BRAZIL: MANAUS MEETINGS, MEANDERINGS AND MUSINGS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BRASILIA 000759 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR IRM/BPC/EDIP: TNIBLOCK, GCALLOWAY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV ENRG KPAO OIIP CVIS PGOV SENV BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL: MANAUS MEETINGS, MEANDERINGS AND MUSINGS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: As Virtual Presence Post Officer, Econoff visited Manaus, State of Amazonas from April 16-19 for public outreach and economic-related meetings. While there, she visited the U.S. Consular Agent in Manaus, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-Amazonas, and the bi-national center, Instituto Cultural Brasil-Estados Unidos (ICBEU),in addition to meeting with several environmental scientists. Econoff also conducted public outreach with print, television and web-portal media, received an introduction to administrators of the free trade zone area (SUFRAMA),and delivered a presentation to the U.S. Chamber members on visas and our USG-GOB cooperative efforts on biofuels. Her interlocutors expressed concern over the potential environmental and social impacts of increased sugar cane cultivation desired for ethanol production and the reconstruction of a highway through the rainforest to Porto Velho. Manaus revealed itself to be a city in transition, with its own increasing development, environmental and social concerns. Finally, despite the U.S.'s continuing status as the number one trading partner for the Manaus free trade zone, there are challenges for this entity to overcome in attracting continued U.S. foreign direct investment to the region - rather than being diverted to other areas of the country by promises of tax preferences. End Summary. A River Runs Through It -------------- ¶2. (U) Manaus, on the north bank of the Rio Negro, has about 1.65 million habitants -- not a small city, despite the image that "the Amazon" conjures up in most people's minds. Manaus is famous for the Meeting of the Waters, where the Rio Negro meets the Rio Solomoes. The tour, offered by several operators in the region, enables one to see the striking demarcation between the two rivers. Originating in Colombia, the Rio Negro, as its name suggests, consists of darker waters, whereas the Solomoes -- originating in the Andes of Peru (where it is known as the Maranon) -- is both colder, faster moving, and lighter-tan in color. It takes approximately eight to ten kilometers of co-mingling, farther upriver, before the waters truly merge into one and eventually become what is commonly referred to as the Amazon River. ¶3. (U) Little, from goods to people, gets brought into or out of the region without using these waterways. Present throughout the river are some very large boats and barges, often transporting cargo and petroleum products, as well as smaller fishing and ferry boats. Petrobras-affiliated gasoline/diesel vending boats, as well as some generic mom-and-pop enterprises, are anchored at various parts of the river for boats to refuel. In the smaller igarapes, or tributaries, houseboats are docked singly or in multiples, often appearing to house a large extended family between three or more boats, among which the family members hop freely. The river is free of bridges in this area, but ferries travel every half hour at certain points between the other side of the river to bring workers and vehicles to and from Manaus. Torrential rains the previous week had caused many people in the region to lose their homes. The river's water-level was fairly high as a result. In the dry season, however, special navigators are employed who are well-versed in the oft-changing depths and the location of sand bars that can inhibit the movements of some of the larger boats. ¶4. (U) Manaus has some big-city problems, among them increasing crime, transportation issues, pollution of the igarapes, and a population who does not want to submit to government efforts to move them out of where they have set up ramshackle homes on the river's and igarapes' banks. Even when they are offered free, comparatively nicer housing, many stubbornly stay put. They often do not want to leave the conveniences of the city, and their friends and family around them, and easier access to food and water only to be moved out to the outskirts and incur higher transportation costs and more difficult access to necessities. The problems of pollution of the igarapes within the city limits, unemployment, and the general gentrification struggle are ongoing. Traffic and transit delays continue to increase as well. Estimates are that each month, 100 additional cars are being introduced into the city, congesting the historic, narrow streets and creating chokepoints on even narrower bridges over the igarapes. BRASILIA 00000759 002 OF 005 Consular Agency Manaus -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Sherre Prince Nelson has been in the city for 27 years and U.S. Consular Agent since 2004. She runs a small, welcoming office for a large consular district whose constituents are widely dispersed. The district has about 1,400 U.S. citizens, some of whom reside well in the interior of the Amazon as missionaries. Recently, since the announcement of a new policy permitting Brazilian visa applicants to go to any consulate for their interview, Sherre has been inundated with phone calls from local Brazilian residents who do not understand that she is a consular agency for U.S. citizens, not a consulate with visa adjudication capability. Econoff tried hard to clarify this distinction through media interviews and conversations during the rest of her week in Manaus. Public Outreach Efforts -------------- ¶6. (U) The overwhelming preoccupation of most people in Manaus with whom Econoff spoke about the United States is -- as is often the case in Brazil -- our visa process. From high-school students to the elderly, many didn't understand the particulars, complained about the cost, time, and distance required to travel to Brasilia to interview, and in general, indicated that they feel the process is onerous and one-sided. Brazil currently has some of the longest non-immigrant visa interview wait times in the world, and this is in no small part due to the