ARGENTINE REACTION TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE

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SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, AR

SUBJ: ARGENTINE REACTION TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION OVERWHELMINGLY

POSITIVE



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On January 20, Argentine eyes shifted to

Washington D.C., from that morning to the next dawn to follow every

detail of President Barack Obama's inauguration. Five 24/7 news

channels broadcast live from Washington for hours. Inauguration

news splashes massively in the print press January 21 and continue

to reverberate in broadcast media. The media's focus on President

Obama's inauguration overshadowed coverage of President Cristina

Fernandez de Kirchner's three-day state visit to Cuba (septel). Her

first public comments in Cuba in a pre-scheduled speech included

criticism of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and coincided with President

Obama's inauguration speech. After the media highlighted these

remarks, President Fernandez de Kirchner the same afternoon asserted

publicly that the Obama speech had promised "good expectations."

Other government officials quickly followed suit and praised the new

U.S. President. Analysts, press observers and the opposition also

welcomed the new president and noted that Argentina has a chance to

improve its erratic relations with the U.S. and should take it. A

number lamented the bad timing of her Cuba trip, but observers have

pegged it to poor planning rather than intent to signal the U.S.

(septel). END SUMMARY.



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PRESS COVERAGE MASSIVE AND POSITIVE

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2. (SBU) The Argentine press covered very positively President

Barack Obama's inauguration, which reached a crescendo on the

mornings of January 20-21. Headlines announcing the inauguration

highlighted the hope for change that has captured the imagination of

the public both in the U.S. and elsewhere. Even columnists in

left-inclined, typically anti-U.S. newspapers joined the positive

tone of coverage and stressed the stark contrast expected between

the incoming Obama and the outgoing Bush administrations and

signaling the start of a new era. Often skeptical minds, such as

that of Jorge Lanata, editor of the blunt, left-leaning newspaper

Critica, said Obama-inspired hope was renewing his belief in

politics. At the other side of the media spectrum, the center-right

La Nacion wrote on the front-page that Obama was about to make the

Martin Luther King Jr. dream a reality. The largest-selling

newspaper in the country, Clarin, described Obama as "the

incarnation of the American dream." Some diplomatic world insiders,

such as former Argentine ambassador to France, Carlos Perez Llanas,

pointed out in an opinion column in El Cronista Comercial that

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's trip to Cuba coinciding

with Obama's inauguration made very little foreign relations sense.





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MASS AUDIENCIES GLUED TO TV INAUGURATION COVERAGE ...

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3. (SBU) Since early morning on January 20, the country's five

round-the-clock cable television news channels plugged in to live

footage coming from Washington. For hours, these channels devoted

their coverage almost exclusively to the inauguration, focusing on

every detail. Four news channels and two broadcast channels,

including the state-run Canal 7, requested permission to broadcast

live from the Embassy residence, where Ambassador Wayne offered a

reception to watch the inauguration ceremony. The stations combined

footage coming from Washington with live broadcast of the local

flavor at the "standing-room only" event at the Ambassador's

residence. These channels, which together reach an audience of an

estimated 15 million people, all carried the entire inauguration

ceremony and the President's remarks. They also carried the

Ambassador's message, prior and post inauguration, stressing the

opening of "a new chapter" in U.S. relations with the region and

describing President Obama's address as "a message of peace and

cooperation." The top news station reported a tripling of

viewership ratings at the peak moments of the inauguration speech

and strong continuing public interest, well into January 21.



4. (SBU) The President's words reverberated on television, radio and

on-line media throughout the afternoon and the next morning, as

inauguration coverage and commentary continued. Leading political

talk shows in news channels Todo Noticias and C5N that evening were

devoted exclusively to the inauguration. The state-run Channel 7,

the only broadcast TV station that reaches the entire of Argentina,

aired a three-minute segment on its prime-time evening news program

which included the Ambassador highlighted the importance of

President Obama's inauguration for the strengthening of U.S.

relations with the region and Argentina.



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... AS A MIXED MESSAGE COMES FROM CFK IN CUBA

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5. (SBU) As Inauguration Day coverage peaked after President Obama's

address, news wires carried the first public comments by President

Fernandez de Kirchner since her arrival in Havana January 18. The

reports highlighted a line of her speech at a Havana university in

which the President criticizes the U.S. embargo on Cuba, describing

it as "a commercial fence unprecedented in the history of the world"



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and adding that Cuba would fully develop "when some barriers are

lifted for good." The President's negative line toward the United

States marked a stark contrast with the overall positive coverage

and commentary thus far.



6. (SBU) These comments by the President quickly triggered criticism

from the opposition, some of whose leaders had already disapproved

the timing of the President's trip to the Communist island. Elisa

Carrio, last year's presidential runner-up and leader of the

centrist Civic Coalition, said the President was "disconnected" from

reality, "while the world moves forward, they (the Kirchners) are 40

years behind." Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri, leader of

the center-right PRO party, described the presidential trip to Cuba

as "unfortunate," "I don't see the point or the content of this

trip."



