LULA AND CHAVEZ, BONDING AT SITE OF FUTURE REFINERY

UNCLAS RECIFE 000166

SIPDIS

WHA FOR BSC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV PREL BR
SUBJECT: LULA AND CHAVEZ, BONDING AT SITE OF FUTURE REFINERY

REF: RECIFE 130


1. (U) Summary. Brazilian President Lula da Silva traveled to
the northeastern state of Pernambuco with his Venezuelan
counterpart Hugo Chavez to lay the cornerstone for an oil
refinery and to reinforce their alliance December 16. The
anti-American rhetoric of Chavez was no surprise, but the
emotional pledges of support from Lula revealed his self
identification with the Venezuelan. End Summary.


2. (U) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez came with Brazil's
President Lula on a one-day visit to the state of Pernambuco
December 16 to focus attention on their planned joint venture
oil refinery (reftel). The press coverage focused more on the
campaign atmosphere - with Lula saying he would only run for
re-election if he were going to win and local gubernatorial
candidates vying for political advantage from the refinery.
(PMDB Governor Jarbas Vasconcelos was booed by Lula supporters,
brought in for the ground-breaking ceremony at the refinery
site, a surprise to the popular governor whose support for any
candidate is considered invaluable in this state.) Buried under
the local politics in the news, Chavez got small headlines on
back pages including "Venezuelan attacks the U.S.A," and "Chavez
parties in Abreu e Lima; blames U.S. for problems of Latin
America."


3. (U) According to the press, Chavez denounced the U.S. as he
received honorary citizenship in the small industrial town of
Abreu e Lima, named for the Brazilian general who fought beside
Simon Bolivar. Chavez said the U.S. was responsible for keeping
Latin America backwards and poor, "Enough of so much looting! We
have the right to be free, enough to 500 years (sic) of
imperialism," he said, adding that Simon Bolivar "foresaw" the
imperialist threat of the United States.


4. (U) More interesting than Chavez' rhetoric was President
Lula's defense of Chavez and how he identified himself with
Chavez. "I met you in Venezuela at a time when I could not
imagine that the press in a country could do to a president what
the Venezuelan press was doing to you," Lula said as he looked
at his Venezuelan colleague, according to the Diario de
Pernambuco. "I was in the hotel with my comrade Marco Aurelio
watching TV and the propaganda against Chavez was of such
magnitude, so great were the personal offenses, that I could not
imagine how, in a democratic country, the press could act this
way against a president. And now we in Brazil are living through
something similar." President Lula went on berating the press
for accusing without substantiation of their charges, expressing
sympathy for other Brazilian Presidents (Kubitschek and Vargas)
whose presidencies ended under press accusations of misconduct.



5. (U) Lula returned to his praise for Chavez adding, "I often
tell Chavez, every time he has a fight with President Bush, I
say 'Chavez, patience, patience - these things one resolves by
talking a little more." Finally he added that "I want you to
leave Brazil with the conviction that when you have
difficulties, you can lie down each evening and say 'I know I am
not alone' because President Lula and a great portion of the
Brazilian people will be with you." The Brazilian president
also told his followers in Pernambuco that he would return to
the Northeast in January to inaugurate a 1,800 kilometer
railroad project to link the Suape port with the Ceara port of
Pecem, an investment of 4.5 billion reales (about 2.2 billion
dollars.)
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