MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: BOLIVIA, VENEZUELA;

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 001058 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: BOLIVIA, VENEZUELA; COLOMBIA: FARC REBELS; SAO PAULO ¶1. "Instability Increase in Bolivia" Business-oriented Valor Economico editorialized (10/5): "President Evo Morales is engulfed in another wave of political instability. The polarization of forces intensified following the truce represented by the Constituent Assembly election and the referendum on the Bolivian provinces' autonomy.... The alliance between Morales and noisy Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez is another source of problems. A military agreement between the two nations, which had been kept in secrecy, was revealed in mid September. Its terms are not clear, but in the current Bolivian political climate many now believe that Venezuelan troops have permission to enter Bolivian territory in the event that the Morales administration faces problems. Those who think that Morales wants to imitate Chvez have their opinions reinforced.... In such a volatile environment, the Bolivian government has also found means to irritate foreign investors, especially Petrobras and the Brazilian government.... As a result, the supply of Bolivian gas to Brazil has never been as vulnerable as it is now." ¶2. "Ready For Dialogue" An editorial in liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de ¶S. Paulo commented (10/5): "Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's willingness to resume peace negotiations with the FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces),the main guerrilla group operating in that nation, is welcome.... Uribe has competently managed the guerrilla problem. First he weakened it through military means, and now that the guerrilla is very much weakened he suggests a dialogue.... If he succeeds, he will be considered a statesman. He will have healed the open wound that has tormented the Colombians' life for four decades and caused thousands of deaths." McMullen