TABLOID SAYS BRAZILIAN INTELLIGENCE SEES FOREIGN

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000190 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL BR XR SUBJECT: TABLOID SAYS BRAZILIAN INTELLIGENCE SEES FOREIGN THREAT TO AMAZON ¶1. (U) On Jan. 29, Jornal do Brasil (JB) published excerpts of what it claimed were from a "Situation report" prepared by the "Amazon Working Group," composed of intelligence and military officials. The JB story described the "Situation Report" as the consensus of Brazilian intelligence officials. The published excerpts highlight Brazilian concerns over the presence of foreigners in and around Brazil, including American military personnel. NGOs are also a source of concern, according to the report. ¶2. (SBU) JB (Rio de Janeiro center-right Catholic daily, circ. 68,000) is running a series on the Amazon with a sensationalist/nationalist slant. JB was once one of Brazil's most influential newspapers but over the years its circulation and relevance have diminished considerably. Today it is not among leading national dailies, and is neither a newspaper of record nor an important tabloid. ¶3. (SBU) The JB report sensationalizes the provocative parts of the "Situation Report" in the context of a series whose aim is clearly to generate concern about national sovereignty over the Amazonian region. ¶4. (U) Series front page headlines have been "Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) Confirms Amazon Invasion" (1/29) "NGOs Support the Amazon Invasion" (1/30) "Government to Rent the Amazon Jungle" (1/31) ¶5. (SBU) In Embassy's view, the "Situation Report" is probably authentic. Its conclusions may appear to be exaggerated and foreshadow a worst case scenario, but they are not wholly unreasonable when viewed as the product of military/intelligence officials who must forecast possible threats to national security. ¶6. (U) No major daily in Brazil has picked up the story. As far as Embassy can ascertain, the only other coverage of JB's story has been Argentina and Chile. The on-line edition of Argentina's La Nacion (leading national daily of record, circ. 150,000) ran a dispatch from Sao Paulo on January 31. The on-line edition of Chile's La Nacion ran an ANSA (Italian wire service) report on January 29. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The story of foreigners encircling or invading the Amazon and threatening Brazilian sovereignty is an urban (or perhaps we should say "jungle") legend that has come up with amazing persistence in Brazil over the last 30 years. Fed by a perceived or imagined fear of foreign (especially U.S.) threats to Brazilian sovereignty, the myth stokes the paranoia of nationalist factions on the extreme right and left in Brazil. It has limited currency in mainstream Brazilian society. Sobel