7. (SBU) In her second speech in Havana on the evening of January

20, President Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) referred to the

inauguration of "the first African American president in the country

that became, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first hegemonic

power in the world," and she praised President Obama's inaugural

address. The following da, after a surprise 40-minute conversation

with Fidel (septel),CFK claimed that Fidel told her he agreed with

everything se had said in her speech. She claimed Fidel said

President Obama "sincerely believes what he is saying; let's hope he

can do what he says or that they let him do it."



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OBAMA PRAISED ACROSS SPECTRUM

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8. (SBU) CFK also said while visiting Cuba that President Obama's

speech was a "confirmation of the good expectations he has raised."

She praised President Obama's remarks that "security cannot do away

with ideals, in a world where there have been attacks and invasions

on behalf of security." She also said she shared his beliefs that

"the market sometimes behaves negligently, and thus (the State)

needs to watch and monitor it," and that "the growth of a country is

not only measurable by numbers, but for the quality of people's

lives." She added that "the most important thing (President Obama)

said is that the world changed and nobody can ignore it."



9. (SBU) Vice President Cobos posted a letter on Facebook saying

President Obama's message had been "very encouraging, not only for

his country but also for the world." He called Obama "a President

looking to cooperate rather than to confront; a President concerned

by the environmental problems that the United States - for its high

industrial development - has caused - among others." Cobos also

praised President Obama's concern for education, health, alternative

energy and the need to work hard to bring economy back to normal for

his country and for the world's benefit. Cobos finished his letter

by saying that President Obama has successfully raised hopes among

the international community and that he hoped Argentina could

establish a mature, lasting relationship with this new leader on

behalf of both countries.



10. (SBU) Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said that Obama's

inauguration opens a new era in world affairs. Taiana called for

more dialogue, more respect among countries, and "more attention

over markets' control so that they may be mostly oriented towards

the real economy and the development of productive structures and

economies." Taiana characterized President Obama's speech as

important and expressed hope it "could turn into a greater calling

for multilateralism, and into an interest for a frank and horizontal

dialogue with the countries in the region."



11. (SBU) Argentine Ambassador to the United States Hector Timerman

said the new administration could begin "a stage of greater

dialogue" with the world and "that (the United States) would have a

better relationship with the World in general."



12. (SBU) Cabinet Chief Sergio Massa said the CFK administration is

optimistic that President Obama will strengthen ties with the Latin

American region, and hence with Argentina. "This is an important

day. A new era of hope and expectation has arrived. It's the

inauguration of a President with unique characteristics. Latin

America and the world have great expectations for Obama." Massa

wished him good luck in his administration "because, in the end, the

United States is the engine of the global economy and if Obama does

well, the world will be able to overcome the crisis."



13. (SBU) Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez said the inauguration

was rich with symbolism, and he praised the presence of former

Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George

W. Bush as an example for Argentina to emulate. Fernandez said he

was optimistic regarding the future bilateral relationship and said

he hopes the United States and Argentina "can increase their

analysis of each of the bilateral issues, with the necessary

divergences and without the need for feeling insulted."



14. (SBU) Kirchner-allied Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli

remarked that President Obama's arrival represented "changes and



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hopes, and much expectation in Latin America" and recommended

President Obama "focus more on the south" as "the region needs more

attention."



15. (SBU) The head of the center-left Civic Coalition Elisa Carrio

said that "(the fact) that Obama can be the President of a country

like the United States, in which slavery existed a short time ago,

is a wonderful thing for humanity...with Obama we see that (the

United States) is a society capable of electing a black man, which

shows a virtue of the American people. We need to work for things

like this."



16. (SBU) The head of the center-right PRO bloc in the Chamber of

Deputies, Federico Pinedo, called for "an alliance with the United

States based on the rule of law in order to generate further

economic activity and investment." He also opined that "it is

possible that (the United States) will have a more intense

relationship with the region, which will depend on the willingness

of those that seek said relationship like Chile, Brazil and Peru."

He said he did not believe that could happen with Ecuador, Bolivia

and Venezuela and that "the change in the relation with Argentina

will fully depend on the (Argentine) National Government."



17. (SBU) The President of the Radical Party (UCR) Senator Gerardo

Morales expressed his hopes that Obama's administration "will not

resort to the evil reasoning of preemptive wars" while he called on

President Obama to "search for solutions regarding key issues in

people's lives, such as immigration, energy or countertrafficking."

Regarding Obama's future relation with the region, Morales urged the

new government "to understand the potential of the countries in our

region and thus, implement proper trade and integration policies."



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COMMENT

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18. (SBU) Argentine media coverage of the presidential Inauguration

in the United States was overwhelmingly positive, and statements by

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (after an initial off-tone

misstep while visiting Cuba) and other Argentine leaders were

unanimously welcoming and encouraging, if occasionally masking some

implicit criticism of United States policy.



WAYNE