MEDIA REACTION ON THE OAS SEC GEN ELECTION, APRIL

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000844 SIPDIS FOR IIP/G/WHA AND IIP/T/ES, FOR WHA/PDA, WHA/USOAS, AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP PREL KPAO PGOV KDEM HO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON THE OAS SEC GEN ELECTION, APRIL 21, 2005 ¶1. On 4/16, the San Pedro Sula-based liberal daily "Tiempo" carried an op-ed by Tulio Mariano Gonzalez entitled "OAS: New Winds." "The OAS candidate backed by the U.S had to resign due to a lack of necessary votes to survive. The attempt to unify the votes of former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores with Luis Ernest Derbez didn't succeed in defeating Chilean candidate Jose Miguel Insulza. The five ties in the elections showed the loss of U.S. power in the OAS." "The OAS is getting close to being an open space, transparent, and taking an initiative to stimulate the bilateral and multilateral cooperation that should have characterized it since its beginnings. Those moments of blind obedience are tumbling. No matter who turns out to be elected as Secretary General, we will be witnesses to a new era." ¶2. On 4/18, the Tegucigalpa-based liberal daily "La Tribuna" published an editorial entitled, "North-South." "After five consecutive ties in the OAS election, it is evident that the continent is divided." "The Mexican candidate Derbez has even been pointed to as `imposed by the United States,' which we know that his candidacy was to fight for the place Francisco Flores was taking." "The OAS election has evidenced the fragmentation of the hemisphere. For the Central American region, the unfortunate part of these events is that we lost two opportunities to have a Secretary General." Pierce