UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES'S VISIT TO SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SAO PAULO 000293

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R, PA, WHA/BSC, AND WHA/PDA
NSC FOR SCRONIN
STATE PASS USTR FOR SULLIVAN/LEZNY
DEPT OF TREASURY FOR FPARODI
USDOC FOR 332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/JANDERSEN/ADRISCOLL/MWARD
USDOC ALSO FOR 3134/USFCS/OIO/EOLSON/DDEVITO/DANDERSON

TAGS: OVIP SCUL OEXC KPAO PREL PGOV OIIP BR
SUBJECT: UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES'S VISIT TO SAO PAULO, BRAZIL


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SUMMARY
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1. During her March 12-14 visit to Sao Paulo, Under Secretary for
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes delivered a message
on shared values and common interests to a wide range of Brazilian
audiences. U/S Hughes met with a group of Brazilian Youth
Ambassadors and attended a cultural performance by a youth dance
group. She participated in a breakfast meeting with women leaders
and a lunch with key opinion-makers. In addition, she gave a speech
to a large group of students at Mackenzie University's School of
Communications and took questions from the audience; gave an
interview to the Executive Editor of the large-circulation weekly
magazine "Veja;" visited the "Meninos de Morumbi" social project
where she engaged in an informal discussion with young people; and
participated in a Consulate Town Hall Meeting. Her willingness to
discuss U.S. foreign policy with a variety of interlocutors helped
put a human face on the oft-criticized USG. End Summary.

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"FEIJOADA" WITH YOUTH AMBASSADORS
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2. On March 12, the afternoon of her arrival, U/S Hughes met at the
Consul General's (CG) residence over lunch with a group of 10 Youth
Ambassadors from Sao Paulo state. During a collective meeting with
the group to discuss the significance of their program in the U.S.
and how they have shared their experiences with their school
colleagues and communities, U/S Hughes and WHA Assistant Secretary
Tom Shannon were made honorary Youth Ambassadors and presented with
Youth Ambassador T-shirts in the presence of print and television
media. The meeting was followed by a traditional Brazilian
"feijoada" lunch on the patio, during which U/S Hughes had the
opportunity to talk with the Youth Ambassadors individually,
exploring their plans for the future and how they saw their
distinction as a Youth Ambassador as influencing their
opportunities. U/S Hughes expressed her conviction that these young
leaders represented the future of Brazil, and that the country would
be in good hands. She also praised the program for selecting
community-spirited students from disadvantaged circumstances, and
indicated that she would be interested in identifying this program
as a "best practice" and seeing it expand, ideally with private
sector support.


3. Following the late lunch meeting, U/S Hughes and her delegation,
together with the Youth Ambassadors, attended a dance performance,
"Milagrimas," given by a group of at-risk youth under the direction
of choreographer Ivaldo Bertazzo, well known in Brazil for his
innovative work and ability to achieve professional-level ensemble
performance with groups having no previous formal training. At the
conclusion of the performance, U/S Hughes and her group were invited
backstage to meet Mr. Bertazzo and the performers, providing an
opportunity for a group photo with the Youth Ambassadors and the
dance troupe, whom U/S Hughes also described as ambassadors for
Brazil.

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BREAKFAST WITH WOMEN LEADERS
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4. During a congenial 75-minute breakfast on March 13, U/S Hughes
met with Brazilian women leaders in the fields of justice, business,
law, education, and the media. Participants included Maria Cecilia
Loschiavo, Associate Professor of Architecture and homeless
advocate; Claudia Lago, member of the Committee on Women's Rights at
the Brazilian Bar Association (Sao Paulo Chapter); Marilena
Lazzarini, founder and current coordinator of the Brazilian
Institute for Consumer Protection; Eleonora de Lucena, Executive

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Director of Brazil's largest-circulation daily, Folha de Sao Paulo;
Ivette Senise, former director (1998-2002) of the University of Sao
Paulo Law School; Maria Cristina Zucchi, Judge on the Court of
Appeals of Sao Paulo; and Leticia Massula, an attorney engaged in
the fight against trafficking in persons.


5. Topics of discussion included the current status of women in
Brazilian society, particularly equal access to education and
professional advancement. Participants agreed that, while Brazilian
girls do have access to education, their post-education employment
opportunities are more limited than those of males. Moreover, while
professional, upper-class women enjoy salaries on a par with those
of their male colleagues, lower-class women do not. Of all
categories of society, Afro-Brazilian women have the least access to
education and professional advancement. Participants stated that
while equality exists in law, reality has not yet caught up. The
table was enthusiastic about the recent election of Michelle
Bachelet as President of Chile and discussed the possibility of a
woman being elected President of the United States. U/S Hughes
emphasized the commonality between North and South America, and the
desire of all women for a safe and secure environment and
opportunities for a better life for their children.


6. Participants took the opportunity to ask the Under Secretary
questions about abortion law in the U.S., public opinion on same-sex
marriages, and American women's views on the war in Iraq. The
breakfast concluded with enthusiastic requests on the part of the
participants for continued dialog, the development of a women's
working group, and a possible international women's conference.

