URUGUAYAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOSE MUJICA SAYS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTEVIDEO 000437

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAYAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOSE MUJICA SAYS
U.S. SHOULD COUNT ON HIS FRIENDSHIP (C-AL9-01505)
...
REF: MVD 0411 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: CDA ALFRED SCHANDLBAUER, FOR REASON 1.4 (B)

Summary
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1. (C) Governing Frente Amplio coalition presidential
candidate Senator Jose Mujica told the charge July 23 that
the U.S. should count on him as a friend. He noted that he
has relationships with and access to leaders within the
hemisphere that have difficult relations with the USG, and
said that as president he would be happy to serve as an
intermediary between the U.S. and any of those leaders as
needed. Mujica's visit to the charge's residence marked the
first time in the Embassy's collective memory that he had
attended an Embassy event. End Summary.

The Frente Amplio comes to lunch
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2. (SBU) Rounding out a series of lunches at her residence
with Uruguay's presidential candidates (septels),the charge
hosted the ruling Frente Amplio (FA) coalition ticket of
Senators Jose ""Pepe"" Mujica and Danilo Astori July 23.
Mujica and Astori stressed the importance of the bilateral
relationship with the U.S., discussed the basics of the FA's
campaign strategy, and confirmed press reports that Astori
will manage Uruguay's economic policy in a Mujica government.


Mujica: Count on me as a friend
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3. (C) Responding to a question about Mujica's foreign policy
views, both Mujica and Astori were quick to state that they
see the relationship with the U.S. as fundamentally
important, and Mujica said that the U.S. should count on him
as a friend. Later, without prompting, Mujica explained that
his past -- which includes twelve years in prison for
high-level participation in the Tupamaro guerrilla movement
#¿NOMBRE?
leaders in the region who are not friendly toward the U.S.
With that in mind, he offered his assistance as a mediator
between the U.S. and any of those leaders to help ease
frictions (he used the verb ""aceitar,"" (to oil)) as needed.

Electoral Strategy
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4. (SBU) Mujica was (probably intentionally) vague about the
FA's strategy for winning the presidential elections in the
first round, something many analysts believe he must do if
the FA is to remain in power. He said only that he believes
it will be a hard-fought and clean campaign, and in a caveat
stated that it was impossible to control what his supporters
would say about his opponents on the Internet. Astori was a
little more forthcoming, but the only information outside the
public domain that he offered was his observation that their
ticket's campaign would likely cost around USD 2 million,
which was approximately the same amount Tabare Vazquez spent
to win in 2004. Astori speculated that the rival Blancos
would spend more. Both Mujica and Astori view Blanco
candidate Luis Alberto Lacalle as a serious and formidable
opponent.

Comment
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5. (C) This was the first time in any Embassy employee's
memory that Mujica had attended an Embassy event, and he
appeared nervous when he first arrived in the charge's
residence. He is a famously casual dresser, and news that he
has commissioned his first suit before an upcoming meeting in
Brazil with President Lula made headlines, but he wore a
blazer to lunch. He soon grew more comfortable, though, and
began dispensing the homespun wisdom for which he is known as
he talked of the difficulty of quitting smoking (he quit four
years ago) and his hobby of raising flowers. Much has been
made locally of the dynamic between Mujica and Astori, which
is commonly believed to be cold. They seemed quite
comfortable with each other, however, even if their differing
personalities and styles don't lend themselves to perfect
camaraderie.


6. (C) Mujica clearly viewed the encounter as more of an
opportunity to get to know one another than as a forum for
policy discussion, and so wouldn't be drawn into detail about
his plans regarding particular policies or appointments. He
did mention China in an admiring tone, relating an anecdote
that credited the Chinese government with long-term thinking,
but he later joked that those who currently bemoan Yankee
hegemony will end up thinking of that as the good old days if
the Chinese ever come to exercise as much influence in the
region.
Schandlbauer