN in the city of Masaya, 30 
minutes from Managua, which proved to be an impressive, 
spirited event.  The primary aim of the march was to "raise 
the voice of the people in defense of liberty" and to reject 
the Ortega government's attempts to consolidate its control 
through the CPCs (Ref A). Although organizers had some 
misgivings about holding the rally while the country was 
still mourning the tragedy of Hurricane Felix which struck 
the Atlantic Coast just six days earlier (Ref C), MpN 
Director Violeta Granera informed us that after consulting 
with affiliate organizations and MpN members in departments 
throughout the country, they decided to go ahead as planned. 
In MpN's view, it was important to continue the pressure on 
the government, and sustain the momentum gained from the 
National Assembly vote in favor of the reforms to Law 290 
(Ref B) which would deny the executive the authority to 
institute the Councils. 
 
3. (C) March organizers are concerned that Ortega could still 
seek other means to enact the Councils, including an appeal 
to the Supreme Court to declare the legislative reforms 
unconstitutional.  To best register opposition the CPCs, MpN 
came up with "Participation without Manipulation" as the 
rally slogan that marchers both chanted and wore on blue and 
white T-shirts produced for the occasion.  Organizers 
applauded the "honorable" National Assembly Deputies who had 
the courage to vote against the CPCs.  Marchers demanded an 
end to "authoritarianism, nepotism, and partisanship." 
 
4. (U) Reading aloud from a public letter from MpN to 
President Ortega, Maria Antonieta Fiallos put the president 
on notice for failing to follow through on a number of 
campaign promises, using the CPCs to further divide the 
country, and inviting economic ruin through his 
confrontational rhetoric.  Ortega was betraying his pledge to 
govern with peace and reconciliation and achieve a united 
Nicaragua, the letter argued, by calling the  opposition 
"puppets" (peleles) and conspirators.  Although he had 
promised zero unemployment, his public discourses and actions 
were scaring off private investment--foreign and domestic. 
Rather than upholding its promise to end corruption, the 
government, Fiallos contended, was further corrupting 
institutions of the state in order to maintain the 
Aleman-Ortega political pact.  "Mr. President," Fiallos 
declared, "when you use government institutions to attack 
your political adversaries or protect your allies and 
followers, you are in violation of the rule of law and are 
fomenting corruption."  For Nicaragua to grow and prosper, 
the country needs an impartial system of justice that 
complies with the law, not with the "interest of one caudillo 
or another," she added. 
 
