MEDIA REACTION; RICE-BUSH ON U.S.-LATAM RELATIONS; BUENOS

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001319 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 SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; RICE-BUSH ON U.S.-LATAM RELATIONS; BUENOS AIRES 07/10/07 ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Key stories carry Secretary Rice's declarations on U.S. relations with the hemisphere, in the framework of the White House Conference of the Americas, in which she highlights the ties with Brazil and Chile as 'extraordinarily good' while those with Argentina are 'different but equally good.' ¶2. KEY STORIES AND OPINION PIECES - "U.S. Admits Better Relations with Chile and Brazil than Those with Argentina" Leonardo Mindez, leading "Clarin" Washington-based stringer, says (07/10/07) "Venezuelan President Chavez is the 'Nemesis' and his criticism 'doesn't worry us.' Mexico, Chile and Brazil are friends with whom we have 'extraordinarily good ties.' Argentina is one step below: 'relations are different, but equally good.' This is roughly the present status of U.S.-Latam relations, according to the description made yesterday by Secretary Rice. "At a press conference, Rice remembered her country was 'the one that most supported Argentina during hard times,' suggesting, with concealed grudge, certain ungratefulness from the Kirchner administration. "Rice's words confirmed what several officials have been silently admitting of late, and other former officials and analysts openly explain: the clear division between those governments in the hemisphere which the White House considers reliable; those which belong to an alarming axis (Chavez, Evo, Correa and Ortega),and Argentina, in a delicate balance between both groups. With Chile, the U.S. maintains preferential trade agreements and, in the case of Brazil, the White House has always considered it the subcontinent's leading country. "Everyone knows that between George Bush and Nestor Kirchner there never was -- and seems there won't ever be -- a good relationship. But even so, what people here value is cooperation between the two countries on sensitive issues to Washington, such as the fight against terrorism and progress in the AMIA case. In Rice's words, the U.S. and Argentina 'haven't always greed (on issues)' but now maintain 'a good relationship.' "It was an unusual day, on which Rice and Bush himself referred to Latin America. They didn't show any new cards, but the way things were staged clearly indicates Washington's concern for the ideological U-turn which took place in the region in recent years. ".... While Rice assured the U.S. 'has a positive agenda' for Latin America 'that has little to do with their concern over Chavez' criticism', Bush also referred to that 'positive agenda' at the opening of the White House Conference on the curious topic 'Advancing Social Justice in the Americas'... The entire event, in fact, seemed to conceal with new words the only regional policy the Bush administration has been consistently developing from the start: the promotion of free trade agreements (but without changing farm subsidies.) "....The most honest declarations (came from) U/S Karen Hughes... She said that when Bush offered her the position, he had asked her for Latam to be one of 'her priorities'. And this is what yesterday's pompous event was all about: sheer public diplomacy." - "U.S. Criticizes the GoA" Hugo Alconada Mon, daily-of-record "La Nacion" Washington-based correspondent, writes (07/10) "In her declarations to La Nacion, Rice said 'I hope that while Argentina looks to the future, it will protect free market principles that produce growth in the rest of the region.' Without mentioning the GOA, but in what appears to be an unequivocal reference, she also urges the country to avoid 'short term solutions for long term problems,' because, sooner or later, these problems 'always return to torture.' "Rice pointed out that Argentina 'must pay attention to the real means for moving forward', such as 'free markets, free trade, open economies and the creation of jobs based on the economy's real performance,' which is far away from State intervention. 'If there was something we learned at a global level, it is that growth from the private and not the public sector is the true engine of economic development,' she assured yesterday (in the context of the White House Conference on the Americas, inaugurated by President Bush.) "Rice said the U.S. has 'excellent' relations with Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile; bad or null relations with Venezuela or Cuba, and certain 'differences' with Argentina, a country she praised for its debt swap and the political stability achieved after the downfall at the end of 2001 and beginning of 2002. But she also expressed her complaint. The country, she says, seems to have forgotten how much the U.S. helped it during that crisis. "Kind and cautious, however, Rice avoided mentioning Kirchner.... "Her message for the Argentine people is that 'you have a friend in the U.S., like we have proven over and over again.... "And on Venezuela, she underscored the U.S. has 'a positive agenda for Latin America, which has little to do with Chavez' criticism. It's a positive agenda... that has to do with democratic stability, health and education." - "Words and Facts" Pablo Biffi, leading "Clarin" international columnist, opines (07/10) "In politics, words are only words. What counts, at the time of understanding relations and reactions, are facts; and, to a certain extent, these explain the lack of positive support the U.S. and its government have in the region. What have undermined the U.S. image in Latin America are its attempts to impose FTAA or trade agreements that aren't too favorable for local producers (such as the FTA's in Colombia and Peru). Additionally, it's also a foreign policy that's too aggressive, which exceeds the region, and which has led the U.S. to the quagmire of Iraq, the Middle East and Afghanistan." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires WAYNE