ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS MEETING CRITICAL OF U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 002390 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY - PARA MARKINGS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV EC PREL UN IO SUBJECT: ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS MEETING CRITICAL OF U.S. REF: QUITO 2351 Classified By: PolOff Erik Martini for reasons 1.4 (B&D) ¶1. (C) Summary: At the Quito Regional Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations, President Palacio recycled his UNGA speech and Foreign Minister Carrion acted as host. Many participants openly attacked U.S. policies; others had only veiled criticism. Linked closely to the Academy of Latinicity ("Academie de la Latinite"),the meeting seemed more of a vehicle for Latin scholarship than concrete proposals. End Summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) With Department concurrence, the Ambassador attended an opening reception hosted by FM Carrion and PolOff attended the closing session of the Alliance of Civilization meeting in Quito September 23-24. The event attracted some big names in Ecuadorian politics: Nina Pacari, indigenous ex-foreign minister; former president Rodrigo Borja; and indigenous leader Auki Tituana, mayor of Cotacachi. Most of the speeches focused on human rights issues and the United Nations' role in the world. Some speakers were openly anti-American and others simply criticized hegemony without naming superpowers. The meeting showed strong links to the Brazil-based Academy of Latinicity, which held its annual conference simultaneously. Palacio On Unipolarity, UN Reform and a New World Order -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) President Alfredo Palacio gave the closing remarks to the Quito Regional Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations in the Guayasamin Foundation's Temple of Man on September 25. The Temple of Man is a cultural center created by and dedicated to one of Ecuador's most famous modern artists and indigenous advocates, Oswaldo Guayasamin. In remarks, Palacio called unipolarity the biggest threat to civilization in the world today. He declared himself in favor of UN Security Council "democratization" and a south-south axis. In an echo of his speech at the General Assembly, he reiterated Ecuador's vision of a new world order based upon economy, international rights and (oddly) biology. Other Participants Criticize U.S., Divide Civilizations -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) Before Palacio entered the room, Candido Mendes, a professor at his namesake university in Brazil and General Secretary of the Academy of Latinicity, spoke at length on SIPDIS Latinicity and the differences between the Latin world and Saxon world, including emphasis on the view that Latin cultures are more communal and open. He called the U.S. one of the most "potent threats to world stability" and criticized U.S. "democratic evangelization and worldwide hegemony." He cited Lopez Obrador's shadow government as an example of true democracy in action. ¶5. (U) Federico Mayor, representing UN SecGen Kofi Annan, chaired the Quito Regional Meeting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Guayasamin Foundation also sponsored. Federico Mayor is the President of the Academy of Latinicity and an ex-UNESCO Director. His speech was not as anti-U.S. as Candido Mendes', but emphasized differences between Latin and non-Latin western cultures. "There is a West that is Europe that must play a great role as defender of human rights and democracy. We have a North-American West and, fortunately, a West that is Latin American." Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The Quito Regional Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations seemed intended more to sub-divide civilization (in this case, solely Western civilization, into its Latin and non-Latin elements) rather than seek to bring distinct civilizations together to explore shared values. GOE participation was more symbolic than substantive. The most anti-U.S. rhetoric came from non-Ecuadorian academics and cultural officials. JEWELL