US embassy cable - 05GUAYAQUIL257

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUAYAQUIL 000257 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ASEC, EC 
SUBJECT: GUAYAQUIL'S AUTONOMY MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM 
 
REF: GUAYAQUIL 00132 
 
1. (U) Summary: Calls for greater autonomy and even 
independence for Guayaquil during last month's "Marcha 
Blanca," (reftel) while raising awareness about the 
issue, are not galvanizing local leaders to take their 
efforts national. Rather than an all-encompassing reform 
that is sent down from Quito, Guayaquil civic leaders 
and local government officials alike prefer a more 
gradual approach, gaining increased municipal authority 
one public service sector at a time.  Ramiro Gonzalez, 
the prefect from Pichincha, may be calling for a nation- 
wide plan to enhance provincial autonomy, but here in 
Guayaquil authorities are content to look after their 
own.  End Summary 
 
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AUTONOMY'S SLOW BUT STEADY COURSE 
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2. (U) Autonomy is not a new issue in Guayaquil.  The 
call for greater self-sufficiency in this independent- 
minded city can be traced back to when Leon Febres- 
Cordero served as mayor (1992-2000).  Seeking mechanisms 
to breathe life back into the dilapidated city he 
inherited from the PRE party, his administration created 
a series of foundations to carry out public works 
projects and reforms, effectively bypassing central 
government control of purse strings and bureaucratic 
approval processes.  Under Mayor Jaime Nebot (2000- 
present), such actions continue with noteworthy success 
and international recognition.  At the national level, 
Guayaquil congressman Juan Jose Illingworth, who served 
from 1996 to 2000, made autonomy his number one 
priority, drafting and ultimately getting passed a 
decentralization law that designated 15% of the national 
budget to the  provinces (70% of which goes directly to 
the municipal governments). 
 
3. (U) In 2000, a national referendum included a 
question as to whether municipalities should be afforded 
greater independence from the central government.  Five 
large provinces voted for the change, including Guayas, 
but the proposal never made it to Congress.  Meanwhile, 
Guayaquil continued to look for ways within existing 
laws to exert more authority over public services and 
works projects.  The city's efforts were significantly 
aided in September 2004 with Congress's amendment to the 
Municipal Regimen Reform law.  This amendment calls for 
strengthening financial and administrative autonomy in 
areas that would benefit from direct intervention at the 
local level, as long as they do not conflict with clear 
areas of responsibility of the central government. 
Nebot referenced this amendment in his efforts to 
utilize private security companies to help address the 
city's critical crime problem. (reftel) 
 
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WAVE OF POPULARITY WILL NOT CHANGE CITY'S COURSE 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
4. (SBU) In a 22 February meeting with PolOff and 
PolAsst, former Congressman and civic activist Juan Jose 
Illingworth described how he and a group of like-minded 
citizens have spent the last several years seeking low 
profile ways to influence moves towards autonomy.  He 
stated that recently they have changed tactics to bring 
greater public attention to the issue, by publishing a 
manifesto in the city's most important newspapers, and 
by carrying an autonomy banner in January's 'Marcha 
Blanca' demonstration in Guayaquil. (reftel)  He added 
that they are also working with the Chambers of Commerce 
and Production to bring speakers to Guayaquil, including 
Bolivian autonomy leader Ruben Costas in early March, 
and in April Jordi Pujol, who has worked on autonomy 
issues in Spain.  According to Illingworth, Nebot is 
beginning to embrace this issue more completely, and 
expects that considerable strides will be made in the 
next six months in the direction of autonomy. 
 
5. (U)  Guayaquil's vice mayor, Luis Chiriboga, on 23 
February confirmed that the mayor's office has been 
working towards autonomy for many years.  It began with 
the city's regeneration projects and expanded to include 
enterprises such as the airport and public security.  In 
the last month, the municipality sent requests to the 
central government for the right to bring the local fire 
department under their purview and for partial transfer 
of the sewage system projects.  The vice mayor mentioned 
that they are also investigating a manner in which they 
can gain control of social security services and the 
civil registry. 
 
6. (U) Overall, Chiriboga echoed other local officials 
in stating that Guayaquil had taken a deliberate 
approach to reform.  However, he also emphasized that 
city officials have no intention of ramping up efforts 
to transform this into a national campaign or tackling 
areas such as education and health.  In a conversation 
with Consul General, Guayas Prefect Nicolas Lapenti 
reiterated this position, saying that he opposes the 
Pichincha prefect's call for sweeping, accelerated 
change, stressing that the country must first implement 
existing decentralization plans. 
 
7. (U) While the mayor's office recognizes the popular 
swell that autonomy is riding after the city's 
successful civic pride march, the vice mayor added that 
Nebot will continue to focus his efforts locally and to 
work within existing legislation.  Chiriboga 
acknowledged that Guayaquil has been approached by 
authorities from other cities, who are interested in 
utilizing similar methods to gain control over key 
public services.  However, he stated that Guayaquil is 
not looking to join forces with their counterparts in 
other provinces. 
 
8. (SBU) Comment:  While other mayors and prefects are 
renewing calls for autonomy nation-wide, Guayaquil 
leaders are not rising to the bait, at least for now. 
Their success in turning Guayaquil from an eyesore into 
an admirable example of urban renewal, both 
administratively and physically, is born out of their 
methodical approach to carry out their plans.  As such, 
they are not inclined to rock the boat by taking 
autonomy national.  Illingworth described Nebot as being 
a separatist at heart, but at the same time it appears 
the mayor is not going to risk what he has gained thus 
far by publicly advocating radical reform on a national 
scale.  We are sure to hear more on the autonomy issue 
as this movement gains more steam.  End comment. 
 
HERBERT