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SPEECH AND DISCUSSION WITH STUDENTS
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7. After a brief meeting with the President of Mackenzie University
at which she discussed possibilities for additional U.S.-Brazil
educational exchanges, U/S Hughes delivered a thirty-minute speech
on democracy and U.S.-Brazil cooperation. Following the speech,
Hughes and A/S Shannon responded to a variety of questions from the
journalism and communications students. The questions covered both
U.S. foreign and domestic policy, and many focused on U.S. policy in
Iraq and on the situation of poor people and minorities in the
United States. Students also asked about U.S. relations with Mexico
and Uruguay. Some examples of specific questions included, "Is
Mexico autonomous from the United States?"; "What is the USG doing
about the problem of racial inequality in the United States?"; and
"How is Iran different from Iraq?"

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LUNCH WITH OPINION MAKERS
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8. U/S Hughes lunched with five Brazilian academic, business,
government, and media leaders at the CG's residence. The guests
were Roberto Civita, President of Editora Abril; former Foreign
Minister Celso Lafer; Jose Goldemberg, Sao Paulo State Secretary for
Environmental Affairs; Roberto Gianetti da Fonseca of SILEX
Financial Consulting; and Helio Magalhaes, President of the Sao
Paulo AMCHAM. Three topics of discussion emerged: U.S.
environmental policy, U.S.-Brazil free trade, and nuclear weapons
proliferation.


9. Brazilian leaders expressed concern over the USG's seemingly
inconsistent policy on environmental protection, citing the
groundbreaking U.S. Clean Air Act on the one hand versus the USG's
opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. The guests hailed the
environmentally-friendly progress Brazil has made in replacing
fossil fuel energy with sugar cane-based ethanol. This change has
helped make Brazil a "net zero" importer of fuel. U/S Hughes

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underscored President Bush's commitment to reducing America's
dependency on fossil fuel energy.


10. Consistent with previous messages, the Brazilian guests
stressed that American agricultural subsidies are the major obstacle
to Brazil's supporting FTAA. One participant asserted that the USG
has never made a compelling argument as to how FTAA would benefit
Brazilian citizens and companies. Another said Brazil has put
itself in a difficult position by not working actively with the U.S.
on FTAA. As a result, the U.S. has negotiated a series of bilateral
free trade agreements that have effectively isolated Brazil and have
threatened Brazil's access to other Latin American markets as well
as to the United States.


11. Finally, U/S Hughes and her guests talked about nuclear
proliferation issues. She outlined the advantages of the new
U.S.-India agreement. She also voiced the USG's continued concern
over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

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OTHER ACTIVITIES
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12. U/S Hughes and her delegation met briefly with the staff of
ConGen Sao Paulo, where she delivered brief remarks on
transformational diplomacy and discussed the central role of public
diplomacy in our work, and then took questions.


13. U/S Hughes ended her program with a visit late Monday to the
NGO "Meninos do Morumbi" (Children of Morumbi, located in a
relatively poor neighborhood of Sao Paulo). There she toured the NGO
and learned about how the USG, the GoB, other governments, and the
private sector have supported the organization's work with
underprivileged children. After a performance by the Meninos do
Morumbi band and dancers, she chatted with Brazilian youth between
the ages of 10 and 16 about their study and career aspirations, her
trip to Chile, and the role of women in society.

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PRESS COVERAGE
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14. Both TV Record and Rede TV news reports featured positive
coverage from Under Secretary Hughes's two-day visit to Sao Paulo.
TV Record's evening news carried images from the Under Secretary's
lunch Sunday with young leaders from the U.S. Embassy's Youth
Ambassadors program and her visit late Monday to the Meninos de
Morumbi youth program. Rede TV also covered her visit to the NGO
Meninos do Morumbi. The liberal daily Folha de Sao Paulo devoted a
four-column report with photo on U/S Hughes's lecture at Mackenzie
College. Online publications such as O Estado de Sco Paulo's news
agency "Agencia Estado" and the news service "Ultimo Segundo" also
reported on Hughes's speech and discussion with students. While the
Folha report focused on the students' criticism of Hughes's remarks,
the "Agencia Estado" and "Ultimo Segundo" reports noted the
criticism but also quoted professors and students who welcomed the
opportunity to have a frank discussion with a U.S. official.

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COMMENT
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15. U/S Hughes's visit enabled us to afford our key Brazilian
interlocutors, as well as a cross-section of students and youth, the
opportunity for a face-to-face exchange with a high-level USG
representative who was able to articulate the administration's
policies and the rationale behind current and sometimes
controversial U.S. foreign policy decisions. U/S Hughes's
willingness to engage with a wide range of audiences -- from

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students to former government ministers, explaining administration
foreign policy at one moment, and talking with Youth Ambassadors and
teenagers from Meninos do Morumbi -- about their impressions of the
U.S. and their plans for the future, helped to put a human face on
the USG, emphasizing the close ties and shared values between the
U.S. and Brazil. Overall, the visit measurably advanced our top
public diplomacy goals. End Comment.


16. This cable was cleared/coordinated with Embassy Brasilia and
with U/S Hughes's delegation.

MCMULLEN