USOAS AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH BRAZILIAN AUTHORITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BRASILIA 001036 SIPDIS STATE FOR USOAS AND WHA/EPSC E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECIN EAGR ENRG SENV KSUM XM HA TD CU, BR, OAS SUBJECT: USOAS AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH BRAZILIAN AUTHORITIES ON 2009 SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS PREPARATIONS REF: A. PORT OF SPAIN 290 ¶B. PORT OF SPAIN 288 Classified By: Charge Lisa Kubiske, reasons 1.4 b and d ¶1. (C) Summary. Brazil's coordinator for the Fifth Summit of the Americas (SOA) told visiting USOAS Ambassador Hector Morales that the Concept Paper provides ample scope for cooperation and the proposed three pillars are very pertinent. Brazil broadly shares U.S. objectives for the SOA, although its focus will be on social issues. Brazil would like to see a discussion of food security that includes complementary emergency and structural measures such as purchasing local food stuffs from household agriculture (family farms),guaranteed by crop insurance, for application in school feeding programs. On energy, Brazilian officials want to share information at the Summit about work under our biofuels MOU, and recommended the U.S. be subtle in our promotion of biofuels at the Summit. They predicted that biofuels will not be a contentious issue, although it should not dominate the rest of the Summit energy agenda. Regarding Cuba participating in the next Summit, Brazilian officials were unaware of any effort to invite Cuba, and Brazil will continue to support the 2001 Quebec Declaration, which would rule out any invitation to Cuba to the Fifth SOA. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) USOAS Ambassador Hector Morales, USG coordinator for the April 2009 Summit of the Americas (SOA) in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T),exchanged views on the SOA in meetings with the private sector in Sao Paulo on July 7 and at the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations (MRE) on July 8. In Sao Paulo he held a roundtable discussion with prominent international affairs experts and with the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP). On the government side he met separately at the MRE with: 1) Minister Carlos Duarte, Brazilian SOA coordinator and director of the International Organizations Department; 2) Counselor Milton Rondo, general coordinator of International Action Against Hunger; and 3) Minister Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, director of the Energy Department. -------------- Cuba -------------- ¶3. (C) Ambassador Morales asked Duarte whether he had heard that some in the region might be considering the possibility of inviting Cuba to the SOA (reftels),and asked what Brazil's position would be. Duarte replied he was unaware of any effort to invite Cuba to the SOA, and Brazil will continue to support the 2001 Quebec Declaration, which would rule out any invitation to Cuba to the Fifth SOA. Ambassador Sergio Amaral - retired career diplomat and former Minister of Development, Industry and Trade - told Ambassador Morales that in order to make the Summit relevant it would be necessary to bring a fresh new approach, including the possible addition of Cuba into the process. At the same meeting with Ambassador Amaral, Ambassador Rubens Barbosa also raised this point. Amaral also recognized, however, that given that the Summit will take place so soon after the inauguration of the new administration that it is unlikely that major changes on Cuba policy will be feasible in time for the Summit. -------------- Concept Paper -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Carlos Duarte, Brazil's SOA coordinator, told Ambassador Morales that the Concept Paper and the draft Declaration of Commitment that have been circulated are "very pertinent," correspond to issues that are on the region's agenda, and provide ample room for cooperation. -------------- Environment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Duarte agreed with Ambassador Morales that the environment is a global issue and the SOA does not take place in a vacuum, and Brazil does not want to introduce contentious issues into the SOA that are already being discussed globally. Georges Landau, consultant on energy and international affairs, argued that Brazil's track record on the environment has been bleak, failing to reach its own domestic benchmarks and deforesting in 2007 a territory equivalent in size to Haiti. BRASILIA 00001036 002 OF 005 -------------- Human prosperity -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Duarte noted that human prosperity is very much on Brazil's agenda, Brazil strongly supports this pillar, and said the USG's "sensitivity on this would be welcome in the region." Amaral highlighted that the Summit should take into account the important role of emerging social movements in the region coupled with the inability of traditional political parties to absorb these movements in many countries. Amaral said that the poorer segments of society in Latin America have become empowered, and this necessarily affects how foreign policy is conducted. Barbosa agreed, noting that true democracy has arrived in full force in Brazil and elsewhere, as manifested in the rise of indigenous groups. Barbosa said that this has caused consternation among the traditional ruling classes. -------------- Food Security -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Milton Rondo, general coordinator for International Action Against Hunger, told Ambassador Morales that Brazil is pleased to see so many paragraphs on social issues in the Concept Paper. Brazil favors a double track approach to food security, he explained, in which emergency measures and structural measures work together for greater effectiveness. He