URUGUAY: DROUGHT CONTINUES, BUT GOVERNMENT NOT YET

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000007

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

WHA FOR BSC
SAN JOSE FOR USAID/OFDA TIM CALLAGHAN AND PHIL GELMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SENV EAID EAGR ECON SOCI UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: DROUGHT CONTINUES, BUT GOVERNMENT NOT YET
READY TO REQUEST FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

REF: 08 MONTEVIDEO 0685


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

Summary:
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2. (SBU) Uruguay continues to suffer from a serious drought,
but Deputy Chief of Staff Jorge Vazquez told Ambassador
Baxter January 8 that the GOU does not yet consider it
necessary to request international assistance. A recent USG
donation of firefighting equipment was well received. The
government is following closely the impact of the drought in
the southern part of the country, particularly the impact on
dairy farms. End Summary.

Drought Effects Widespread
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3. (U) Uruguay's second serious drought in three years
continues unabated. Reftel detailed the drought's negative
economic effects, which to date have been concentrated in the
southern part of the country, but all of Uruguay is dry and
the weather does not show any signs of offering relief. The
GOU has purchased and installed over two hundred water
storage tanks in affected areas, which it fills using a
network of mobile tanker trucks. That system means that no
Uruguayan is currently going without potable water, but
livestock and crop losses continue. During this tourist
season, the most visible manifestation of the dry conditions
has been a constant outbreak of brush/forest fires, including
some along the main coastal highway that temporarily blocked
traffic. Massive locust hatches and swarms are also being
reported.

USG Delivers Assistance, Offers Further Help
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4. (SBU) The ambassador contacted Deputy Chief of Staff of
the Presidency Jorge Vazquez January 8 to follow up on the
Embassy's recent (January 3) donation of aerial firefighting
equipment, the most significant part of which consisted of
four Bambi Buckets from USSOUTHCOM Humanitarian Assistance
Funds. Responsible for overseeing Uruguay's equivalent of
FEMA, Vazquez coordinates the GOU's response to natural and
other disasters. Ambassador Baxter expressed the USG's
willingness to help further to ameliorate the drought's
effects on ordinary Uruguayans. Vazquez thanked the
ambassador warmly for the rapid provision of firefighting
equipment which arrived just as fires began to intensify
along the coast. The GOU believes it can -- for the moment
-- respond to this disaster without international assistance.
Note: the Embassy is coordinating closely with USAID/OFDA
and USSOUTHCOM.

Government Focuses on Small & Medium-sized Producers
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5. (U) Jorge Vazquez told Ambassador Baxter that the GOU's
principal concern is for small and medium-sized farmers,
especially dairy operations. Vazquez explained that most of
Uruguay's larger farms and ranches invested in considerable
pumping, irrigation, and water storage capacity after the
last drought in 2006, and they are therefore not as severely
affected by today's conditions. Smaller producers generally
lack those assets, Vazquez said, and are suffering from
shortages of both water and feed. The GOU is providing both
of those essentials where needed, Vazquez said, and
recipients are able to finance their purchase via
zero-interest rate lines of credit established by the GOU.
The GOU has also directed state-run Banco Republica to
provide short-term zero-interest loans to farmers in need,
according to Vazquez. He did not disclose the number of
beneficiaries of either program.

Comment:
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6. (SBU) The U.S. has already received significant public
relations benefits attendant with our donation of
firefighting equipment, with stories appearing in both print
and television. We hope for further positive exposure from
an upcoming event featuring Jorge Vazquez and the ambassador,
at which the ambassador will formally hand over the
equipment. Such benefits are not accruing to the GOU,


despite its efforts. Many agricultural producers
(particularly the larger firms that are not receiving
financial assistance) are indignant at what they characterize
as a weak GOU response, and their attacks on the GOU
(particularly the agriculture minister) have begun to
resonate in the local media.
Baxter