ARGENTINE GOVERNOR OF SALTA CALLS ON THE AMBASSADOR

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000311 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS ECA FOR NINA BISHOP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECON PGOV PINR SCUL AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINE GOVERNOR OF SALTA CALLS ON THE AMBASSADOR ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador met with Salta Governor Juan Manuel Urtubey, Argentina's youngest governor, and discussed areas for cooperation, including promotion of trade and investment, cultural exchanges, and his upcoming trip to Miami, Washington, and New York in April. The Governor described Salta's promising prospects in various sectors, including energy exploration and agro-industry. He also laid out his concerns about the situation in Bolivia, which borders his province. Urtubey was very supportive of Nestor Kirchner's campaign for leadership of the Peronist Party. He mentioned he plans to visit Miami in April in connection with the Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors, and then New York and Washington. The Ambassador asked about Salta's recovery from recent floods, and the Governor described the scope of the devastation and the government's relief efforts. The Ambassador also noted that he hoped to find ways to support Salta's interest in baseball, given the thriving league in the province. End summary. Trade and Investment in Salta -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Juan Manuel Urtubey, 39, the Kirchner-allied governor of Argentina's northern province of Salta, called on the Ambassador March 6. He is an up-and-comer in the Peronist Party (PJ), supported by Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez and reportedly favorably viewed by both Kirchners. He acknowledged that Salta had long been one of Argentina's poorer provinces, with strong social and historic ties to the Andean cultures of Bolivia and Peru. With Bolivia, it shared a rich natural gas basin that had not been developed on the Argentine side for lack of investment. Urtubey hoped to encourage active exploration in this area. ¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador congratulated Urtubey on Salta's favorable investment climate. Urtubey said he hoped to promote Salta's rule of law ("juridical reliability") and social stability as key factors for attracting value-added export industries to his province. Small- and medium-sized business would be key, and agro-industry (including Salta's well-established vineyards) also had great potential. Cattle-raising had doubled in the last four years, and he thought it could quadruple in the next four. Urtubey noted that real estate development was also taking off. He claimed Salta could grow even faster, but he was concerned about the social costs of growth that was too accelerated. He noted, for example, that he had encountered much criticism for hosting Walmart's roll-out at the governor's palace and for the tax and other incentives granted to Walmart. For that reason, he was pleased that Walmart had expressed support for purchasing local products for distribution in its stores. The Ambassador offered the Embassy's assistance in fostering greater trade and investment between Salta and the United States. Concerns about Neighboring Bolivia -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Urtubey noted that Salta's border with Bolivia was the major crossing point for Bolivians to Argentina, and increasingly for narco-trafficking and trafficking in persons. Bolivia's socio-economic indicators had long been cause for concern, and Salta was bearing some of the burden. For example, up to 50% of medical patients treated at Salta's state-run medical facilities were Bolivian nationals. Recent political tensions in Bolivia had been alarming. Urtubey claimed that business people from Bolivia (primarily from Tarija and Santa Cruz) were moving their capital and operations to Salta in case unrest in the country become too disruptive, but that in the last 30-40 days he had noted a reduction in tensions and fear on the Bolivian side of the border. He said Salta's leaders were worried by the prospect of a crisis in Bolivia that could lead 150,000 to 170,000 refugees to stream across the border. Salta was not prepared to receive such a large number of refugees. Indigenous Devastated by Floods -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about recent highly publicized floods in Salta. Urtubey said recovery efforts had been slow and difficult. He noted that residents of the area between the Pilcomayo and Bermejo rivers were 70% indigenous, and that communication with those speaking Wichi or Tobar was challenging. Many of those displaced by the current floods were fishermen who had been moved away from the river banks but ultimately insisted on taking up residence again by the rivers where they fished. Peronist Party Politics -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Urtubey was full of praise for former president Nestor Kirchner and his ongoing campaign to lead and reorganize the Peronist Party (PJ). Urtubey said the Peronists would give Kirchner the PJ presidency by acclamation in recognition of how he had revived the PJ's prospects by rescuing Argentina from the depths of its 2001-02 crisis and