pointed to the example of Haiti, where in addition to emergency measures such as school feeding programs to provide immediate relief, Brazil promotes structural remedies such as supporting sustainable agricultural practices and agro-biological fertilizers, buying food stocks from local family farms, and seed banks to reproduce seeds locally. Rondo said in Haiti, Brazil is considering creating a council for discussion with local citizens that would have the benefit of bringing many away from street protests and into constructive dialogue. ¶8. (SBU) Rondo said World Bank President Robert Zoellick's ten point program was very good, and Brazil is thinking of similar "pillar programs." He said Brazil wants to work with Haiti on that as well as on household agriculture, and in that regard will buy local foodstuffs for the school feeding program, an approach that Brazil would like to see reflected in the SOA text. He added that Brazil does this at home as well, donating locally purchased food to poor communities, landless peasants, and others. ¶9. (SBU) With regard to other areas of the upcoming Madrid meeting that Brazil would emphasize, Rondo identified sustainability and emergency operations as top Brazilian concerns. He said Brazil also supports crop insurance programs, and pointed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in article 25, item one, which, in his view, means governments must provide assistance to their citizens during poor harvests if it is not of the farmers' own doing. ¶10. (SBU) Rondo also discussed briefly the Brazilian "Territories of Citizenship program," which builds local interconnections through installation of bio-digesters, cisterns, and other resources in public places available to, for example, sustainable rice farmers. Farm machinery is available through extension of micro-credits. He said Brazil is trying this out in Haiti as well. ¶11. (SBU) He said President Lula believes in both food security and energy security, and Lula told FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf that the FAO should study the impact of biofuels on food security. He said the main issue for Madrid is coordination, not pledges. -------------- Energy -------------- ¶12. (SBU) In the meeting with Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for Energy Issues, Andre Correa Do Lago, Ambassador Morales stressed U.S. interest in maintaining solidarity with Brazil at the summit on biofuels issues. Do Lago agreed and suggested that given growing concern over the rising cost of gas and oil, biofuels was likely to be a primary focus. Do Lago concurred that the Summit might be an opportunity to share information on the work that has been done under our biofuels MOU but suggested that at the Summit, the third countries that benefited from our joint assistance in feasibility studies, should make presentations on their experience. He stressed that given innate suspicions among BRASILIA 00001036 003 OF 005 smaller countries when the U.S. and Brazil work together, we should be subtle in our promotion of biofuels at the Summit. ¶13. (SBU) On the biofuels v. food debate, Duarte said, "it will be hard to convince Brazilians that biofuels have increased food prices" because this has not been Brazil's experience. He predicted that biofuels will not necessarily be a contentious issue in the region. ¶14. (SBU) Do Lago, and Daniel Lins, officer in charge of UNISUL energy negotiations, noted that there is already some entrenched opposition to biofuels in the hemisphere, citing what they called the ideological opposition of Bolivia,s Evo Morales to biofuels. (Note: commercial gas interests may play into this ideology as well. End Note.) In the energy working group negotiations in the evolving South American association, UNISUL, Bolivia has taken a reservation to the biofuels section and may be expected to resist efforts to support a positive stance on biofuels, likely along with Venezuela. Pointing to the success of Chavez's petro diplomacy with programs like PetroCaribe, Lins warned that we should not underestimate Venezuela,s influence on energy topics in the region. On a brighter note, Lin mentioned that due to Venezuela,s political inability to raise oil prices domestically, Chavez is now expressing interest in energy efficiency, a potential point of agreement between the U.S. and Venezuela. ¶15. (SBU) Do Lago and Lins voiced Brazil,s concern that discussions of energy efficiency not dominate the rest of the Summit energy agenda. However, reflecting the varying circumstances of nations in the hemisphere, the need for access to energy in many countries should also be addressed. Do Lago pointed out that bioelectricity production from bagasse holds great potential in opening access to energy in low income countries. Morales took note of the position but expressed caution that any group beyond individual countries would be in a position to address access to energy and that access to energy depended further on regulatory and legal frameworks that promoted private sector investment. He promised to deliver the message to Washington and take the issue under consideration. Do Lago suggested that we exchange views bilaterally on the proposed declaration in advance of a September meeting in Barbados. -------------- Trade & Investment -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Trade and investment figured prominently in the roundtable discussion with Sergio Amaral, Rubens Barbosa (former Ambassador to the U.S.) and Georges Landau. Barbosa was pleased that trade is not overtly on the Summit agenda, although noted the synergies with human prosperity. Landau was of the opinion that trade has to be dealt with in some fashion, despite the fact that consensus on the issue is difficult. Barbosa and Amaral both emphasized that the FTAA is not the right approach to pursue. Ambassador Clifford