LULA, CHAVEZ SPAR OVER BRAZILIAN SENATE RESOLUTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001034 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECPS ETRD BR VE SUBJECT: LULA, CHAVEZ SPAR OVER BRAZILIAN SENATE RESOLUTION REF: BRASILIA 751 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. President Lula and Venezuelan President Chavez sparred in the media over Chavez's criticism of the Brazilian Senate's resolution on the RCTV forced closure on May 28, giving additional stress to an already frayed friendship. What began as a polite refusal by Lula to criticize Chavez's action became a strong repudiation of Bolivarian rhetoric and a diplomatic incident after Chavez insulted the Brazilian Congress. While Lula reacted strongly to Chavez's criticism of the Congress, he is still not ready to criticize the RCTV closure. And Lula's foreign policy adviser, Marco Aurelio Garcia, drew a shocked reaction in Brazil's media when he defended Chavez's action during an interview on June ¶3. Opposition senators said Venezuela is not a good partner for Brazil or Mercosul and on June 4 threatened to block Venezuela's full accession to Mercosul. End summary. ¶2. (U) When President Lula was first asked by media to comment on the then-impending closure on May 28 of RCTV by the Chavez government, he gave only a curt reply to the effect that Brazil had no business interfering in a TV concession in Venezuela. Trading Fire ¶3. (SBU) The matter might have been left at that, with no damage to the Brazil-Venezuela bilateral relationship, but the Brazilian Senate had a different view of the RCTV affair. On May 30, two days after RCTV ceased operations, the Senate approved a resolution asking the Venezuelan government to reconsider its decision and to return the concession to the TV station. Prominent senators, including former President Jose Sarney, placed the issue firmly in the context of freedom of expression and threats to democracy in the region. ¶4. (SBU) Chavez quickly fired back. In an interview with a TV station, he "sent his condolences" to the Brazilian people for having a Congress that repeats the positions of the U.S. "like a parrot" and said Brazil's congressmen should take care of Brazil's internal problems. Chavez said it would be much easier for the Portuguese empire to return to Brazil than for him to issue the broadcasting concession. ¶5. (U) Speaking with reporters afterward, Lula rebuked Chavez: "We are all adults and each one of us has to take responsibility for what he says. Chavez has to take care of Venezuela, I have to take care of Brazil, Bush has to take care of the U.S. and so forth. Every country does things in the most sovereign way that it can." ¶6. (U) On May 31, with President Lula in London, the Foreign Ministry published a press release providing Lula's additional reaction to statements "attributed to President Chavez concerning the Brazilian Congress." It said, "President Lula reaffirmed his complete support for Brazilian institutions and expressed his repudiation for expressions that call into question the independence, dignity and democratic principles of those institutions." It noted that Lula ordered the Foreign Minister to summon the Venezuelan Ambassador in Brasilia, General Julio Garcia Montoya, to Itamaraty to provide official explanations about the declarations made by Chavez. ¶7. (U) Chavez responded by saying that Brazil's Congress had made a "rude communique," to which he had been forced to respond, and Venezuela will not accept interference in its internal affairs. Escalation Sets In, and Brazil's Congress Counterattacks ¶8. (SBU) Deputy Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-Sao Paulo),President of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house),said the criticisms could interfere in the integration process of Venezuela within Mercosul, since Brazil's Congress still must decide when the agreement will go into effect. (Note: Venezuela is a conditional member of Mercosul and needs the approval of the four full members to become a full member. Argentina and Paraguay have already voted to approve, while Brazil and Uruguay have not. End note.) Sen. Romero Juca (PMDB-Roraima),government leader in the Senate, stated that the BRASILIA 00001034 002 OF 002 declaration made by Chavez was unfortunate and he defended the recommendation made by the Brazilian senators to Chavez to reopen RCTV. According to Juca, Brazil's Senate has the right and the duty to take an interest in what goes on in South America, since it is not only an issue of Venezuela's domestic affairs, but rather a question of democracy. ¶9. (U) On June 4, Senate leaders of the two largest opposition parties, the PSDB and DEM, threatened to block Venezuelan full accession to Mercosul. Sen. Jose Agripino Maia, the leader of the Democrats, said, "(Venezuela) is not a good partner for Brazil...and for Mercosul." PSDB Senate leader Arthur Virgilio said, "The PSDB does not accept the presence of Venezuela (in Mercosul) in any way, unless President Chavez retracts himself formally and completely." Brazilian approval of Venezuela's full accession into Mercosul requires approval in both houses of Congress, although passage by the lower house, where the government has a large majority, should be assured if the government backs Venezuela's accession. Approval in the Senate requires a simple majority of all 81 members. ¶10. Even as Brazil's Congress fumed, presidential foreign affairs adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia committed a stunning gaffe. He was quoted in leading daily "O Estado de S. Paulo" as having told journalists "Chavez did not do anything illegal. We do not believe any rule of democracy has been broken. I have been to Venezuela several times. In few countries have I seen the press speak with such freedom of expression as in Venezuela," Garcia stated. ¶10. (SBU) Comment. The Planalto Palace's position on RCTV has been disappointingly consistent, and Lula's response to Chavez's criticism of the Senate should not be misconstrued as criticism of the RCTV closure. Lula's position is clear: a steadfast refusal to criticize, based on a principle of non-interference. In that context, his response to Chavez's jab at the Senate is coherent as a rejection of interference, but the episode does reveal how very frayed the Lula-Chavez relationship has become. Marco Aurelio Garcia, though, seems to have been astonishingly tone-deaf. His remarks not only rang untrue with Brazil's media and public, but also violated the very principle of non-interference that is fundamental in Brazilian diplomacy. Garcia's observation comes dangerously close to actual praise for Chavez's media policy. If the dispute is not put to rest, the Senate may revisit its threat to block Venezuela's accession to Mercosul as a full member. We will watch this closely. SOBEL