MEDIA REACTION; US PRESIDENT BUSH'S LATAM TOUR;

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000512

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; US PRESIDENT BUSH'S LATAM TOUR;
US-VENEZUELAN TIES; 03/15/07; BUENOS AIRES



1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Key international stories today focus on the "meager" achievements
of US President Bush's trip to Latin American countries; and an
interpretation of Argentina's ties to Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez and his regime.


2. OPINION PIECES

- "The US Senate already debates a plan of withdrawal from Iraq"

Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for
daily-of-record "La Nacion," comments (03/15) "Far from having
recovered international image, US President Bush returned last night
to this capital city without having achieved major results out of
his longest trip to Latin AMERICA and, on top of everything, many
new problems were awaiting him at the White House.

"On the one hand, the Democratic opposition got the Senate to debate
for the first time an eventual gradual troop pullout from Iraq,
which should be completed in one year. Two scandals added themselves
to this - the one about the mistreatment received by veterans
injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the blooming scandal over the
alleged dismissal of eight federal prosecutors for political
reasons.

"... Bush has just returned from a trip to Latin AMERICA without
having obtained conclusive progress. His team for the region, which
is led by (Assistant Secretary) Tom Shannon, was 'satisfied' with
his tour, but they also received some objections. Complications were
patent during the last press conference of President Bush's tour.
With his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, standing next to him,
Bush had to answer whether he would ask for Gonzalez' resignation as
a result of questions regarding his firing of prosecutors."

- "Chavez and Argentina"

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" carries an opinion piece by Juan Gabriel
Tokatlian, professor of International Relationships at Universidad
de San Andres, who penned (03/15) "... I believe Argentina's empathy
with Venezuela is more the outcome of some feeling than acceptance
of the regime adopted by (Venezuela). This empathy could be prompted
by Argentina's own Peronist experience - there are many similarities
between the Peronist and the Chavist revolutions...

"... In the aftermath of Argentina's 2001-2002 economic meltdown,
there still prevailed a feeling in a large segment of Argentine
society that Washington let the country fall into its most severe
crisis... During the Duhalde administration, Washington neither
helped the country nor urged the IMF to rescue it... When President
Kirchner took over, in the framework of high hydrocarbon
international prices, Caracas lent a hand to Argentina by providing
energy, purchasing bonds, importing goods and contributing funds to
the country's recovery.

"... Nevertheless, empathy does not mean emulation. Neither the
(Argentine) Executive Branch nor the main political forces want to
transform the institutional model in force into a confusing
participative democracy like that set forth by the Venezuelan
Constitution. In spite of Argentina's empathy with Chavez, I believe
there is little sympathy for the Bolivarian Revolution."


3. EDITORIALS

- "Bush and a tour with little impact"

An editorial in leading "Clarin" reads (03/15) "The US President
finally ended his five-Latin American nation-tour, the first one he
made after a long time in which ties with this part of the
hemisphere were relegated by other priorities of the US foreign
policy.

"US President Bush's tour included Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia,
Guatemala and Mexico - countries which the USG considers strategic
allies or governments that Washington prefers to prioritize
vis-`-vis others that are more distant or openly critical, such as
Venezuela and Bolivia.

"... If the USG intended to neutralize Chavez's clout in the region,
it can be asserted that the outcome of the tour has been meager.

"Regardless of the confrontational strategies and the attempts to
win regional influence, it is important to underscore that Latin
American countries have regained some interest in the (US)
hemispheric agenda both because of the problems and opportunities
they present, something of which local foreign policy-makers should
take advantage."


To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our
classified website at:
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires

WAYNE