VZCZCXYZ0019
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #0707/01 0892318
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302318Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4637
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000707 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2016 
TAGS: PGOV ETRD CS
SUBJECT: FUTURE PUSC DEPUTIES STRESS IMPORTANCE OF "SOCIAL 
AGENDA" TO PASS CAFTA-DR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Mark Langdale for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
¶1.  (C) On May 29, Ambassador hosted all five deputies-elect 
of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) for breakfast. 
They all expressed support for the Central America-Dominican 
Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) but were concerned 
about opposition from labor trade unions, some agricultural 
groups, students, and the Citizens' Action Party (PAC). 
Deputy-elect Ana Helena Chacon said that confrontation during 
the process of ratification was inevitable: "we just have to 
make sure we don't lose."  Faction leader Lorena Vasquez told 
us, the PUSC strategy was to promote a "social agenda" that 
will, in essence, buy off some of the opposition to the 
agreement.  End summary. 
 
PUSC Puts on a Brave Face 
------------------------- 
¶2.  (C) The February 5 general elections were a disaster for 
PUSC.  The party won only five of the 57 seats in the 
Legislative Assembly, down from the 19 seats in the last 
election, and its presidential candidate got only 3.5 percent 
of the vote.  The party has been buffeted by corruption 
scandals that for a while put its last two former presidents 
(Rafael Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez) in jail 
and by the notoriously ineffective presidential 
administration of PUSC member Abel Pacheco. 
 
¶3.  (C) The five deputies-elect owe their positions to Rafael 
Angel Calderon who has reemerged as party boss even while 
fighting off corruption charges.  Calderon determined the 
party lists and selected candidates of proven loyalty to him. 
 Of the five elected deputies, four have served previously in 
the Legislative Assembly, and the fifth, Ana Helena Chacon, 
was until recently Vice Minister of Public Security.  During 
the breakfast, they reflected optimism that as a centrist 
party they can hold the balance of power in the Assembly and 
make a difference after they take office on May 1. 
 
CAFTA-DR a Priority 
------------------- 
¶4.  (C) Lorena Vasquez, who will be the PUSC faction leader 
in the Assembly, noted the close relations between her party 
and the U.S. Embassy over the years.  She said that PUSC 
fully recognized the importance of ratifying and implementing 
a free trade agreement with Costa Rica's most important 
trading partner, the United States.  She regretted the 
weakness of the Pacheco government whose lack of vision and 
purpose delayed ratification and led to the exit from 
government of the entire team of CAFTA-DR negotiators. 
 
¶5.  (C) Deputy-elect Bienvenido Venegas said that while 
dialogue with civil society on CAFTA-DR and other issues was 
important, the current Legislative Assembly went too far by 
creating so-called mixed commissions in which elected 
deputies sat together and negotiated with non-elected 
representatives of labor unions and community organizations. 
He said it was important to recognize the limits of dialogue 
and that his party and the PAC, for example, were bound to be 
on opposite sides of most issues. 
 
Opposition to CAFTA-DR 
---------------------- 
¶6.  (C) Deputy-elect Jorge Eduardo Sanchez harked back to 
2000 when street demonstrations ultimately defeated the 
Rodriguez government's plan to partially privatize the Costa 
Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).  He said that many groups 
with various grievances against the government came together 
in defense of the state monopoly.  The government was forced 
to back down even though it had the support of the vast 
majority of the legislature.  Sanchez was concerned that that 
could happen again in the battle to ratify CAFTA-DR. 
 
¶7.  (C) Deputy-elect Chacon said that a confrontation with 
the labor unions over CAFTA-DR was inevitable; "we just have 
to make sure we don't lose."  She noted from her time in the 
Ministry of Public Security deep suspicions that the 
government of Venezuela was financing and fomenting 
anti-government demonstrations and in particular was behind 
efforts to defeat CAFTA-DR.  She said what the GOCR lacked 
was proof, and she urged that the USG provide more assistance 
on intelligence matters. 
 
Dividing the Opposition 
----------------------- 
¶8.  (C) Lorena Vasquez said it was important for the 
government to engage civil society and opponents of CAFTA-DR. 
 She said that PUSC will support a "social agenda" (read 
complementary agenda) that will lessen the harm suffered by 
the "losers" in CAFTA-DR.  She noted that some labor union 
leaders and the PAC will never support CAFTA-DR, but it is 
 
possible to effectively buy off some of their potential 
allies. 
 
¶9.  (C) Deputies-elect Jose Luis Vasquez and Jorge Eduardo 
Sanchez agreed with Lorena Vasquez, stressing that the 
successful ratification and implementation of CAFTA-DR 
depended on dividing the opposition and preventing the 
formation of a massive anti-CAFTA-DR bloc.  Sanchez added 
that it was essential that the entire government speak with 
one voice on CAFTA-DR.  A major problem in the Pacheco 
administration was that it appeared that only the Foreign 
Trade Ministry supported the agreement with the rest of 
government either ambivalent or silent. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶10.  (C) PUSC appears to be on board to support CAFTA-DR but 
not as enthusiastically as either the ruling National 
Liberation Party (with 25 deputies) or Libertarian Movement 
Party (with six deputies).  PUSC deputies will defend their 
concept of "social justice," which means that their support 
for CAFTA-DR is to some extent conditioned on a satisfactory 
complementary agenda.  With PUSC, we count a total of 38 
votes out of 57 in support of CAFTA-DR ratification.  Due to 
Costa Rica's painstaking parliamentary procedures and the 
lack of progress until now, it could be many months before a 
vote on CAFTA-DR takes place.  An early test of how long the 
ratification process will take will be whether the rules of 
the Legislative Assembly can be modified to streamline its 
deliberation process 
LANGDALE