IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT DOMINATED BY HONDURAS DISPUTE

UNCLAS LISBON 000608 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ECIN EFIN PREL AN XM CU DR SP PO SUBJECT: IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT DOMINATED BY HONDURAS DISPUTE ¶1. (U) Delegations from twenty-two Iberian and Latin American nations attended the nineteenth Ibero-American Summit in Estoril, Portugal November 29-December 1. The summit's theme was "Innovation and Knowledge" and featured discussions on technology and innovation collaboration, social development and regional cooperation. Delegations from Andorra, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, and Spain were led by their heads of state, with the remaining nine attending delegations led by lower level officials. Leftist Latin American regimes presented lower profiles at this year's summit, as Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, RauQ Castro, and Evo Morales were all absent. ¶2. (U) Despite the theme, the summit was dominated by efforts to develop a consensus statement about the ongoing Honduran leadership crisis and the November 29 elections. Strong delegation positions either supporting or condemning the elections made for a contentious debate that threatened to extend the summit, but attendees ultimately released a "special statement" which was mute about the elections but condemned the June 28 coup and called for ousted President Zelaya's reinstatement. ¶3. (U) The "Lisbon Declaration" released on December 1 delineated the results of the summit, including thirty-three "agreements" and fourteen "special communications." The agreements touched on numeQs issues, including support for technological collaboration, expanded investment in broadband and informationQchnology infrastructure, national responsibilities to fight global climate change, and active involvement in financial reforms to counter harmful effects of the global financial crisis. The "special communications" included statements calling for an end to the U.S. embargo of Cuba (including the Helms-Burton Act),reiterating support for the Alliance of Civilizations (led by former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio),supporting Portugal and other Ibero-American nations as members of the UN Security Council, continuing the fight against corruption, and condemning terrorism. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Although the Lisbon Declaration lists an impressive array of issues, the prolonged debate about Honduras was obviously a disappointment to most of the summit delegations. Brazilian President Lula da Silva, for example, said publicly that he would not have attended had he known Honduras would dominate the program. The attendance of ten Latin American heads of state at the summit, however, can be viewed as a modest success for Portugal, more than making up for the minimal substantive progress. For more reporting from Embassy Lisbon and information about Portugal, please see our Intelink site: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/portal:port ugal BALLARD