Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MONTEVIDEO1068
2006-11-06 19:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Montevideo
Cable title:  

LACKLUSTER XVI IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN MONTEVIDEO

Tags:  PREL AORC SOCI XM SP PO UY 
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TAGS: PREL AORC SOCI XM SP PO UY
SUBJECT: LACKLUSTER XVI IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN MONTEVIDEO

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 001068

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TAGS: PREL AORC SOCI XM SP PO UY
SUBJECT: LACKLUSTER XVI IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN MONTEVIDEO


1. (SBU) Summary: The XVI Ibero-American Summit took place in
Montevideo on 3-5 November without major logistical or
security incidents. Leaders from 22 Latin American and
European countries focused on "Migration and Development,"
though we detected few concrete accomplishments in these
areas. There was some U.S. bashing against its plans to
build a fence along its border with Mexico and against the
Cuban embargo. The biggest story was the no-show of
important attendees, including the Presidents of Brazil,
Venezuela, Cuba and Peru, a particular disappointment to the
Uruguayan hosts who had invested great effort into the
biggest event here in many years. Lack of meaningful
participation by Mercosur Presidents underscored ongoing
problems within the trading bloc. Nevertheless, there were
some interesting outcomes: Spain's King Juan Carlos offered
to help with the long-running dispute between Uruguay and
Argentina over pulp mills, Chile's President Michelle
Bachelet had positive things to say about its FTA with the
U.S. and the Summit produced a detailed report on migration
from Latin American countries. The communique against
terrorism appears useful and the separate summit by
entrepreneurs in Punta del Este raised important questions
about investment climate. An Argentine-sponsored declaration
on the Falklands Islands called for quick resumption of
negotiations. End Summary.


2. (U) The XVI Ibero-American Summit officially opened at a
ceremony on the evening of November 3. Throughout the Summit,
a portion of the city of Montevideo was cordoned off and most
principals were lodged at a single hotel (the Raddisson).
Montevideo's international airport was temporarily closed on
the afternoon of November 2 due to a bomb threat. The
Uruguayan armed forces augmented police security with rarely
seen combat aircraft and ships. There were no major security
incidents, except for small protests by anti-Summit,
anti-globalization fringe groups. The closing press
conference was held at noon on November 5. It was hosted by
President Vazquez and included the King of Spain, Michelle

Bachelet, UNSYG Kofi Annan and the forum's first
Secretary-General Enrique Iglesias.

SIPDIS


3. (U) Perhaps the biggest story was the non-participation by
important personalities; a record seven heads of State did
not attend. Brazil's President Lula da Silva explained that
he could not attend because of exhaustion after his election
campaigning. Later, he was filmed strolling on a Brazilian
beach in an unflattering Speedo, and pictures of Lula's
vacation adorned the pages of Uruguayan dailies along with
coverage of the summit he had shunned. Presidents from Cuba,
Peru, Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
did not attend for various reasons. Queen Sofia of Spain
also canceled because of the flu. Cuba was represented by
Vice-President Lage. President Kirchner of Argentina arrived
late, missed the opening ceremony and departed Saturday
afternoon without meeting with President Vazquez. President
Vazquez responded to criticism about the absences by saying,
"All Latin American countries were present, 16 were
represented by their presidents, five by their
vice-presidents and three by their ministers of foreign
affairs."


4. (SBU) Perhaps most galling to the GOU (in particular to
the left-wing of the Frente Amplio) was the last minute
no-show of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who stayed home
ostensibly to participate in campaigning. In a rush to
please Chavez, the Frente-dominated Chamber of Deputies had
approved Venezuela's entry into Mercosur through a special
session that began in the wee hours of November 2. (The
Senate had approved it earlier in the week.) After Chavez'
no-show at the Summit, the conservative daily "El Pais"
called the fast-tracking of Venezuelan membership into
Mercosur a "servile act." (Note: A news article in the daily
"Ultimas Noticias" implied that to make up for his absence,
Chavez was sending $20 million to upgrade a public hospital.
End Note.)

