Cablegate: New Mingov Named

VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #1702/01 1941141
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131141Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4803
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5785
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1863
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUL 9945
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0762
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 0805
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 001702

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EC PGOV PINR PREL
SUBJECT: NEW MINGOV NAMED

REF: QUITO 1669

1. Summary: As part of an ongoing cabinet reshuffle on July
11, President Palacio replaced Minister of Government Felipe
Vega with Antonio Andretta and Minister of Public Works
Derlis Palacios with Pedro Lopez Torres. While Vega,
Palacio's fifth Minister of Government, has been linked to
charges of corruption, there is no clear explanation for the
dismissal of the low-profile Palacios, who has been with the
administration since the beginning. Secretary of
Communication Enrique Proano announced that these
appointments would conclude cabinet restructuring. Only four
of Palacio's original fifteen cabinet members remain. End
Summary.

Vega and Palacios Replaced
--------------------------

2. On the evening of July 6, six months before the end of
his term, President Palacio called for resignation letters
from his cabinet (reftel Quito 1669). Minister of Government
Felipe Vega stated publicly on July 10 that he would resign.
Palacio accepted the resignations of Vega and Minister of
Public Works Derlis Palacios, both from the city of Cuenca,
and on July 11 named Antonio Andretta as Minister of
Government and Pedro Lopez Torres as Minister of Public
Works. Both Andretta and Lopez have held the same posts in
the past, Andretta under the Noboa presidency (2000-2003) and
Lopez under the Duran Ballen presidency (1992-1996). Some
consider Andretta as part of the "old guard," which suggests
that he was nominated to avoid political contention.

3. Vega told press on July 7 that some wanted him removed
for trying to address narcotrafficking, organized crime, and
police corruption. Insiders claim the real issue was that
Vega had become a liability after public charges that he was
demanding kickbacks from the Guayaquil police chief. Vega
publicly denied charges of corruption and attributed his
surprise exit to "political change." He claimed that his
resignation was a personal decision that marks the completion
of "a cycle in this government" and that he himself suggested
cleaning out the cabinet last week. Vega was in office for
four months -- longer than any of the previous four who held
this thankless job during Palacio's erratic tenure.

Explanations for Departure
--------------------------

4. Press reports suggest the upheaval of the cabinet was to
raise public opinion of the President and reflected Palacio's
discontent with the confused and chaotic application of the
April Hydrocarbons Law. Secretary of Communication Enrique
Proano said that the President "never agreed" with the June
29 regulatory implementation of the law and that the
Ministers would be working on creating new regulations.

5. Proano insisted that the cabinet reshuffling was
necessary to intensify government work in "key areas," and
that the new cabinet will target the "social debt" during
Palacio's last six months in office. Oil and budget issues
are expected to be key in the coming months. Secretary of
Communication Enrique Proano claims that oil revenues will be
used responsibly to address poverty and that social problems
"could not have been attended to before because of the
overstretched budget."

Biographical Information: Andretta
----------------------------------

6. Antonio Andretta Arizaga, the half-brother of former
president of Congress Juan Jose Pons, was born in Guayaquil
on September 11, 1944. He received an undergraduate degree
in Political Science and a law degree at Catholic University
of Santiago in Guayaquil. His previous positions include
Minister of the Interior of Guayas and Guayas Police
Intendant (1972-1975) before he became Director of the
Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce from 1969-1972 and 1980-1983.
He served as Governor of Guayas and Head of the
Administrative Development Secretariat (SENDA) under the
Duran Ballen presidency. From 1998-2000 he directed COPEFEN
(Coordinating Unit of the Emergency Program for El Nino
Phenomenon) before serving as President of the National
Transportation Council in 2003.

Biographical Information: Lopez
-------------------------------
7. Pedro Lopez Torres was born on December 7, 1929, in
Quito. He graduated as a civil engineer from Central
University in Quito and has extensive experience in
construction and civil engineering. From 1972-1974 he served
as a Quito councilman and from 1974-1976 he was president of
the Commission of Public Works for the municipality of Quito.
Lopez served as Minister of Public Works from 1992-1996, and
was active in all three of Duran Ballen's presidential
campaigns. He has also been a professor at the engineering
school at Central University and vice-president of the civil
engineering high school in Pichincha.

Comment
-------

8. The resignations of Vega and Palacios appear to mark the
end of the current cabinet shake up. The appointments of low
profile officials Andretta and Lopez reflect Palacio's desire
for a smooth transition out of office.
JEWELL

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