increasing value of the Real relative to the dollar; demand for interviews has increased 90 percent over the last two years. Econoff conveyed this information so that people could better understand the stresses on Mission Brazil's capacity, and tried to mitigate the negative with the news that, as of April 2, Brazilians may apply in any of our four issuing consulates -- Rio, Sao Paulo, and Recife -- and no longer just in Brasilia. To dispel some of the other common myths of the process, Econoff informed the inquirers that the majority of visas were approved last year -- 76.8 percent, according to consular section-provided statistics -- and reassured people that Brazilians were not being unfairly singled out; rather, that the new processing requirements were put into place worldwide following September 11. She emphasized the need for strong economic and social ties to Brazil for non-immigrant visa applicants. ¶7. (U) ICBEU's gracious hospitality enabled Econoff to speak for 20 to 30 minutes at a time with four separate English classes, with an audience ranging from adults to high-school level students. She answered their questions on a wide variety of topics: everything from the usual visa questions, to the words of a nursery rhyme that one girl liked to sing to her little sister (Econoff was exhorted to actually sing the rhyme for the other students who did not know it and unfortunately for them, she did); studying and living in the U.S.; her own background; how different some of our states are; the electoral college process; biofuels cooperation; environmental issues; and finally, the tragedy at Virginia Tech and related questions on gun control. Only a few students in each class had traveled to the U.S. before, and many of those trips had been limited to Disneyworld. A tour of the facilities revealed a well-equipped library, innovative instructional tools, and even a little museum of sorts filled with pictures and memorabilia of the founders and events held by ICBEU during the past 50 years, including several photos of former U.S. Ambassadors and other visiting American dignitaries. ¶8. (U) In media interviews on 19 April with local newspapers "A Critica" and the "Jornal do Commercio," as well as the Globo network's Portal Amazonia webchat and a subsequent on-camera interview, Econoff discussed visas, USG-GOB cooperative information exchange on biofuels and third-country efforts, and the positive impacts of the visits of President Bush to Brazil and President Lula to Camp David. Not surprisingly, most of what made it into print centered on the visa process. ¶9. (U) Finally, Econoff was the featured speaker at a meeting of the BRASILIA 00000759 003 OF 005 U.S. Chamber of Commerce-Amazonas, held at the Genius Institute of Technology in the Industrial Sector. She presented a PowerPoint slideshow that briefly recapped her visit to Manaus, provided information and general advice on the visa application process, and discussed cooperative efforts on ethanol before taking a number of questions. Despite a relatively small turnout -- only 20 or so people were able to make it due to other events that evening -- the audience was welcoming and appreciative, and asked some questions. The hosts, Genius Institute, offered to host someone from the Embassy for another talk in the future (they provided the venue free of charge to the U.S. Chamber.) Environment-Related Meetings -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Environmental organization representatives commented on the oft-repeated assertions by the GOB that sugarcane cannot be grown in the Amazon region and therefore, the expansion of Brazil's ethanol production poses no environmental threat or impact to the rainforest. While the different environmentalists and ecologists agreed with the viability of sugarcane cultivation in the Amazon, they felt that it was not a given that there would be no impact. Two interlocutors, from the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas (IPE) -- a USAID Environment Program partner-and the Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica (FVA),indicated that there are still other significant concerns. Ethanol, they asserted, would promote areas of monoculture in Brazil. Additional worries they expressed were: that by virtue of development of sugarcane fields, fewer resources would be designated for other crops and agricultural prices would rise; that a job-related migration would ensue which would have other unforeseen economic and ecological effects; and finally, that sugarcane labor on some plantations is tantamount to slave labor, with large-scale employers that are far from the "heroes" that Lula has recently called them. ¶11. (SBU) Eduardo Badialli from IPE, a former State International Visitor and USAID contact, talked about strategic planning needs, and defined a few principal threats to the region. First, he said, there has been a general lack of success in inhibiting illegal logging. "Many poor people cut down and work with illegal wood because they don't see any alternatives for earning a living," he said. He admitted that education and conservation efforts are a difficult balance to achieve; the indigenous peoples who live in the Amazon region are gatherers, not planters, and IPE and other organizations are trying to respect and not change that culture as much as possible. That said, his organization is involved in education efforts, primarily with elementary school kids and teenagers, but also with university students. They are also investigating ways to develop and sustain ecotourism while minimizing its impact, taking lessons from Ecuador and Costa Rica. Badialli cited as another significant problem the lack of integration of the public policies of the various governments involved in the region-federal, state and municipal. IPE relies on assistance from the World Bank, German banks, and the WWF. ¶12. (U) Carlos Durigan, an interlocutor from the Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica, indicated that the majority of their support to date has come from WWF-Brasil, Ford Foundation, and the Moore Foundation, but that it is always a continual fight for resources. They have 20 to 25 technicians contracted, and those technicians take monthly trips out to the remote parts of the region. There