MORALES HOPES TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA IN EARLY 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 004710

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2016
TAGS: PREL BO SF
SUBJECT: MORALES HOPES TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA IN EARLY 2007

REF: A. PRETORIA 3182

B. PRETORIA 128

C. PRETORIA 151

D. PRETORIA 4598

Classified By: Political Counselor Raymond Brown. Reasons 1.4(b) and (
d).


1. (C) Bolivian President Morales is seeking to travel to
South Africa in early 2007 for the first meeting of the South
African-Bolivian Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM),
according to Annelize Schroeder, DFA Deputy Director for the
Andes and Cuba. Schroeder said that Bolivia hopes to open an
embassy in Pretoria during Morales' visit. The planned visit
of Vice President Garcia Linera for late 2006 has been
postponed because Morales himself wanted to visit South
Africa. The South African and Bolivian governments are
currently negotiating the date for the Morales visit, which
will depend largely on President Mbeki's schedule.


2. (C) Schroeder, who accompanied Minister for the Presidency
Essop Pahad on his trip to Bolivia in July (Ref A),said that
Morales told Pahad he views South Africa as a "role model"
and wants to learn from its experiences. She noted that
links between Pretoria and La Paz are deepening. Morales
visited South Africa in January (Refs B and C) at the
invitation of the Club de Madrid. Minister of Transport and
close Mbeki ally Jeff Radebe attended the August opening of
the Bolivian Constituent Assembly. Schroeder also said that
the South African Ministry of Minerals and Energy is working
on concrete cooperation projects with their Bolivian
counterparts, focused on energy legislation and policy.


3. (C) The African National Congress (ANC) plans to send a
delegation to Bolivia in late January 2007, according to
National Executive Council member Ebrahim Ebrahim (see Ref D
for bio-note). Ebrahim, who has been involved in Bolivia for
one and a half years through the Club de Madrid, said that
ANC Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe has agreed to lead
the delegation, which would also include the head of the
South African Communist Party Blade Nzimande and trade union
leader and COSATU Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi. Ebrahim
said that it was critical to bring the SACP and COSATU
leaders on the trip, since they can "talk the leftist
language," which is important to Morales and his inner circle.


4. (C) During his recent trip to Bolivia, Ebrahim said that
President Morales met with him privately. Ebrahim sensed
that Morales was somewhat "overwhelmed" by the presidency and
said he requested guidance and advice from South Africans.
Ebrahim expressed concern that Morales had not fully taken on
board the ANC message about reconciliation. For this reason,
he has pushed the idea of an ANC delegation to build party
links and help guide the Bolivians. Ebrahim said that "we
need to ensure that Venezuela is not Morales' only reference
point."


5. (C) COMMENT: South Africa does not have significant
political or economic interests in Bolivia, but believes
strongly that its experience in ending apartheid through
negotiation and reconciliation can be exported to other
countries in transition. We expect that President Mbeki will
agree to a Morales visit, and that ties between the two
countries will continue to deepen, as long as Bolivia remains
interested. END COMMENT.
BOST