US embassy cable - 05QUITO586

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 000586 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EC 
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED INWARD 
 
 
1.  Summary:  Our outreach efforts confirm the impression 
that major indigenous groups are focused inward for the 
moment.  None joined the Quito anti-government marches on 
February 16, leaving that to Pachakutik, the political party 
associated with CONAIE.  This does not signify a break 
between CONAIE and Pachakutik, we are told, just different 
roles.  Most indigenous groups remain skeptical of a Free 
Trade Agreement with the U.S. and critical of Plan Colombia, 
but open to dialogue with us.  End Summary. 
 
CONAIE Focused on Rebuilding 
---------------------------- 
 
2.  Santiago De La Cruz, CONAIE's new national 
vice-president, told PolChief and PolOff on March 10 that, in 
the face of the GoE's divide-and-rule tactics, CONAIE's top 
priority now is to rebuild its grass roots support.  All 
other issues, including CONAIE's efforts to put an FTA with 
the U.S. to a referendum, are "second-level." 
 
Suffering GoE-Inflicted Losses 
------------------------------ 
 
3.  CONAIE and its affiliates, including the Sierra-based 
ECUARUNARI, are clearly resentful of the GoE's 
divide-and-rule tactics.  De La Cruz and ECUARUNARI's 
vice-president Raul Ilaquiche complained harshly about having 
lost the leadership of government indigenous institutions 
CONAIE had won through its street actions.  These government 
institutions include CONDENPE (dedicated to promoting 
indigenous development), DINEIB (indigenous and bilingual 
education division of the Ministry of Education) and the 
Ministry of Public Health's Indigenous Health division.  All 
are now led by pro-government indigenous or ex-military 
leaders.  CONAIE asked the USG to intervene with the 
President to get CONAIE representatives back in these 
government institutions. 
 
4.  De La Cruz said CONAIE opposes the government, not 
because its political alliance with Gutierrez ended, but 
because the GoE has persecuted CONAIE, fomenting division 
within the organization.  CONAIE would want to see signs of 
reconciliation from the GoE before reconsidering political 
dialogue.  While CONAIE opposes this government, he said, it 
is not seeking "chaos, or a state within a state", but 
"justice, equality, and true democracy."  CONAIE's De La Cruz 
criticized the President's increasing control over all three 
branches of government, with a pro-government majority in 
Congress and the recent re-vamping of the Supreme Court. 
Discrimination against indigenous remains widespread, he said. 
 
Opposition to an FTA 
-------------------- 
 
5.  CONAIE and ECUARUNARI leaders believe the Ecuadorian 
people do not know what an FTA's effects will be and, 
therefore, feel Ecuador is not ready for an FTA.  They also 
feel that Ecuador is not competitive economically to benefit 
from an FTA.  In a March 7 meeting, Ilaquiche told PolChief 
and PolOff that indigenous groups have collected the number 
of signatures needed (800,000) to send a referendum on the 
FTA to Congress.  De La Cruz also stated CONAIE is opposed to 
Plan Colombia because they feel the military presence on the 
Northern Border is negatively affecting indigenous 
communities there. 
 
Others More Moderate 
-------------------- 
 
6.  FENOCIN, an indigenous campesino group whose goals are 
more economically focused, is less threatened by, and 
therefore less opposed to, the current government.  In a 
March 10 meeting, FENOCIN's President Pedro De La Cruz told 
PolChief FENOCIN generally supports the Socialist Party, 
which is currently allied to the government, and, less so, 
the Pachakutik Party.  FENOCIN, while skeptical of the 
effects of an FTA, is open to dialogue on the subject. 
Indigenous participation leader Angel Medina of the Q'ellkaj 
Foundation took a different tack, faulting CONAIE president 
Luis Macas for his overly ideological anti-FTA posturing. 
What young, enterprising indigenous want, according to 
Medina, is not protection from free trade, but assistance to 
help them profit from it. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  The GoE's tactics to divide and weaken CONAIE are clearly 
having the intended effect.  They currently seemed more 
focused on re-building their grass roots support than on 
taking actions to remove the government.  CONAIE's new 
leadership seemed open to dialogue with the Embassy, while 
maintaining their distance from certain USG priorities.  We 
will continue to promote respect for constitutional democracy 
and will provide indigenous leaders more information on the 
benefits of an FTA.  End Comment. 
 
Bio Notes 
--------- 
 
8.  Santiago De La Cruz, age 37, is new to the national 
indigenous leadership, and an impressive representative of 
the younger generation of indigenous leaders.  An eloquent 
defender of indigenous rights, he also appeared eager to 
engage in dialogue with us.  He is the first Chachi Indian 
(from Esmeraldas province) to be elected to the CONAIE board. 
 De La Cruz was nominated by the CONAIE's coastal affiliate 
CONAICE.  De La Cruz seemed very interested in the 
possibility of visiting the U.S. on an exchange program. 
While opposed to several USG policies, he said he believed 
the U.S. was "not all bad."  De La Cruz received a degree in 
Education from Esmeraldas Technical University in February 
2005. 
 
9.  Raul Ilaquiche, an IVP grantee, said he had recently 
represented Ecuador at OAS Indigenous Declaration talks.  He 
implied the U.S. delegation had been obstructionist and were 
replaced during recent talks in D.C.  Ilaquiche also said 
Ecuador would host an Andean indigenous conference in the 
fall. 
KENNEY