are also demands on their time to participate in fora in other cities. The FVA has enjoyed a very close relationship with the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Amazonicas (INPA) for funding and for training (many FVA scientists were trained by INPA for their master's or doctorates.) Like the other environmental interlocutors, Durigan believes that while ethanol development may not encroach upon the forest, it will still impact other land development and have social ramifications. ¶13. (U) For example, Durigan is worried by the increased development of large-machinery farms rather than those employing manual labor. As he said, it promotes inequality and leads to a further concentration of people into the cities. He agreed with Badialli that policy coordination is important, and said that even if something is guaranteed protected by law, the reality can be BRASILIA 00000759 004 OF 005 different or have detrimental, unforeseen effects. He cited a petroleum refinery near the Meeting of the Waters as an example, saying there has been some pollution problems, and that some regional environmental measures have either been enacted too slowly to avoid problems, or in contrast, so quickly that they were not well thought out. ¶14. (U) Another group, the Fundacao Paulo Feitoza (FPF),would like to develop biofuels from babacu (pronounced bah-bah-SOO) (palm nut) indigenous to the region, and foresees good benefits for several indigenous communities in terms of employment. They would be culling a naturally occurring product which can be used for various purposes in addition to the oil for biodiesel. This sustainable development project has, unfortunately, become a victim of lack of funding. The project is estimated to cost only R$160,000 (US$80,000) but there does not seem to be significant hope right now in attracting any more GOB investment, or from their usual sources of support in the region, manufacturing and high-tech companies. Foreign investment has so far not materialized for this project. The foundation, which also has other research and development projects related to computer voice processing for the deaf from sign language and cell phone voice recognition and game software, was recently forced to lay off staff. Even our interlocutor is only employed there part-time on a consultant basis. Highway to . . . ? -------------- ¶15. (U) Environmentalists also view warily the planned resurrection of the BR-319 highway between Manaus and Porto Velho, the capital of the State of Rondonia (the route between the two has been washed out and the only major paved road from Manaus leads north, to Boa Vista and eventually, Caracas). It is feared the reconstruction of this road will create a "fishbone effect" of development along the sides of the highway, thereby creating some increased settlements, and related deforestation due to illegal logging and mining. While parks have been created along the sides to try to protect the land, enforcement is difficult and people, particularly those who already live in the interior, just tend to move in and plant their families and makeshift dwellings. In addition, the long-term viability of this road is seen as suspect, particularly when combined with current practice in Brazil of awarding construction and paving jobs to the lowest bidder without much forethought as to the quality and durability of the final product, along with a lack of funds for continued maintenance. The U.S. Chamber interlocutors indicated that they have heard that mega-trucks -- extremely long, heavy trucks resembling mini-trains -- were being proposed to carry goods on this highway, and that there was significant doubt that the highway would be able to handle the traffic or weight of the trucks. Many people are clamoring for a railroad to be built instead, but even if that were to occur, it could also suffer problems due to heavy rains and associated issues. Helping Hands Needed -------------- ¶16. (SBU) SUFRAMA, the free trade zone ("zona franca") authority in Manaus, indicated its desire for increased dialogue with Mission Brazil. They want to increase U.S. investment and also educate potential investors about how a free trade zone can help them. The list of international companies that already operate there is quite impressive, and includes Nokia, Philips, Siemens, Brastemp (a Whirlpool subsidiary),and even -- surprisingly -- Harley-Davidson. The latter's motorcycles made in the zona franca are only sold in Brazil, but still sport the crucial logo and name-brand that motorcycle aficionados crave. That said, operations for these companies can cease and move very quickly due to tax incentives offered by areas like Sao Paulo. ¶17. (SBU) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce-Amazonas also indicated it needs support to maintain its membership and, hopefully, grow. A planned visit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-Sao Paulo on April 2 had to be canceled due to aviation delays and bad weather, and now has been tentatively rescheduled for June 5. They hope that the much larger organization in Sao Paulo can essentially take them BRASILIA 00000759 005 OF 005 under their umbrella, and help them with contacts, PR, and support, particularly as some of the manufacturing in Manaus has been siphoned away to Sao Paulo due to various tax incentives that the latter is offering to businesses. Travel Challenges . . . -------------- ¶18. (U) Flights have gotten better from Manaus to some places. Miami now has daily direct flights on TAM and another option with a stop in Panama City, on Copa. That said, domestic travel, just as everywhere in Brazil these days, can be problematic and may involve one or more stops. Econoff thus experienced first-hand what visa applicants may deal with. She arrived in Manaus nearly two hours late, at 1:30 AM. The return overnight flight to Brasilia entailed a missed connection, two stops, and arrival two hours later than scheduled. Rest on these overnight flights is difficult due to frequent take-offs and landings. . . . But a Very Positive Experience Overall -------------- ¶19. (U) Manaus may be isolated, but it is warm in more ways than just its physical climate. Econoff found the people there friendly, welcoming, and eager for more contact with the U.S. CHICOLA