SPAIN ON EU-LAC SUMMIT: "IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE"

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 001260

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016
TAGS: PREL SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN ON EU-LAC SUMMIT: "IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE"

REF: A. MADRID 1231


B. MADRID 1107

C. SANTIAGO 1042

Classified By: PolCouns Kathy Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. In a broad discussion on May 17 that
included Spain,s plans for the EU review of Cuba policy in
June, MFA DG for Latin America Javier Sandomingo told
Polcouns that Spain was satisfied with the outcome of the
recent EU-Latin America/Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit in Vienna.
He said that the Summit provoked good discussions on
increasing ties between the two regions without "serving as
an ideological platform for any of the participants.".
Sandomingo said that President Zapatero chose to meet with
Bolivian President Morales in Vienna (after lengthy
consideration) in order to encourage him towards moderation,
because Spain won't close the door in the face of one of the
poorest countries in Latin America, and to counter Spanish
opposition accusations that Zapatero had allied Spain with
Chavez and Castro at the expense ties with moderate leaders.
He praised new Chilean President Bachelet and called her
visit to Spain a PR event in which Spain reveled in the
chance to celebrate a good Latin American government. On
Peru, Sandomingo said that Spain hopes to see Alan Garcia
become an effective counterweight to Hugo Chavez. Polcouns
suggested that we think about timing for another US-Spain
high-level working group meeting on Latin America.
Sandomingo agreed that with so much happening in Latin
America, it is critical for the US and Spain to keep talking
about the issues and noted that September's UNGA might be the
right setting for the next high-level meeting on Latin
America. END SUMMARY.

-- THE VIENNA SUMMIT --


2. (C) Polcouns met with MFA DG for Latin America Javier
Sandomingo on May 17 about a range of Latin America issues.
Sandomingo lamented that most Spanish press coverage of the
EU-LAC Summit in Vienna was unfairly negative. He said that
not only was the timing of the Summit important, given recent
problems within the Andean Community and Mercosur, and the
need to press Central American integration, but the outcomes
were much better than they might have been. According to
Sandomingo, despite the ruckus that Hugo Chavez has created
within the Andean Community, the EU was clear at the Summit
that the door is open to begin negotiations on a trade
agreement right away, whether with three countries or four.


3. (C) He also pointed to two Summit outcomes that should
strengthen EU-LAC ties. First, as part of an accord that
Spain signed with Chile regarding cooperation in Haiti, they
will try to get the EU, Caricom, and other regional
institutions more involved in developing and implementing
development projects. Second, they will proceed with
creation of a EU-Caribbean-Latin American foundation, modeled
on CEF, that would provide a more permanent link. Sandomingo
stressed that Spain's hope is to strengthen ties through
existing institutions, not to create new institutions.
Sandomingo also took pains to describe how bad the Summit
might have been. He said that it was very well attended, and
that no one was able to hijack the final declaration for
propaganda purposes (NOTE: A reference to Cuba and
Venezuela's performance at last fall's Iberoamerican Summit
in Salamanca Spain. END NOTE).

-- BOLIVIA --


4. (C) Regarding President Zapatero's meeting with Bolivian
President Morales in Vienna, Sandomingo said that the GOS
thought hard about whether to accept the meeting, given
Bolivia's recent posture towards Spain and Spanish companies
(ref A & B). He said that Bolivia has shown poor form in
opting to use brinksmanship for every initiative it pursues,
but the GOS understands the domestic political necessities
related to the upcoming constituent assembly in Bolivia that
are driving Morales to take these actions. The GOS finally
decided that taking the meeting was worth the trouble since
it would provide Zapatero with another opportunity to try to
convince Morales to make a deal with Repsol and other Spanish
companies that have been affected by recent GOB actions.
Zapatero made the case that the Repsol and airports issues
need to be resolved properly or Bolivia will lose foreign
investment and much-needed technical assistance. Sandomingo
emphasized that Spain maintains dialog with all countries,
and particularly is not going to isolate one of Latin
America's poorest countries. He also said that Spain does
not see any alternative to Evo Morales right now. Responding
to an observation of increased Cuban activism in Bolivia,
Sandomingo said he knew newly-designated Cuban Ambassador to
Bolivia Rafael Dausa quite well and, unfortunately, expected
him to be an effective promoter of Castro's interests in
Bolivia.

