US embassy cable - 04QUITO2955

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 002955 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MARR, EC, President 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION FALLS SHORT ON FIRST IMPEACHMENT VOTE; 
NEXT STEPS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for reason 1.4 (b&d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The pro-impeachment opposition on November 
9 tried and twice failed to create a special Congressional 
committee to consider impeachment grounds against President 
Lucio Gutierrez, effectively stymieing impeachment efforts at 
an early stage.  The opposition came up short of taking this 
second formal step in the impeachment process, after 
defections by two Social Christian Party (PSC) members and 
one Democratic Left (ID) impeachment petition signers.  The 
failed vote spells a reprieve or at least temporary respite 
for Gutierrez, since to impeach requires a two thirds vote, 
currently well out of reach of the opposition.  Government 
officials tried not to gloat in the wake of the vote; some 
privately expressed appreciation for the Ambassador's 
statements in support of democratic stability.  Disgruntled 
impeachment supporters are seeking alternative means to 
restart the impeachment process, but are unlikely to prosper 
until after the next Gutierrez administration blunder.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Congress voted twice on November 9 to conform the 
special impeachment committee.  The first resulted in 50 
votes in favor, one short of a simple majority, with 40 
abstentions.  President of Congress Guillermo Landazuri voted 
in favor, but PSC deputy Rocio Jaramillo of Guayas province 
abstained.  PSC Congressional leader Pascual del Cioppo later 
declared that Jaramillo had been "bought" by the President. 
In a second vote later in the day, Jaramillo was absent, and 
two other impeachment petition signers abstained, resulting 
in just 48 votes in favor.  The two defectors included 
another from the PSC (Luis Almeida, who resigned from the 
PSC, denouncing threats and abuse from party leader Leon 
Febres-Cordero and saying he could not vote against 
Gutierrez, a fellow member of the masonic rite) and one from 
the ID (Aurelio Llori, who announced his resignation from the 
party). 
 
Embassy Actions 
--------------- 
 
3.  (C) To promote democratic stability and US interests, we 
have engaged privately and publicly with key interlocutors, 
stressing USG support for electoral democracy and (with the 
opposition) the costs of political instability.  The 
Ambassador most recently did so at an unrelated joint public 
event with President Gutierrez in the National Palace on 
November 5.  PolOffs emphasized the political costs to PSC 
and ID Congressional and party leaders.   Embassy PAS 
conducted extensive public outreach on the U.S. elections, 
emphasizing respect for the will of the electorate and 
democratic process. 
 
4.  (C) Recognizing that President Gutierrez' personal 
combativeness has fueled the increasingly personal feud with 
Febres-Cordero, the Ambassador spoke with Gutierrez several 
times as the impeachment process played out in Congress, 
offering moral support and counseling public restraint.  She 
also reached out to several other cabinet members (Commerce, 
Economy, Defense and even Health) to signal continued USG 
engagement on issues of mutual interest during this difficult 
period. 
 
5.  (C) We are grateful for the interest and support from the 
Department to implement this pro-stability strategy, 
particularly A/S Noriega's interest and DAS Shapiro's public 
outreach with key Ecuadorian media. 
 
6.  (C) We also see great opportunities coming up to use VIP 
visits to reinforce the stability message.  These include: 
 
-- Commerce/USTR visit on November 12.  Public speeches and 
private meetings with US companies offer opportunities for 
public diplomacy. 
 
-- SecDef Rumsfeld/Southcom Commander visit November 15-20. 
They will meet with President Gutierrez and the MOD, and have 
press opportunities. 
 
-- The visit by former President Bush on November 22 to 
Guayaquil.  We will suggest that he include stability points 
in his public address and be wary of efforts by former 
President Febres-Cordero to steal the limelight. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  (C) The opposition is smarting from their setback in 
Congress, which reflects divisions within their ranks.  The 
PSC has reportedly begun to woo the PRE, which had hoped to 
gain the return of its exiled leader by supporting the GoE. 
Privately, some opposition members have expressed relief that 
the impeachment process, which lacks strong grassroots 
support, has been short-circuited.  Others, including the 
MPD's die-hard radicals and also some within indigenous 
Pachakutik, clearly resent the USG in the person of the 
Ambassador for what they incorrectly interpret as USG 
intervention in support of the person of President Gutierrez, 
and a few have called for her withdrawal.  We have emphasized 
to all that this is a misinterpretation of our position, 
which is in support of democratic institutional stability, 
not any individual politician.  We believe it exceedingly 
important to continue to make that distinction, to preserve 
the option to distance ourselves in the event that the 
President make anti-democratic moves or should hard evidence 
of corruption emerge against him. 
KENNEY