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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 LA PAZ 000908 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016 TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL BL PINR SUBJECT: EVO'S POLITICAL ADVISERS (PART 3 OF 3) REF: LA PAZ 00831 Classified By: Amb. David N. Greenlee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: President Evo Morales keeps several close advisers who facilitate and carry out his personal agenda but have limited influence on the President's decisionmaking. They are split between those who work behind the scenes to facilitate Morales' vision and those who are charged with intimidating the opposition, especially in Congress. This cable is part three of a three-part series examining how Morales has structured his advisory circle. End summary. ----------------- Behind the Scenes ----------------- ¶2. (S//NF) Morales has several behind-the-scenes operators whose names rarely show up in open sources, but which sensitive reporting indicates are key Morales advisers. They appear to be loyal to Morales' political vision and work closely with the Cubans and Venezuelans in a complementary rather than competitive way, unlike Morales' primary intellectual advisers (SEPTEL). (Comment: The fact that these advisers work behind the scenes suggests that they are not seeking public recognition, and Morales is more likely to keep them around because of it. End comment.) -------------------- Ivan Iporre Salguero -------------------- ¶3. (S//NF) Ivan Iporre is Morales' personal assistant, and sensitive reporting indicates that he also has been responsible for Morales' personal finances. Iporre controls Morales' agenda and access to him. He was one of three advisers who accompanied Morales on his world tour in January. Two Embassy contacts have said that Iporre is the "go-to-guy" for seeking political favors from the President. ------------------- Hugo Moldiz Mercado ------------------- ¶4. (S//NF) Hugo Moldiz, a journalist by trade and a well-known FARC and ELN-B contact, appears to hold an unofficial advisory position in the Ministry of Government. Sensitive reporting indicates that he has been an important operator for Morales with the Cubans in Bolivia, particularly coordinating the Constituent Assembly agenda and security and intelligence issues. Press reports have also highlighted Moldiz's role in allegedly organizing local self-defense groups, a pet project Morales takes from his years as a cocalero leader and may now be inspired by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. -------------------- Hector Arce Zaconeta -------------------- ¶5. (C) Hector Arce is Morales' personal attorney, a position he has held for six years. Arce appears to be responsible for designing the legal means for Morales to bypass laws the President deems inconvenient or for devising legal arguments for harassing or attacking Morales' political adversaries, such as the lawsuit against former President's Eduardo Rodriguez, Carlos Mesa, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, and Jorge Quiroga. ---------------- Public Operators ---------------- ¶6. (C) Morales relies on several Congressmen, particularly Senate President Santos Ramirez Valverde, Chamber of Deputies President Edmundo Novillo Aguilar, and Chamber of Deputies member Gustavo Torrico Landa, to intimidate opposition LA PAZ 00000908 002 OF 002 Congressional leaders. Ramirez, Novillo, and Torrico owe their career to Morales and may be abusing power much like their predecessors. In particular, Ramirez, a blatant opportunist who one Embassy contact says would sell his mother to get what he wants, has already fallen prey to allegations of graft, according to PODEMOS Congressmen (REF A). ¶7. (C) These advisers operate more as the President's back alley thugs than as independent legislators. For example, PODEMOS Congressmen have told poloff that their MAS counterparts have been digging up dirt from the past and blackmailing opposition Congressmen to back the MAS or face exposure through the press. (Comment: One Embassy contact has referred to the Congressmen as part of the "Cochabamba boys"--a reference to the group of associates that Morales led over the years in the Chapare that regularly intimidated and harassed cocaleros--although only Novillo technically represents Cochabamba. End comment.) Further blurring the line between the executive and legislative branches, the press reported in January that both Ramirez and Novillo moved into the presidential palace at Morales' request, although Ramirez publicly denies that he lives there. GREENLEE
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