-- VENEZUELA AND PERU --


5. (C) Sandomingo was more upbeat on Venezuela, where he saw
a growing number of political alternatives to Chavez. He
said that the opposition, though still very weak, is
beginning to better organize itself. Sandomingo observed
that Chavez's obvious failure to deliver improved social and
economic conditions despite years of high oil revenues was
breeding discontent among ordinary Venezuelans, a frustration
that the opposition could channel. He also noted that
Chavez's intervention in the elections in Peru and Mexico had
backfired and suggested that Venezuelan's open support for
Bolivia's nationalization of the energy sector had drawn the
ire of a previously complacent Brazilian government.
Sandomingo said he was convinced that Alan Garcia had
purposely drawn Chavez into the Peruvian electoral campaign,
where Chavez's comments had rebounded much to Garcia's
benefit. He called Alan Garcia a better potential president
than Lourdes Flores because Garcia can be an effective
leftist counterweight to Chavez. Sandomingo said that Spain
hopes that Garcia will be new and improved since his last
term, and sees him in a Tabare Vasquez mode.

-- CHILE --


6. (C) Regarding the visit of Chile's new President Bachelet,
Sandomingo said that what was intended as a working visit
turned into essentially a state visit and a PR event. He
said that Spain and Chile have no bilateral problems at the
moment and Spain was enthusiastic to celebrate Bachelet's
type of leadership. He complained that the opposition
Popular Party (PP) and some media constantly accused Spain of
leading a "Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia axis" when in fact
Spain's closest partners in the region were Chile, Brazil,
and Mexico, and to a lesser extent Colombia and Argentina.
On the UNSC elections, Sandomingo said that MFA had put
forward a clear point for Zapatero to present to Bachelet,
emphasizing that Spain would vote for Guatemala, not
Venezuela (ref C).

-- CUBA --


7. (C) Polcouns raised the June EU discussion on Cuba, asking
if Spain planned any new initiative. Sandomingo said that he
was aware of rumors that Spain has another initiative up its
sleeve to seek improved relations with Cuba, but insisted
that it does not. He said that Spain and some other EU
members would like to gain Cuba's agreement to participate in
official human rights discussions with the EU, but there is
no sign of Cuba's willingness to do so. Nor was there any
sign of Cuba's readiness to release political prisoners or
otherwise improve political conditions, and thus no reason
for Spain to call for a shift in EU policy. Sandomingo did
say that Spain would resist efforts to re-impose the 2003
restrictive measures and since, in the Zapatero Government's
view, direct conflict with Castro would not improve political
conditions and would undermine Spain's long-term strategy in
Cuba. Overall, he viewed the Castro regime as satisfied with
its current economic and political situation, and thus
unmotivated to negotiate with the EU or anyone else.

-- URUGUAY --


8. (C) Finally, Sandomingo said that Uruguayan President
Tabare Vasquez did not ask for EU or Spanish assistance in
dealing with Argentina. Sandomingo said that he had just
been in Uruguay, and noted how high the dislike of Argentina
is there at the moment. He said that Argentine President
Kirchner had raised the case with Spanish President Zapatero
as an environmental issue, but Zapatero "knew that Uruguay is
obviously right legally" and did not give him any support.

-- COMMENT --


9. (C) The Zapatero government clearly is seeking to
counter/avoid PP criticism that it has courted the likes of
Chavez and Morales to no avail. In fact, the GOS outreach
has not resulted in avoiding huge detriment to major Spanish
national interests. This may help us as we seek to temper
Spanish moves related to Cuba and make them more willing to
be work with us to balance the image that they have supported
radicals in the region. We want to continue the high-level
working group; September could be the right timing for a more
formal session but we will continue to encourage informal
ties in between.
MANZANARES