Sobel clarified that the United States is interested in pursuing a different kind of trade agenda in the region focused on trade facilitation, regional integration, and infrastructure development. Ambassador Sobel said that the Mission will work hard to put infrastructure and regional integration on the agenda of the next Administration. Barbosa agreed that this type of discussion could be fruitful, but cautioned to focus on promises that could be delivered. Ambassador Morales noted that it was a strategic decision to deal with trade under the human prosperity pillar and noted the intention to focus on integration, competitiveness, and the role of improved health and education to furthering human prosperity. Ambassador Morales also noted that it was critical to the success of the Summit to include private sector participation. -------------- Implementation -------------- ¶17. (SBU) While implementation has become something of an issue, Duarte said, the tendency is to include it in documents to give a sense that previous mandates are being implemented and things do not occur in a vacuum. Brazil will support a focus on implementation, and shares with some others a concern about efficiency in implementation. He said the continuation of the process is "to engage in a more focused way" on the basis of the Concept Paper and see what difficulties arise along the way. ¶18. (SBU) Duarte said he will miss the next Summit BRASILIA 00001036 004 OF 005 Implementation Review Group (SIRG) meeting on July 24 and views it as mainly an opportunity for participants to get acquainted and receive the Declaration of Commitment, while the "real negotiations begin in Barbados." Duarte and Ambassador Morales agreed to begin discussions between the US and Brazilians teams at the next SIRG (July 24). -------------- Logistics -------------- ¶19. (SBU) Duarte professed ignorance of any logistical difficulties in Port of Spain but offered Brazil's help if needed. He mentioned that on July 23 T&T PM Manning will visit Brasilia and Brazil might raise logistics with him. -------------- Role of Private Sector -------------- ¶20. (SBU) In the meeting with FIESP's President Paulo Skaf, Ambassador Morales expressed the USG's intention to enhance the role of the private sector in the Summit. Whereas in previous summits the private sector held parallel meetings, Morales expressed his hope that the agenda would include an opportunity for joint meetings with the heads of state. Skaf was receptive to this idea and said that FIESP could consider organizing a pre-Summit preparatory meeting with private sector leaders from key countries. Skaf designated Barbosa, who participated in the meeting as head of FIESP's international trade council, to continue to engage with the USG as the private sector role materializes. ¶21. (SBU) With regards to topics, Morales said that this is still in the planning stages, but eventual themes might look at lessons learned and keys to successful investments. FIESP offered their expertise on issues ranging from energy to the environment. FIESP also committed to engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Summit preparation. -------------- Shifting Regional Paradigm? -------------- ¶22. (SBU) Amaral encouraged the USG to understand that this Summit will take place in the context of new regional realities. He said that the U.S. is no longer as powerful as it once was vis-a-vis South America. He argued that because of this shifting paradigm, U.S.-Latin America relations are more important now than in the past because there is room for a new approach to emerge. He said that the U.S. no longer is in the region to dictate or solve problems and therefore it is a good moment to work together on issues of mutual interest. He expressed optimism for the future of U.S.-Latin America relations, noting his belief that only the U.S. can push forward a progressive agenda for global affairs. ¶23. (SBU) Amaral was also of the opinion that the region's diversity has of late gained strength. He said that because of this it is no longer possible to consider a single unified agenda for the Americas, as may have been the case in past decades. He said that any new agenda must take into account this diversity. Barbosa echoed this sentiment in distinguishing the separate realities of Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean versus South America. Whereas the former is still very dependent on the U.S., the latter is increasingly looking elsewhere for economic opportunities and political partnerships. -------------- Summit Fatigue -------------- ¶24. (SBU) Barbosa, Amaral, and Landau were of the opinion that Summit coordinators are facing an uphill battle when it comes to making the 2009 Summit successful. In addition to the unpleasant memories that still persist of the last Summit in Mar del Plata, the international arena is suffering from "summit fatigue." Amaral said that if this Summit follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, it will not be successful. He also said that the role of governments in pursuing closer ties in the Americas is decreasing, largely due to the ever-expanding and deepening relationship at the society level. In this context, Amaral said that summits are increasingly irrelevant. Ambassador Morales recognized the fatigue, but highlighted that while there are many sub-regional meetings, this is the only forum where the leaders of the 34 democracies can convene for furthering the inter-American agenda. The Brazilians agree, however, that BRASILIA 00001036 005 OF 005 the Summit would be an excellent opportunity for the next president to express his views towards the region, and they would look forward to hearing his ideas. ¶25. (U) This cable was jointly written by Embassy Brasilia and Consulate-General Sao Paulo and has been cleared with Ambassador Hector Morales. KUBISKE