Press Reactions
--------------

5. (U) While Montevideo's inhabitants complained about
disruption to the downtown area, other editorials lamented
the low level of participation, and questioned Spain's
leadership of the Summit process and Vazquez' inability to
get his Mercosur partners to attend. On November 3, an
editorial in the conservative daily "El Pais" asked "what
will become of Latin American solidarity when we don't have
President Bush to criticize?" The paper also carried a
full-page paid ad signed by former presidents Patricio Aylwin
(Chile),Armando Calderon (El Salvador),Luis Alberto Monge
(Costa Rica),and Luis Alberto Lacalle (Uruguay) in the form
of an open letter. The letter called on Summit participants
to enforce the 1996 Summit's declaration on human rights,
noting that Cuba had not complied with the declaration's
human right requirements.

Pulp Mill Dispute
--------------

6. (SBU) Throughout the Summit, Argentine protesters blocked
two of the three international bridges linking Argentina and
Uruguay to protest construction of pulp mills on a shared
river. They also constructed a low cinder block wall on one
of the bridges. Presidents Kirchner and Vazquez did not meet
during the course of Kirchner's brief visit, partly because
Vazquez said that talks could not take place while the
bridges were blocked. In a surprise development at the
Summit, the Spaniards offered King Juan Carlos de Borbon to
"mediate" the paper mill controversy. Both sides' initial
reactions were positive, though it is unclear what the offer
truly entails.

Business Summit
--------------

7. (U) Parallel to the Ibero-American Summit, some of the
region's most prominent entrepreneurs gathered at the second
"Ibero-American Impresario Encounter" at a posh hotel in the
seaside resort of Punta del Este. The entrepreneurs sought
among other things "clear rules of the game (for investors),
respect for the rule of law and for private property, and
democratic values". They also called on Summit leaders to
fight corruption, respect contracts and engage in social
dialogue. These efforts, they said, are aimed at capturing
and preserving the "economic bonanza" currently being
experienced in Latin America. Ibero-American
Secretary-General Enrique Iglesias and Uruguayan Economy and

SIPDIS
Finance Minister Danilo Astori also attended the conference.
Astori said that "a permanent increase in productive
investment has to be the cornerstone" of maintaining the
economic bonanza.

Speeches and Documents
--------------

8. (U) Full texts of the final documents can be found on a
handy web site at www.xvicumbre.org.uy. Included are: The
Final Resolution of Montevideo on Migration and Development
by Heads of State and Government of the Ibero-American
Community, The Declaration of Montevideo, The Ibero-American
Cultural Letter, and "special communiques" on Colombia, the
Cuban Blockade and Helms-Burton, Energy and Sustainable
Development, the Panama Canal, Gender, the Falklands Islands,
the Fence on the U.S.-Mexican Border, and Terrorism. The
final documents include criticism of the U.S. for its
"blockade" of Cuba and for the "wall" to be built along the
U.S.-Mexican border. Presidents Fox, Morales, Bachelet and
the Venezuelan delegation sharply criticized the wall in
their public statements. Lage is quoted as saying that
"Emigration is a right that must be respected." Spain and
Mexico were at odds over the inclusion of "human rights for
migrants." Bolivia's Evo Morales made some attendees
uncomfortable when he said, "When immigration came from north
to south, there were no walls or deportations, but that is
what we face now." Morales also told his own story of when he
was a union activist arriving in Madrid and was asked to pay
$500 to enter the country.

Comment:
--------------

9. (SBU) While we are still sifting through the speeches and
documents and consulting with our contacts who attended, our
impression is that the XVI Ibero-American Summit was long on
style and quite short on substance. We could detect no major
advances in the stated themes, though the "Commitment on
Immigration and Development" document is aimed at promoting
the defense of immigrant's rights and economic development to
stem emigration. The real story was the no-shows and minimal
participation by important leaders, a significant letdown
that speaks volumes to the cohesion of a group of countries
sharing much in terms of history, culture and language. We
understand that cohesion is to be a major theme at next
year's Ibero-American Summit in Chile. Internally, Chavez's
no-show ridiculed the radical wing of the Frente, which had
gone out of its way to ram congressional approval of
Venezuela's entry into Mercosur. As for Mercosur, its lack
of cohesion was evidenced by the no-show of two of its
leaders and the fly-by appearance of a third. End Comment.
Nealon