PRESIDENT MORALES BLASTS NEOLIBERAL MODEL DURING

UNCLAS LIMA 002708 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PINR BO PE SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MORALES BLASTS NEOLIBERAL MODEL DURING PERU VISIT ¶1. (U) Summary: During his first visit to Peru as Bolivian President August 1, Evo Morales met with President Garcia to discuss bilateral integration, addressed Peru's Congress, and met with local indigenous and labor leaders. In his speech to Congress, Morales called for an end to discrimination, railed against the neoliberal economic model and said he owed his political ascent to the coca leaf. While public reaction to Morales' visit was generally muted, his ideologically no-holds-barred Congressional speech and his call to support Cuba drew criticism from government and opinion leaders. End Summary. Goodwill Invitation -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Evo Morales August 1 visit to Peru, his first as President of Bolivia, simultaneously helped overcome and probably added to the strain in bilateral relations. According to MFA officials, the third time was the charm as Morales finally accepted President Garcia's invitation, which had been extended as a gesture of good will. During their meeting, the two leaders reportedly discussed ways to enhance ties through the bilateral integration agreement and also pledged to strengthen cooperation against narco-trafficking and terrorism. A Bolivian Embassy official and his MFA counterpart told us the offical meeting was cordial in tone and intended to clear the ground for future progress. Fiery Speech to Congress -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Morales' interventions in Congress and in public were less conducive to smooth bilateral relations. During his speech to Congress, Morales drew a sharp contrast with his hosts' economic policies by praising the success of hydrocarbon nationalization in Bolivia. Nationalization, he said, had created the first fiscal surpluses in decades, and should be followed by the nationalization of other resources. He then blasted the neoliberal economic model, which he argued had plundered the natural resources of whole countries while benfitting small privileged groups at the expense of the majority. "It is time to close the open veins of Latin America," Morales said (quoting the title of Eduardo Galeano's infamous dependency theory tract). ¶4. (SBU) Morales also lauded Bolivia's coca policy. Calling the coca leaf an instrument for the sovereignty of the people and crediting it with his political birth, Morales argued that the only effective policy involved cooperation with social sectors rather than forced eradication. Repeating familiar refrains to the applause of deputies from Ollanta Humala's Nationalist Party (PNP),Morales called for an end to a "zero coca" policy in favor of "zero narcotrafficking, zero cocaine". Morales later encouraged the Humala-led opposition by saying his own party (the MAS) had taken more than a decade to grow from four congressmen to the majority he now controlled. Meeting with Social Sector Leaders -------------- ¶5. (U) Accompanied by the Cuban and Nicaraguan Ambassadors and a Venezuelan representative, Morales then met with Peruvian social movement representatives and labor leaders. In an impromptu speech at that event, Morales criticized U.S.-Latin American FTAs and called for continued struggle against colonialism, imperialism, and neoliberalism. He also praised Fidel Castro as a "father" and welcomed the presence of Hugo Chavez's ALBA in Peru. Subdued Public Reaction -------------- ¶6. (U) Public and government reaction to Morales's visit has been critical but subdued. Local press focused on the message of cooperation promoted by President Garcia, while some editorial writers faulted Morales for his openly challenging and divisive message. Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo criticized Morales' lack of courtesy, and others have noted that the kinds of statist policies promoted by the Bolivian President had destroyed Peru's economy in the 1970s. President Garcia publicly acknowledged his ideological differences with Morales but said that both leaders wanted to reduce poverty and that "the future will tell" which approach worked faster. He added that radical experiments "will not last long" and criticized governments that "throw rocks" and "provoke confrontations." Comment: Understanding the Context -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Peruvian leadership's measured response to Morales' provocations should be understood in context. For one, Garcia is keenly aware of the Bolivian President's roots in social protest and sympathizes with his message of ending poverty, social injustice and exclusion. It's the proposed solution that causes grief. On this score, Garcia and his government are like concerned parents listening to the outraged antics of an adolescent child who is grappling with the bitter realities of the world and suddenly wielding big ideas for solving them. They understand but believe they know better, having learned that much from their own past. WUNDER