MEDIA REACTION VENEZUELAN/BRAZILIAN CLASH

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001069 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION VENEZUELAN/BRAZILIAN CLASH BOLIVIAN GAS NATIONALIZATION WAR IN IRAQ STATEMENTS FROM NOMINEE FOR US AMBASSADOR TO ARGENTINA EARL ANTHONY WAYNE THE VISIT OF US GENERAL CRADDOCK TO ARGENTINA MERCOSUR 05/11/06 ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Today's key international stories include the clash between Venezuela and Brazil over the Bolivian gas crisis; the implications of Bolivian nationalization of the energy sector; the aftermath of the war in Iraq; the statements made by nominee for US Ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne; the visit of US General Craddock to Argentina; and the fragile status of Mercosur. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES - "Clash between Venezuela and Brazil due to the Bolivian gas crisis" Eleonora Gosman, Sao Paulo-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," writes (05/11) "The relationship between Brazil and Venezuela is tense for the first time in years. Yesterday, Caracas returned, 'surprised,' Brazil's criticism. One day before, Brazilian FM Celso Amorin told the Senate of his country that he is 'disgusted' by Hugo Chavez's influence' on the nationalization of Bolivian oil. "The Brazilian president even expressed his 'disgust' with his Venezuelan counterpart during last week meeting in Puerto Iguazu... "... Yesterday, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry reacted with 'much surprise' to the statements made by the Brazilian FM and Lula's main advisor on foreign affairs, who referred to a return of the Cold War because of Hugo Chavez's clashes with the US. Caracas sustained it did not influence Morales' decision to nationalize hydrocarbons." - "Jigsaw puzzle" Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarin," writes (05/11) "South America seems to be breaking down through a visible destruction of old alliances. "The Andean Community of Nations has been broken. Mercosur is resented by asymmetries that are suffocating its minor partners and by the battle between Argentina and Uruguay. Venezuela's oil diplomacy is not far from having unleashed al those effects. Its influence in the Southern Cone, which many consider arrogant, was related to the changes in Bolivia... "Now, the clash between Brasilia and Caracas is another piece that got loose in the regional jigsaw puzzle. To make matters worse, there is an air of confrontation over the leadership of this implacable maze." - "State-control comeback" James Neilson, contributor to liberal, English- language "Buenos Aires Herald," writes (05/11) "... According to Evo Morales and his admirers, his country's oil industry now belongs to all Bolivians. Does it? Not really, just to some. Though the new management will certainly be unlike the old, those involved in it will be equally determined to ensure that the profits stay in the right hands, namely theirs. This is what happened in Argentina when YPF... was part of the 'national patrimony,' and there is no reason to suspect that YPFB... will be any different. "Privatization came into fashion throughout Latin America a decade-and-a-half ago, not because politicians such as Carlos Menem let themselves be convinced by neo-liberal theories, but because most allegedly public companies were a miserable mess." - "The punished partners of war" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (05/11) "According to the head of the US Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld, they represented the 'new Europe,' the US-friendly leaders, far from the 'old Europe,' represented by Germany and France. It was during the period running up to the invasion of Iraq... "In spite of doubts and protest demonstrations in several capital cities of the world, the four leaders announced that they would never let Saddam use WMD. Other leaders joined them... Three years later, the chore of the 'new Europe' is broken into pieces, while nothing is known about Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. "... In the case of Bush, his weakening is not only due to the war in Iraq (his weakest point),but to the status of the US economy and the immigration debate... However, the White House is confident that Bush's luck will differ from that of the leaders who supported him in the campaign against Saddam Hussein." - "Washington asks (Argentina) to improve investment climate" Conservative "La Prensa" reports (05/11) "The nominee for US ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne, said yesterday that the government should create 'a more favorable climate' for investment in order to continue on the road of economic recovery. "During a hearing at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Wayne said that Argentina's economy has been growing at 9% ever since 2002 'terrible crisis.' "However, he pointed out that for the country's economy 'to continue growing at its current pace and attend to the critical problem posed by poverty, it is crucial that it continues creating a more favorable environment for national and foreign investors." - "According to the US, Argentina should improve its investment climate" Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," comments (05/11) "If Earl Anthony Wayne is confirmed by the US Senate as the new US ambassador to Argentina..., his three priority issues will be business climate, expansion of bilateral trade and FTAA promotion. "And he will insist that the Kirchner administration should 'honor its commitments' related to the Bilateral Investment Treaty between the US and Argentina... "Wayne remarked that he 'would seek to strengthen bilateral ties'... and counteract the 'negative image the US has in Argentina.'" - "The cop of the world" Left-of-center "Pagina 12" carries an opinion piece by Juan Gelman, writer, who writes (05/11) "It does not merely come down to 'pre-emptive attacks' against wicked countries. After three years of work, the US Special Operations Command has completed a plan of clandestine military interventions in nations not at war and which do not represent any danger for the US national security... "... The US president's desire of absolute power increasingly concerns the so-called 'realistic' conservative sectors, particularly with respect to the 'antiterrorist war' and the reduction in the faculties of the Legislative Power." - "US military chief wants information about new (Argentine) espionage" Edgardo Aguilera, columnist of business-financial "Ambito Financiero," comments (05/11) "Argentine Defense Minister Nilda Garre will meet today with US General Craddock, head of the US South Command... "The US general has come from Uruguay... and decided to make a stop in Buenos Aires en route to Chile perhaps not to rebuff Garre. According to its Website, the South Command is focused on the global war on terrorism and on preventing terrorist groups from using the region as a sanctuary to prepare operations against the US and its vital interests in the region. One can infer that Craddock and Garre will have little in common... The Argentine Defense Minister's new initiative eliminated from the Armed Forces' tasks that of confronting the threat posed by international terrorism." ¶3. EDITORIALS - "Mercosur fails without real integration" Business-financial "El Cronista's" editorial reads (05/11) "... Mercosur will not be sustainable in the medium term if it is only based on the bilateral ties between Argentina and Brazil. The understanding between the two main partners is necessary, although not enough. "The commercial strength of Mercosur will fade away if minor partners, such as Paraguay and Uruguay, are not taken into account. "Mercosur has not met its main goals, such as the implementation of a free trade area and a custom union with really common rules and tariffs. It is also affected by clashes like that of paper mills and Venezuela's political diatribes." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires GUTIERREZ