MEXICO ON IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 001286 SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/T (MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2019 TAGS: AORC KNNP IAEA PREL MX SUBJECT: MEXICO ON IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION REF: STATE 46302 Classified By: Deputy Polcouns James P. Merz. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Poloff conferred with Blanca Mendez Oblea, Deputy Director of Candidacies at the Foreign Secretariat (SRE),May 11 to convey USG Preference for Ambassador Yukiya Amano of Japan in the second round of voting for the IAEA Director General position (reftel). Although Suarez said the Govermnent of Mexico (GOM) voted for Ambassador Amano during the first round, it was waiting for the candidate registration process to be completed before making a decision. ¶2. (C) Suarez told Poloff that Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa was involved directly in the decision-making process in the first round. She said that Espinosa had personal knowledge of the previous two candidates from her tenure as Mexico's Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna before becoming Foreign Minister. Suarez said that the GOM would keep in mind our preferred candidate in making its decision. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT