MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: LEFTIST LEANINGS IN

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000962 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: LEFTIST LEANINGS IN LATIN AMERICA; FREE TRADE; SAO PAULO Fighting Crime Article in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (9/3) says: "Militant anti-americanism is a contagious disease that corrodes the nerve cells of those who allow themselves to be contaminated. Lately, agents that enable contamination by this disease had a field day 'proving' that...the creation of the Regional Intelligence Center in Foz do Iguagu...the opening of a base for the National Anti-Drug Secretariat on the boarder city of Pedro Juan Caballero...plus the SIPDIS military maneuvers Americans hold periodically in Paraguay are unrefutable evidence that the U.S. has started the process of taking over the Southern Cone countries. That is complete nonsense...if the U.S. is interested...it is because they are the final destination of most of the narcotics that flow through those borders. It is, therefore, a legitimate interest. It is an even more legitimate interest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay to monitor, prevent and stop trafficking on their borders...and if the U.S. can contribute with financial and technical resources, so much the better." Modernizing Commercial Diplomacy Article in business-centered Valor Econtmico (9/5) states: "The recent suspension of the Doha Round caught Brazil off-guard, unlike most emerging countries...Betting everything on the WTO and neglecting regional and bilateral deals is a serious strategic mistake...Abandoning the FTAA and EU-Mercosul negotiations without offering any alternative as well as politicizing the Mercosul are policies that harm national interests...Our commercial diplomacy has fallen victim to extra-commercial interests, such as a seat at the Security Council, the integration demagogery lead by Chavez and an anti-americanism that cannot see the opportunities of access to the markets of North America. A significant change of course...would demand the creation in the executive-level of an agency solely dedicated to international negotiations, separate from the chancellery and with a specific mandate." McMullen