MEDIA REACTION - BOLIVIA MORALES INAUGURATION

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000150

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IIP/G/WHA, INR/R/MR, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA

AMEMBASSY FOR PAO/IO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO CI BL
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - BOLIVIA MORALES INAUGURATION



1. On January 23, government-owned, editorially independent "La
Nacion" (circ. 3,800) carried an op-ed by international commentator
Raul Sohr entitled, "The Indian and the Lady have the Word." Quote:

"Evo Morales' invitation for Lagos and President-elect Michelle
Bachelet to attend his inauguration is a clear signal. It is a hand
extended to the Chilean people and a chance not easily repeated....
This is a key moment, a window of opportunity.... If anyone has the
political authority to negotiate with Chile, it is Evo Morales. In
sum, the first Indian and the first woman elected in South
America...have the chance to go down in history as those who
restored diplomatic relations and a rapprochement between the two
nations."


2. On January 22, conservative, independent "La Tercera" (circ.
102,000) carried an article entitled, "Memo for Michelle Bachelet:
What to do with Evo Morales," in which Alvaro Vargas Llosa gives the
new Chilean president advice on relations with Bolivia. Quote:

"Don't think that because you are a leader of the left that
political affinity will weigh more than interests.... Lula and
Chavez will try to influence Morales and you will have to get Brazil
to play in favor of Chile.... Use (former President Ricardo) Lagos
as ambassador... Pay attention to the signals. The messages
Morales sent Chile are interesting, though unclear. Morales'
insistence that Chile be represented at the highest possible level
at his inauguration and his promise to 'responsibly' address the
issue of a passage to the Pacific are not minor coming from the man
who frustrated the export of Bolivia's natural gas through a Chilean
port and forced Carlos Mesa to make the controversy with Chile his
term's most important issue."


3. On January 21, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record "El
Mercurio" (circ. 116,807) ran a weekly round-up column entitled,
"Morales' Inauguration." Quote:

"Evo Morales will take office with unquestionable legitimacy and a
warm domestic and international welcome, but with marked
uncertainty. It is believed on this occasion there are guarantees
of stability given the new president's wide popular and foreign
support, but the lack of institutions in Bolivia and its serious
social problems make that support precarious.... The
materialization of international cooperation will depend on the
distance Morales chooses to keep from Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro,
the treatment he gives foreign investors, and the degree of
governance he exhibits. Brazil will play an important role given
its interest in Bolivia's gas fields and because of its role as
mediator between Bolivia and the U.S. The influence of the U.S.,
which wants to eradicate narcotics trafficking and is Bolivia's most
important supplier of aid, is also at stake."

KELLY