setting it on an "irreversible" path of growth and recovery. Kirchner was "indispensable" for the party's future, and Urtubey would be pleased to accept (as rumored) a spot on Kirchner's slate as one of several PJ vice-presidents. Urtubey noted that he had worked closely with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) and with leading opposition figure Elisa Carrio when all three of them were on the Constitutional Affairs Committee in the Chamber of Deputies and knew them well. He claimed that there was a generational change underfoot, and predicted greater tolerance of diversity in the Argentine polity. On March 8 in Mendoza, Urtubey told the Ambassador that the PJ's March 7 organizational meeting had proceeded without a hitch, and Kirchner was headed to election as the PJ's new leader. Travel to the U.S. and Interest in Business Development -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Urtubey said he planned to visit Miami April 4-8 in connection with the annual IDB Board of Governors meetings, April 8-10 to New York, and April 10-11 in Washington. The Ambassador offered to work to assist the Governor with any appointments he might want and the Commercial Counselor offered to set up a meeting for the Governor with the DAS/WH at USDOC. The Governor expressed his appreciation for the offer and said he would follow-up if necessary. He also said that the Argentine Embassy in Washington was in the process of arranging some meetings for him, and he mentioned that his wife's family had ties to the U.S. Chamber. The Governor will be accompanied by, Marcelo Elizondo, the head of the Argentine Export Promotion Agency (Fundacion Exportar) on his visit to Miami. Elizondo was recently reconfirmed as head of Exportar and told the Embassy Commercial Counselor that he was assisting the Governor with some appointments. The Governor told the Ambassador that one of his main business interests would be to speak with potential investors for the development of natural gas assets in the province. Baseball -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Ambassador recalled that Salta had an unusually active interest in baseball, with a league that had its roots in the enthusiasm of a few young boys in Salta 60 years ago who undertook to learn and spread the sport after seeing a popular movie about Babe Ruth. The Ambassador said he hoped to find ways to support Salta's interest in baseball, given the thriving league in the province. Biographic Info -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Urtubey was regarded as a protege of provincial Peronist stalwart Juan Carlos Romero in Salta, yet he also cultivated an excellent relationship with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during his years in Congress. This fact led him to distance himself from the Peronist party in the province, and, after 12 years under Romero's government, Salta witnessed a highly competitive election in October 2007. Urtubey broke from the governing party and presented himself as a candidate of the Kirchners' Victory Front (FPV). He defeated Romero's vice-Governor Walter Wayar, a traditional provincial politician, by only 5000 votes. ¶10. (SBU) Prior to becoming governor, Urtubey served in the Congress as a National deputy from 1999 through 2007. Young, articulate and charismatic, Urtubey takes advantage of mass-media to reach out to voters. In his campaign, he focused on modern leadership and eliminating the corruption of the Romero government. He comes from a political family. His father, Rodolfo Urtubey, is a prominent jurist known for his conservative ideas, and worked for former Governor Romero. His uncle, Julio Mera Figueroa, served in the cabinet of Carlos Menem and as an advisor to Governor Saadi in Catamarca. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Governor Urtubey conveyed a genuine interest in developing a stronger relationship with the U.S. Embassy and developing a broad range of contacts in the United States. He requested this meeting so that he could take advantage of his trip to Buenos Aires for the Peronist Party's reorganization meetings and came to the Embassy immediately before going to the start of those meetings. His wife has relatives in the United States and he recognizes the potential benefits of increased trade and investment with the United States. FMC has a lithium mine in Salta and Wal-Mart is working with the Salta business community to locate provincial products that can be sold in its growing number of stores throughout Argentina, which would be an economic benefit to this beautiful, though distant, province in Argentina's arid northwest. He is reported to have good contacts with the Kirchners and could eventually be a good interlocutor for the USG with a bright future in national politics. Urtubey invited the Ambassador to visit Salta. The Ambassador said he had already done so but would love to do so again. ¶12. (SBU) Another interesting aspect of this conversation: When referring to the prior governor, a former strong ally and now more distant colleague since he joined the Kirchners' Victory Front (FPV) movement, Urtubey was careful to say that the province and his administration were benefiting from the high-quality leadership and management of his predecessor. That is not a common comment in Argentine politics. WAYNE