ARGENTINE REACTION TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUENOS AIRES 000070

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