US embassy cable - 04QUITO3304

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 003304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EC 
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATION ELECTS NEW HEAD 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities 
of Ecuador (CONAIE) on December 23 elected Luis Macas 
president of the organization, a post he previously held 
twice.  Macas, a former Minister of Agriculture and an ethnic 
Saraguro indian from the south of the country, will lead the 
organization until 2007 and replaces Leonidas Iza. 
Postulated by the highlands-based ECUARUNARI and supported by 
the coastal CONAICE organization, Macas is expected to 
maintain distance from the Gutierrez administration and its 
Minister of Social Welfare, indigenous leader Antonio Vargas. 
 Pro-government Amazonian indigenous were accused of 
attempting to disrupt the Congress as well as of threatening 
indigenous leaders.  Biographical information is included in 
paragraph 10.  End Summary. 
 
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Macas Wins, Santi Offers Support 
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2.  Macas, with 300 votes, defeated Marlon Santi, the 
candidate of the Amazonian indigenous federation CONFENIAE, 
who received 181 votes, at the CONAIE congress on December 
23.  Macas is considered to be part of the older generation 
of indigenous leaders, with a great deal of experience within 
the indigenous movement.  After the vote, Santi expressed his 
support for Macas, quelling fears of further division within 
the organization.  Santiago de la Cruz, a coastal Chachi 
indian and member of the CONAICE, was elected vice-president. 
 Amazonians will hold posts in the International Relations 
and Natural Resources divisions. 
 
3.  According to press reports, as a candidate, Macas said 
his priority would be the creation of a plurinational state 
and he emphasizes the process of "interculturality," 
including bilingual intercultural education.  Macas believes 
the country should look for alternatives to the Free Trade 
Agreement with the U.S.  Macas pledged to work closely with 
the base organizations to strengthen currently weak ties, as 
displayed by the disappointing indigenous anti-government 
mobilizations earlier this year.  Macas has said he will not 
enter into dialogue with the current government. 
 
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Mobilizations and Other Topics Discussed 
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4.  A total of 1070 delegates attended the congress including 
regional delegates from 30 indigenous nationalities and 
domestic and international observers.  The congress featured 
debates on the current political situation, GoE energy 
policy, education, indigenous nationalities, and statute 
reform.  On December 22, CONAIE leaders discussed a future 
mobilization to protest Congress' dismantling of the Supreme 
Court and the government's referendum.  CONAIE leaders feel 
this call for mobilization will have a greater response than 
the two Leonidas Iza organized earlier this year. 
 
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Divisive Elements Removed From Congress 
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5.  On December 20, Jose Quenama of CONFENIAE was expelled 
from the congress for promoting violence and for his ties to 
Antonio Vargas.  Fifty Quenama supporters tried to get 
Quenama's name on the ballot for president despite his not 
having support from the bases.  According to the CONAIE 
website, the group then removed cables from computers to 
impede registration for the congress.  Representatives of six 
of the ten nationalities within CONFENIAE voted to remove 
Quenama from CONFENIAE which he previously headed.  Many 
leaders of the Cofan, Siona, and Secoya nationalities left 
the congress, in support of Quenama. 
 
6.  CONAIE members also accused Quenama of aiding the 
government's effort of creating divisions within the 
organization.  On December 23, a small group of Quenama 
supporters met in Quito to create a CONAIE 2, with support 
from the government.  Bolivar Gonzalez, Undersecretary for 
Social Welfare and the primary advisor to Minister Antonio 
Vargas, also made a statement concerning rebuilding CONAIE. 
According to the press, Quenama said his supporters reject 
Macas' victory as they feel the electoral process was 
illegal, since Quenama was not allowed to participate as a 
candidate for the presidency.  Quenama said Macas will not be 
allowed to travel to Amazonian territory. 
 
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Candidates Allegedly Receive Death Threats 
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7.  On December 20, Leonidas Iza, the CONAIE's 
then-president, accused the government of a campaign of 
intimidation against indigenous leaders.  Iza said that many 
leaders had received threats over the telephone.  Santi, the 
CONFENIAE candidate, said to the press that he received 
anonymous phone calls on December 21 and 22 threatening that 
if he were elected CONAIE president, he would be dead within 
24 hours.  Santi said his lawyers planned to file a complaint 
with the OAS' Inter-american Commission on Human Rights, 
accusing the government of ordering the threats.  According 
to the press, Santi also claimed Quenama offered him $25,000 
in order to support the latter's candidacy. 
 
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CONAIE Issues Manifesto 
----------------------- 
 
8.  During the congress, CONAIE issued a manifesto, published 
on its website, expressing its rejection of the alleged 
intentions of the government, the PRE party, the PRIAN party, 
and the U.S. "to annihilate and destroy all the social and 
popular organizations in the country."  CONAIE accused the 
"treasonous and dictatorial government of Lucio Gutierrez, in 
complicity  with a reduced group of opportunist followers of 
Antonio Vargas and Jose Quenama bought by the government, of 
attempting to boycott the congress and create a parallel 
congress."  CONAIE called on the Ecuadorian people to stay 
alert to the GoE's increasing dictatorial bent. 
 
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Comment 
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9.  Macas stood out as a strong candidate during the congress 
and, with the support of his challenger Santi, seems to enjoy 
a certain legitimacy.  Pro-government indigenous, on the 
other hand, were discredited by the majority of CONAIE 
members and are increasingly isolated.  They will no doubt 
continue to attempt to organize, but their reputation seems 
to have been tarnished.  Macas appears confident that he will 
have greater success mobilizing the indigenous, and a future 
attempt to organize a protest of the recent dismantling of 
the Supreme Court is possible.  We will attempt to reach out 
to Macas and open lines of communication with the Embassy. 
Macas so far does not seem to spew as much anti-U.S. rhetoric 
as his predecessor Iza; however, CONAIE's latest manifesto 
expresses great suspicion of the U.S.  End Comment. 
 
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Bio information 
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10.  Luis Macas, a member of the Saraguro ethnicity (part of 
the Quichua group), was born on June 3, 1950 in Saraguro, 
Loja province.  Macas studied anthropology at Quito's 
Catholic University, jurisprudence at the Central University, 
and linguistics, also at Quito's Catholic University.  In 
1978, Macas was part of a group of 12 indigenous leaders who 
sought a meeting of representatives from Ecuador's three 
regions: Sierra, Amazon, and Coast.  This meeting was not 
held until 1980, after the fall of the dictatorship, and was 
a first step towards the first CONAIE congress held in Quito 
in 1986.  In 1986, Macas became head of communications for 
CONAIE and released its first newspaper, "Indian 
Nationalities."  In 1988 he became vice-president and in 1990 
became president of the organization.  Macas was reelected 
president from 1993-1996.  In 1996, he became a Congressional 
deputy and worked to promote the passage of the Indigenous 
Nationalities Law and the creation of the Indigenous Fund. 
In 2003, he held the post of Minister of Agriculture during 
Pachakutik's alliance with Gutierrez' government.  Currently 
he serves as acting rector of the Intercultural University of 
Indigenous Nationalities and Pueblos "Amawta Wasi" and is 
director of the Scientific Institute of Indigenous Cultures, 
posts which he is expected to relinquish in order to head 
CONAIE. 
KENNEY