US embassy cable - 05QUITO1976

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 001976 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EC 
SUBJECT: SOME MOVEMENT TOWARD POLITICAL REFORMS 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  The process of selecting a new Supreme 
Court is moving forward, with assistance from the UN, OAS, 
and others.  The government's parallel effort to formulate a 
political reform referendum based on citizen input is back on 
track, after an initial wobble.  The OAS is receiving USG 
support for the Supreme Court process, and recently inquired 
about possible USG support for the referendum process as 
well.  We view the first as essential to build rule of law 
here, and the second as desirable, but with results less 
certain.  End Summary. 
 
Supreme Court Being Put Back Together 
------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Ecuador has lacked Supreme and Constitutional Courts 
since April, when Congress disbanded them shortly after 
ex-president Lucio Gutierrez was ousted on April 20.  Among 
other cases piling up without resolution in the meantime, 
ironically, is one against Gutierrez for statements 
undermining stability from abroad.  Gutierrez recently added 
another--a complaint demanding his restitution to office. 
 
3.  (SBU) Lacking a constitutional basis to select an entire 
new court, Congress in April chose to create one by law.  The 
resultant selection process has been provisionally blessed by 
the international community, in recognition of the urgent 
need to strengthen the judiciary and rule of law here.  To 
avoid flaws in the new law, however, UN Rapporteur Leonardo 
Despouy recommended that the selection committee simply 
ignore some provisions of the law.  The majority of the 
4-member committee have recently resolved to do so. 
Supporters of the process, including Despouy and the OAS 
representative here, believe it desirable to shield the new 
court from future constitutional challenges by putting the 
selection process to a popular referendum (hypothetically, 
this could be added to the political reform referendum). 
 
4.  (U) In addition to the UN, the OAS is observing the 
selection process, sending recognized regional legal experts 
(Sonia Picado of Costa Rica and Jose Antonio Viera Gallo of 
Chile) to Ecuador August 22-26, with USG support.  The Madrid 
Group and Community of South American Nations have also been 
actively monitoring the process, with visits by Brazilian FM 
Amorim and former Spanish PM Felipe Gonzalez.  OAS 
representative Carlos Ocampos told us on August 19 the 
process was proceeding, and should culminate in a new court 
by the end of the year.  The new Supreme Court would 
subsequently name the members of a National Judicial Council 
to nominate a new Constitutional Court. 
 
Government's Referendum Process Moving Forward 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
5.  (U) The Government's process to solicit input from the 
public on desired political reforms, led by Vice President 
Serrano with the assistance of the independent Modernization 
Commission (CONAM) suffered a setback when President Palacio 
unilaterally announced his own preferred reforms on August 2. 
 After Congress returned those proposals summarily, Palacio 
recovered by apologizing to the President of Congress and 
reaffirming his support for the Vice President's efforts. 
Those efforts resulted in 25,000 suggestions from the public, 
which are being sorted by a team of nine judicial experts 
funded by the Spanish, who have actively supported CONAM's 
referendum efforts. 
 
6.  (SBU) OAS representative Ocampos told PolChief and AID 
Deputy Director on August 19 that the Vice President had 
recently requested OAS support ($60,000) to fund 15-20 
Ecuadorian judicial experts, to seek consensus between the 
government, Congress and civil society on how to winnow the 
public's suggestions into a viable referendum.  The experts 
will include regional and party balance, to show 
inclusiveness and build potential for consensus.  Ocampo 
requested USG support to the OAS for this purpose.  We will 
meet with the OAS experts at the conclusion of their visit 
next week to hear their views. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  (SBU) We are encouraged by progress toward selection of a 
new Supreme Court, which is essential to begin rebuilding 
Ecuadorian jurisprudence and rule of law.  The outcome of a 
referendum, however, is less certain, since little consensus 
exists on what reforms will strengthen Ecuador's unstable 
democratic institutions (a range of possibilities has been 
floated already, including the creation of a Senate, election 
of Congress by district, elimination of the second round of 
voting, and others).  Consensus building is clearly 
necessary, however, to make any progress in this direction. 
Any viable reform will require consensus among the 
government, political parties, and civil society.  Even then, 
a positive result will require convincing a politically 
unsophisticated electorate to vote in favor. 
BROWN