 
5.  (U) The route commenced at the Plaza of Saint Jerome and 
ended at Plaza of Monimbo, where the official act of speeches 
was kicked off by the crowd singing in unison the Nicaraguan 
national anthem.  Although exact numbers at the turnout were 
not confirmed, news reports of the event put the number close 
to 10,000. In the spirit of emphasizing national unity 
instead of political partisanship, the Nicaraguan national 
flag was ubiquitous, turning the march into a sea of blue and 
white, a stark contrast to the red and black that normally 
dominate FSLN events.  Between the actual march and the 
speeches, the entire event lasted nearly two hours.  And 
despite the hot sun, people stayed for the duration. 
(Comment: One embassy officer heard from a contact that 
Sandinista officials were taking note of any government 
employees who showed up for work on Monday morning sunburned, 
as if that were evidence that they attended the opposition 
rally.) 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Opposition United In Opposition to CPCs, Danielismo 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
6. (C)  Nicaraguans, who are rarely at a loss for words, took 
full advantage of the rally to express their discontent, and 
reveled in anti-government sloganeering and political 
lampooning.  The overall mood was buoyant, energetic, and 
sometimes irreverant, and everyone we observed seemed happy 
to be there.  Freedom of expression often took the form of 
personal verbal attacks on the first couple, placards calling 
for an end of the Aleman-Ortega political pact, a stop to the 
government firings of civil servants, demands for more jobs, 
denunciations of corrupt judges and public officials, and a 
litany of other complaints against the government. 
"Degenerate judges, one day you will be judged," captured a 
typical sentiment. Another sign that stood out was "We are 
the 62%", in reference to the population that did not vote 
for the presidency of Daniel Ortega.  Toward the end of the 
march, poloff noticed the sign had been changed; the 62 
crossed out and replaced with a 70. The ALN mayor of Matiguas 
was proud of his production, a professionally printed banner 
which proclaimed Matiguas the cradle of democracy, with the 
slogan "No to the Citizen Councils" in letters dripping 
menacingly in Sandinista red and black ink. 
 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Wide Cast of Characters...Going Beyond the Usual Suspects? 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
7. (U) An eclectic crowd participated the march, from former 
presidential candidates Jose Rizo of the Liberal 
Constitutional Party (PLC) and Eduardo Montealegre of the 
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN), various National Assembly 
Deputies including  Maria Eugenia Sequeira (ALN) and Enrique 
Quinones (PLC), as well as Azalia Aviles of the Conservative 
Party (PC)-ALN alliance.  A number of ALN mayors from the 
Department of Matagalpa, incuding Bronley Alvarez, mayor of 
Ciudad Dario, joined the mix.  As did members of the 
dissident Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) alliance and 
followers of the late Herty Lewites, former MRS mayor of 
Managua and presidential candidate. There was a diverse 
non-political presence as well, including a group of 
Nicaraguans from Costa Rica and others who advocated for 
allowing Nicaraguans living abroad the right to vote and for 
expanding the national identification card (cedula) 
registration campaign.  Cristiana Chamorro, daughter of 
President Violeta B. Chamorro; Margarita Gurdian former 
Minister of Health under President Bolanos, and Nelson 
Estrada of MpN were among other prominent civic leaders who 
participated.  Representatives throughout the country 
attended, including delegations from Matagalpa, Esteli, 
Chinandega, Leon, Granada, Carazo, Rivas, as well as a 
committee from Bluefields on behalf of the Atlantic Coast. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - 
The Party Crashers 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
8. (C) Shortly after the march commenced, a ragtag group of 
about 20 to 30 young men with attitude approached from stage 
left, marking their entrance with exploding firecrackers and 
cutting through the main route of the march.  Many of them 
wore T-shirts announcing their affiliation with the 
Fraternity of Saint Jerome, a Masaya-based FSLN organization 
associated with the Catholic Church which purportedly 
receives funding from Daniel Ortega.  Some appeared to be 
armed with musical instruments--one was carrying a large 
tuba, as if on their way to or from a church event. Others 
shared the shoulder load of long sticks of thin dry kindling 
wood suggesting the possibility of plans to light a fire. A 
pick-up truck that apparently belonged to the Masaya mayor's 
office brought up the rear.  (Comment: The mayor of Masaya is 
FSLN.)  The marchers let them pass through peacefully; both 
the rally crashers and participants chose to ignore each 
other. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
Aleman, The Wet Blanket 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
9.  (U) Likely galled by the open participation of fellow 
members of his PLC party, some of whom walked near Jose Rizo, 
while others kept company with Enrique Quinones, ex-President 
and convicted felon Arnoldo Aleman was not amused by the 
march and disparaged the NGOs for mixing it up with the 
political parties.  In its account of the march, leading 
daily La Prensa quoted Aleman saying, "Who elected Violeta 
Granera? If they (MpN) want to be a party, they should form a 
party."  He asserted that he knew how independent 
organizations were supposed to act, and in his view the 
movement was acting more like a political party than an NGO. 
Aleman accused MpN of essentially stealing the thunder from 
the PLC which he insisted had engineered the reform of 
article 11 of Law 290 in the National Assembly. 
 
- - - - 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
10.  (C) We are encouraged by the success of the rally and 
the participation of the range of political parties and civic 
groups. MpN has proved up to the task of mobilizing civil 
society and is reenergized in the current environment. By 
drawing a diverse crowd from across the ideological spectrum 
to the cause of defending liberty and encouraging national 
unity in the wake of the Hurricane Felix tragedy, MpN 
demonstrated that civil society has a critical role to play 
in challenging efforts by Ortega to consolidate and 
perpetuate his hold on power.  The collective opposition to 
the CPCs and the desire to help fellow citizens on the 
Atlantic Coast offered common ground for people from 
different parties to work together. MpN and the civil 
movement will need additional resources and training if they 
are going to be able to strengthen, broaden, and reinforce 
the positive momentum from the Sunday rally. 
TRIVELLI