US embassy cable - 05LIMA4650

UNCLAS LIMA 004650 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PE 
SUBJECT: ATTEMPT TO FACILITATE PASSAGE OF MACRO-REGION 
REFERENDA FAILS IN CONGRESS 
 
REF: A. LIMA 4634 
     B. LIMA 4633 
 
1.  Despite a furious last-minute push from President 
Alejandro Toledo, with support from presidential hopefuls 
Lourdes Flores and Valentin Paniagua, proponents of 
legislative changes to facilitate the passage of the 10/30 
macro-region referenda (Refs) failed to obtain the necessary 
61-vote absolute majority (the final vote was 60-24 with 
three abstentions) in a 10/27 Congress session.  The 
opposition APRA and Peru Ahora parties voted against, as 
expected.  The major surprise was that four members of 
Lourdes Flores' Unidad Nacional alliance chose to absent 
themselves just before the vote, despite that legislative 
bloc's prior indication that it would heed her call to 
support the bill.  Had even one of the four voted "yes," the 
legislation would have passed. 
 
2.  The proposed bill provided that only "yes" and "no" votes 
would be counted to determine whether the 50 percent-plus-one 
majority for approval of each macro-region was reached.  It 
also provided for a follow-up referenda in the case where two 
or more (but not all) of the departments that would make up a 
macro-region voted "yes."  National Election Board (JNE) 
President Enrique Mendoza previously stated that should the 
bill fail to pass, all votes will be counted, including null 
and blank votes, thereby raising the barrier for passage of 
the referenda.  In addition, he said, all departments that 
would comprise each individual macro-region must vote in 
favor for the macro-region to be established. 
 
3.  COMMENT:  The failure to pass the bill was a defeat for 
the Government, which campaigned hard for its passage.  It 
also undercut the authority of Unidad Nacional leader Lourdes 
Flores, who could not control her alliance's legislative bloc 
despite making a public bid for its support.  With all votes 
being counted, blank and null ballots will effectively count 
in the "no" column, making it that much more difficult for 
the referenda to pass.  END COMMENT. 
STRUBLE