MEDIA REACTION STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS; A/S SHANNON'S

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000125 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS; A/S SHANNON'S STATEMENTS ON US-LATIN AMERICAN TIES; DAVOS WEF; LATIN AMERICA; 01/24/07; BUENOS AIRES ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Key international stories today include US President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address; US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemispheric Affairs Thomas Shannon's statements about ties between the US and Latin America, and particularly Venezuela; upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos; 2006 Latin America's economic and political performance; and prevailing tensions between South American central governments and regional powers. ¶2. OPINION PIECES - "Bush asks for consensus on Iraq and an immigration reform from Capitol Hill" Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," comments (01/24) "In an attempt to save his two remaining years at the White House, US President George W. Bush invited the Democratic opposition to work jointly in the (global) war on terrorism. He said 'The US must not fail in Iraq.' "In his State-of-the-Union address..., Bush showed he intends to approach the opposition when he made special mention of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader of Congress, and he underscored that she is the first woman to hold the nation's third high- office... "In his attempt to convince Democrats, Bush proposed 'to establish a bipartisan Council to share ideas on how to position the US before every single challenge.' "... Bush also asked for an immigration reform aimed at putting the situation of millions of undocumented people on a regular track, as Democrats want." - "'The US must not fail in Iraq'" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," comments (01/24) "In his first State-of-the-Union Address to a Congress controlled by Democrats, US President George W. Bush defended the basics of his administration triggering most resistance in the political sector and the US society - the war in Iraq and his downright wish to send additional troops to Baghdad. "... The head of the White House proposed to agree on social security and immigration reforms, tighten environmental protection policies and, just like the past year, reduce energy dependence. "The section of his address that sparked most controversy was his view on Iraq and his plan to send another 21,500 soldiers to Baghdad and neighboring areas in a new attempt to reduce sectarian violence in the Arab country..." - "Closer to dialogue with Chavez" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (01/24) "Twelve hours before US President George W. Bush voiced his view and governmental program for 2007, his top-ranking officer for Latin America, Tom Shannon, said that the region should not expect 'a major initiative' from the White House, but, instead, 'further dialogue' and 'a year of commitment.' "Shannon, US Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, said that the region has left behind most of its (presidential) elections and now it is time for dialogue, even with possible antagonistic leaders, such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. "Shannon commented that both he and US Department of State's number three, Nicholas Burns, defined 2007 as 'the year of commitment' between the White House and the region in order to improve diplomatic ties and develop the hemisphere. "... Shannon said that 2007 could bring some bilateral surprise in terms of ties between Washington and Caracas. In his address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, he said that both governments 'are closer to dialogue.' "According to Shannon, 'from our point of view, we have been available for this kind of conversation since long , but Caracas has been reluctant so far, for a variety of reasons.' Shannon also revealed that Chavez could also be interested in healing (bilateral) ties." - "Davos WEF - 'pre-heating engines' in the snow" Ricardo Kirschbaum, leading "Clarin's" general editor on special assignment in Davos, Switzerland, writes (01/24) "... Vanishing but not yet dead, the impetus of the '90s remain; the WEF agenda has been changing and what used to be a bad word now seems a to be a finding. "Globalization has neither brought welfare for all nor has market economy spilled more equality and less poverty. Now, the debate is over the amount of governmental action required to bring out the most beneficial effect possible and balance inequalities in world trade. However, those goals seem as remote as ever ." - "Latin America's political outcome" Daily-of-record "La Nacion" carries an op-ed story by Rosendo Fraga, political analyst and head of Centro de Estudios para la Nueva Mayoria, who opines (01/24) "Latin America's economic growth is the most positive aspect of its 2006 performance. According to the IDB, Latin America's growth rate for 2006 stood at 4.5 percent, with no external deficit, six-percent average inflation rate, and fiscal balance; something that has not been seen over the last few decades. "... In spite of its unquestionable economic success, Latin America is the 'emerging' region with the lowest rate of growth and the lowest social mobility... The World Bank reported that Latin America is the region of the world having greater inequality and showing the lowest rates of poverty reduction. "... In summary, economic growth has been the most important and unquestionable achievement of Latin America during 2006, basically rooted in its high commodity prices, but it is the 'emerging' region with the lowest levels of growth and social mobility with slightly reduced poverty and indigence. Its low educational and scientific performance seems to be the most important limitation on Latin America's long-term sustainable growth. In the political arena, the series of presidential elections in the region during 2006 showed a shift to the center, with three prevailing lines - the populist left, the Social-Democratic and the center-to-right wings." ¶3. EDITORIALS - "The regions and the governments" Leading "Clarin" editorializes (01/24) "The roots of the political organizations of several South American countries are crumbling due to prevailing tensions between regional powers and central governments - Bolivia is the main example... "One reason for such region-oriented tendencies is the crisis of political systems and national political parties representing the different social and geographic sectors... "Another reason is the emergence of political leaders aiming at a radical change of the political model and reformulation of the country's political organization through Constituent Assemblies. "This implies both a major challenge and a big risk. History shows that national unity does not result from the addition of sectarian interests and regional agreements but from the expression of a broader consensus that would acknowledge and contain them both within a common framework." 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