Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SAOPAULO107
2007-02-12 11:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Sao Paulo
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VISITS OF NICHOLAS

Tags:  KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR 
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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0107 0431139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121139Z FEB 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6406
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7496
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 7780
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2704
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000107 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD

DEPT PASS USTR

USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VISITS OF NICHOLAS
BURNS AND GEORGE BUSH TO BRAZIL; SAO PAULO


UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000107

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD

DEPT PASS USTR

USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VISITS OF NICHOLAS
BURNS AND GEORGE BUSH TO BRAZIL; SAO PAULO



1. "There is No 'Free' Alliance"

Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo's
International Editor Claudia Antunes commented (2/12): "The failed
occupation of Iraq led many international relations experts in the
US to conclude that the Americans, different from the British and
the French in the past, have no appetite for classic colonialism.
Immediately after the occupation, a thesis was disseminated
according to which a division of tasks would be necessary: the US
would provide the force and its allies, led by the Europeans, would
be responsible for the 'construction of states.' It is in this
scenario that Under Secretary Nicholas Burns' recent statement in
Sao Paulo, that Brazil must think about becoming a 'global security
provider,' is inserted. Someone must perform 'humanitarian' tasks so
that Washington can intervene in 'bankrupted states' - but such
manpower is lacking.... Burns' discreet suggestion subtly included
in Bush's 'positive agenda' for South America is a good reminder for
those who believe in the feasibility of a total alignment with the
US.... The US is unquestionably the world's largest economy and the
only military power. But the brief 'unipolar moment' that followed
the Cold War no longer exists. The euphoria of global growth and
economic interdependence may disguise reality, but what one can see
is an accumulation of forces everywhere for a disturbed future. It
is hard to imagine alliances that are not tactical."


2. "Ethanol Brings the US Closer To Brazil"

Center-right national circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo
remarked (2/11): "Under Secretary Nicholas Burns' visit to Brazil
last week made clear that the US wants Brazil to become its
privileged interlocutor in South America. In this context, the
Brazilian know-how in ethanol production is working as a bridge in
the rapprochement between the Bush and Lula administrations. In
addition to its diplomatic importance, this alliance may represent
an encouragement to the marketing of ethanol as a fuel at the very
moment when the world is discussing alternatives to the use of oil.
President Bush will visit Brazil in March to settle this strategic
rapprochement with the Lula administration. He has already made
clear in several speeches his intention of reducing the US
dependence on oil."


3. "Bush will Bring Investment"

Economic columnist Alberto Tamer maintained in center-right national
circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo (2/12): "Brazil has an
immense possibility of opening a new market in the US. It is a so
important an opportunity that Bush will visit Brazil mainly to
negotiate agreements to bring investments to the Brazilian ethanol
sector.... He wants to buy our ethanol as soon as possible. Not that
he loves Brazil, but because for the first time in recent history
the US needs our ethanol, our biomass, as much as we can produce.
This is another consequence of the Iraqi war and the boom of oil
prices.... Bush is not speaking alone.... Major investors such as
George Soros and Bill Gates have entered the ethanol business, first
in California and now in Brazil.... The Virgin Group has plans to
invest USD 400 million and build ethanol plants in the US. And this
is just the beginning. The future for agribusiness and Brazil is
near. We must know how to act and not make mistakes again, as we
have always done - especially under this government obstinate in its
anti-American ideology."
McMullen