CHAVEZ' ETHANOL HYPOCRISY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000597 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS COMMERCE FOR 4431/MAC/WH/MCAMERON ENERGY FOR CDAY, DPUMPHERY, AND ALOCKWOOD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENIV ENRG PREL VE CU SUBJECT: CHAVEZ' ETHANOL HYPOCRISY REF: A. 06 CARACAS 3374 ¶B. SAO PAOLO 212 ¶C. CARACAS 584 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Subsequent to the ethanol cooperation agreement President Bush signed with Brazil on March 9, Chavez has labeled ethanol as "immoral," accusing the United States of turning "food into fuel." The BRV's reaction is indicative of its hypocrisy. It has actively pursued a domestic ethanol program since 2005, imported ethanol from Brazil, and only three weeks ago signed new agreements with Cuba to develop 11 ethanol processing plants in Venezuela. Chavez' contradictions on ethanol show that substantive policies are less important to him than opposing the United States. This 360 degree about-face also reflects his insecurity that U.S. initiatives in the region - particularly with a giant such as Brazil - will limit his own influence. End Summary. -------------- 2005: Chavez' Ethanol Politics Take Shape -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The BRV's ethanol politics began to take shape in 2005 (Ref A). Energy Minister Ramirez announced that Venezuela would replace leaded gasoline with an ethanol-based mixing component as a more ecologically sound solution. Ramirez added that Venezuela would be self-sufficient in sugar cane-derived ethanol by 2012. Chavez used his weekly television program "Alo Presidente" on September 4, 2005 to announce that Venezuela would pursue domestic production of ethanol, "We are going to start to produce ethanol, we already have a plan of 200 thousand hectares to grow sugar cane." Again, using "Alo Presidente" as a platform, Chavez added in October 2005, "And I have already given the green light on the ethanol project, and with Cuba, and Venezuela of course, do you know how many hectares of sugar cane we need to grow in the next few years to produce all the ethanol that we need to inject into gasoline? 300 thousand almost!" Despite Chavez' criticism of President Bush's "ethanol diplomacy," PDVSA signed a deal to purchase ethanol from Brazil's petroleum giant Petrobras in February 2005. -------------- 2006: PDVSA Launches Ethanol Plan -------------- ¶3. (SBU) PDVSA officially launched its Ethanol Agro-Energy Development Project in October 2006 (Ref A). The project's goal would be to produce over 10 million barrels of ethanol/year at 17 processing plants from sugar cane, rice, and yucca by 2012. This would enable Venezuela to meet its ethanol needs domestically. PDVSA estimated the cost of the project at USD 1.3 billion. PDVSA's 2006 financial report also references a USD 153 million investment in ethanol projects in 2005, an amount sufficient to construct three small plants. -------------- 2007: New Ethanol Agreements with Cuba -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Only three weeks ago, on February 28, Venezuela signed agreements with Cuba to build an additional 11 ethanol plants from sugar cane. The agreements were signed by Minister Ramirez and Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Marta Lomas during the Seventh Meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Cuba-Venezuela Commission in Havana. -------------- President Bush's Travel: Chavez Attacks "Immorality" of Ethanol -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Since Presidents Bush and Lula da Silva signed an MOU on ethanol cooperation, Chavez has made an apparent 360 degree about-face in his views on ethanol. Chavez has continually referred to ethanol as "immoral." In an interview with Argentine press during his visit to Argentina March 9, Chavez said "President Bush's ethanol plan is totally irrational and anti-ethical. To try to sow the good land that we still have, to claim the countries of the south, because in the countries of the north, they don't have any fertile land or good water left." Chavez added, sarcastically, "We will need to dedicate ourselves completely to educating agronomists, agricultural engineers, CARACAS 00000597 002 OF 002 specialists... to produce food for the cars of the gentlemen from the North." Chavez characterized the agreement the President signed with Brazil as an "OPEC for ethanol." On a recent "Alo Presidente," Chavez said "What the United States is claiming is impossible. To sustain with ethanol its style of life we would need to cultivate corn six times over the land of the earth." Cuban leader Fidel Castro chimed in from his sick bed, saying "the idea of using food to produce energy is tragic, dramatic...no one knows where the price of food will go when soy is converted into fuel." ¶6. (SBU) During his visit to Jamaica on March 13, Chavez continued the assault on ethanol using "ethical" arguments. "So we are using land, machines, technology, fertilizer and water to produce food, not for the people, but for the vehicles of the rich!" exclaimed Chavez. Chavez added he would "talk to Lula" and explain his position to Brazil. ¶7. (SBU) Minister Ramirez, despite inking ethanol agreements with Brazil and Cuba, qualified the use of resources and water to produce ethanol rather than food as "barbaric." Ramirez opined that ethanol presented no threat to Venezuelan oil exports to the United States, "It seems to be more of political arithmetic on President Bush's part to increase his popularity or his image in his own country...Imagine an OPEC with the United States, an OPEC for ethanol," said Ramirez in parroting Chavez' remarks. ¶8. (SBU) The pro-Chavez media has responded by launching an extensive anti-ethanol campaign in the press. The pro-government daily "Vea" ran a series of articles about the dangers ethanol posed to food security and the environment, while publishing interviews with BRV leaders parroting Chavez' recent anti-ethanol comments. "El Tiempo" ran an editorial that quipped Americans would fill their gas tanks with arepas (Venezuela's corn-based staple) and tortillas, commenting that ethanol production would provoke an ecological disaster that would have the dimensions of an apocalypse. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Chavez' latest campaign against the "immorality" of ethanol on the heels of President Bush's visit to the region - while the BRV has aggressively pursued its own ethanol agenda - captures Chavez' two-faced nature. He has tried to nuance his argument by differentiating between corn-based ethanol in the United States and sugar cane ethanol produced in Latin America. There remain obvious contradictions in the BRV's statements and actions. Substantive positions on issues matter less to Chavez than attacking the United States. His ethanol tirades underscore that Chavez finds himself in a defensive posture in response to President Bush's overtures for increased economic cooperation with Brazil, a country where Chavez still considers himself to have a large influence. WHITAKER