Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MONTEVIDEO468
2009-08-13 19:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Montevideo
Cable title:  

URUGUAY: MUJICA 2.0 UNVEILED IN BRAZIL?

Tags:  PREL PGOV ECON UY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMN #0468/01 2251921
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131921Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9279
INFO RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2638
RUCNMER/MESUR COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000468 

DEPT FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: MUJICA 2.0 UNVEILED IN BRAZIL?

REF: Montevideo 535 and previous

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000468

DEPT FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: MUJICA 2.0 UNVEILED IN BRAZIL?

REF: Montevideo 535 and previous


1. (U) This telegram is sensitive but unclassified, and not for
Internet distribution.

SUMMARY
--------------


2. (SBU) The FA may have regained some lost ground in the ongoing
presidential race with the party's ticket, Jose Mujica and Danilo
Astori, making a high-profile three-day visit to Brazil that
culminated in a heavily photographed meeting with President Lula de
Silva. For Mujica, the trip offered a real opportunity not only to
try on a new suit for the first time in memory, but also to strike a
presidential air. The degree to which both are perceived to have
fitted could make a real difference to his chances during the coming
months. End Summary.

A Busy Schedule
--------------


3. (SBU) Early on August 4, FA presidential candidate Jose Mujica
and running mate Danilo Astori headed a 13-person delegation on a
three-day visit to Brazil. Other notables in the team included the
ex-labor minister, Eduardo Bonomi (a close Mujica associate and a
current senator),the president of the soccer player's union Enrique
Saravia and Claudia Hugo, Astori's secretary and companion.
Technically, the team was primarily in Brazil to discuss Mercosur
and the proposed integration of the Uruguayan and Brazilian
electrical grids, but as the phalanx of television cameras and press
made clear, the visit's function as a campaign device was very much
in the foreground.


4. (SBU) In addition to the Lula meeting, Mujica met with Brazilian
foreign minister Celso Amorim, Astori talked with Economic Secretary
Henrique Pinheiro, and Bonomi attended talks with various
legislators. The press conference that followed Mujica and Astori's
45-minute meeting with Lula ended up providing the finale, with
Mujica presenting the Brazilian president a portrait of the "Father
of Uruguay," General Artigas; a national soccer jersey signed by the
Uruguayan soccer star Alcides Ghiggia, and a drum decorated with the
maps of Brazil and Uruguay. The shirt was a somewhat playful gift,
given that it was signed by the very man whose goal had defeated the
Brazilian team in the world cup final of 1950. Lula appeared to
take the teasing well, however, holding the shirt up against himself
for size and obligingly banging Mujica's drum.


High Profile Political Gold-Dust
--------------


5. (SBU) Politically, it is the symbolic aspects of Mujica's visit
that are of the greatest relevance. The FA's presidential candidate
is working hard to temper his radical leftist reputation with
gestures that indicate a tilt towards more moderate policies.
During the visit, Mujica described Lula's government as a "very
interesting model that teaches much about what can be done from a
leftist perspective." Brazil's reputation as successful moderate
leftist economy allows Mujica to cast his proposed administration in
the same light. These efforts to win votes through allusions to
Brazilian success are complimented by Mujica's increasingly explicit
attempts to draw parallels between himself and the popular Lula
(both men, famously, come from humble backgrounds) whom he describes
as an old friend (reftel). Lula himself appeared to respond warmly
to the visit, but while some Uruguayan commentators felt this
constituted an endorsement of Mujica's candidacy, Lula has made no
such explicit comment on the subject.


6. (SBU) The visit provided the stage for Mujica's debut as a
presidential figure. Muijica's casual home-spun image both fuels
and limits his domestic support, with critics arguing that his
plain-talking rustic approach would make him a poor representative
of Uruguay in the more refined world in international politics
(reftel). Travelling to Brazil has offered Mujica the chance to
partially recast himself in the role of an international statesman.
Usually clad in an open neck shirt, generously proportioned trousers
and somewhat saggy knitwear, Mujica's first-ever suit fitting formed
such a visual contrast that it became front page news, even if he
still refused to wear a necktie. It is worth noting that no
previous visit to a neighboring country by a Uruguayan presidential
candidate has attracted anything like the same volume of press and
television coverage at home.

A New, Business Savvy, Mujica?
--------------


7. (SBU) Mujica generated further gains by the economic and
commercial nature of the visit. His often awkward relationship with
the business community has been seen by some as a weak flank in his
presidential bid, but after the meeting with Lula, Mujica announced

that Brazil would support Uruguay's efforts at bilateral grid
integration. The long proposed project has been stalled by
Argentina, which has blocked the release of Mercosur funds to
support it. Both Mujica and Astori have expressed their more general
belief that the much-criticized Mercosur trading block could work to
Uruguay's advantage if properly managed. Note: The GOU has been
discussing with Brazil the possibility of moving the project forward
for some time, but progress has been elusive. End Note.


8. (SBU) The members of the FA ticket also used their time in Brazil
to send some wider political signals. In interviews given during
their stay, both Mujica and Astori spoke in glowing terms about
Brazil's role in the region, describing the country as the natural
leader of Mercosur and emphasizing the need for Uruguay to deepen
relations with its giant neighbor, described by Astori as Uruguay's
principal client. Understanding that such words could be
interpreted as something of a snub to Argentina, Mujica artfully
added that he is confident his government would be able to reach an
understanding with the Argentine government regarding the ongoing
dispute over the Botnia paper mill.


9. (SBU) In response to the visit, the rival Blanco candidate Luis
Alberto Lacalle remarked that Uruguay should guard its independence
and not be seen to align itself with any one country. Mujica
retorted that he had visited as a friend and not as a "suck-up" and
that, moreover, Lacalle "had knocked-back whisky with every gringo
ambassador in town." He also rhetorically asked what was so bad
about visiting a friend to ask for some machinery and materials to
build houses for the poor. (Mujica has recently promised to begin
construction on homes for low-income families within 15 days of
assuming the presidency.)

Mujica 2.0: A Vote Winner?
--------------


10. (SBU) Playing off the success of the Brazil visit, there are yet
more travels in the near future for Mujica and Astori, who will
follow up with trips to Chile and Argentina Sept 21-22, and where
they are expected to meet with presidents Bachelet and Fernandez de
Kirchner. The visit helped the Mujica-Astori campaign somewhat,
with local polls showing a 1-2 point bump as a result. The trip is
another example of the Mujica team's skill at addressing and
defusing criticism by the opposition, in this case the concern that
he is not "presidential" enough and does not have sufficient foreign
policy experience.