ECUADOR'S UNASUR AGENDA: AN ANTI-AMERICAN TONE?

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000703

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS
TAGS: AORC PREL ECIN MARR EC CO XM XR
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S UNASUR AGENDA: AN ANTI-AMERICAN TONE?

REF: A. QUITO 616

B. QUITO 579

Classified By: Ambass...



id: 219973
date: 8/7/2009 15:21
refid: 09QUITO703
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classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 09QUITO579|09QUITO616
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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000703

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS
TAGS: AORC PREL ECIN MARR EC CO XM XR
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S UNASUR AGENDA: AN ANTI-AMERICAN TONE?

REF: A. QUITO 616

B. QUITO 579

Classified By: Ambassador Heather M. Hodges for Reasons 1.4 (b&d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On the 200th anniversary of its so-called
"First Call for Independence" on August 10, Ecuador will
assume the rotating presidency of UNASUR on the same day that
President Correa is inaugurated. The MFA announced the GOE's
objectives and planned projects for UNASUR on August 3, which
include the creation of legal advisory and arbitration
centers, strengthening of existing councils and creation of
new ones, and integration of educational systems. Although
the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement being
negotiated appears to cause some concern among UNASUR members
and could be raised by President Correa during the UNASUR
ceremony, it is not clear whether this will become a focus of
the UNASUR meetings on August 8-10 in Quito or be included in
the resulting declaration. END SUMMARY.

ECUADOR ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF UNASUR


2. (SBU) Ecuador will assume the Presidency Pro Tempore of
the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on August 10,

2009. President of Chile Michelle Bachelet will hand over
the presidency to President Rafael Correa in an early morning
event in the Capital Room of the Saint Augustine church, the
historic location where Ecuador's Act of Independence was
signed 200 years earlier on the same date. The "First Call
for Independence" was not the date that Ecuador actually
gained independence because the Spanish troops reasserted
control a few months later, killing those involved in the
rebellion. Ecuador won its independence from Spain in 1822
and became the Republic of Ecuador in 1830 when it split from
Gran Colombia, but celebrates August 10 as its independence
day. Following the UNASUR ceremony, President Correa will be
sworn in for his first term under the new constitution at the
National Assembly building.


3. (U) Foreign Minister Fander Falconi announced during an
official press conference on August 3 that assuming the
UNASUR presidency represents "a commitment to strengthen the
coordination of Latin American integration and to contribute
to the equitable development of the peoples, the coordination
of international cooperation, and the fight against inequity
and social exclusion."

ECUADOR'S OBJECTIVES


4. (U) Outlining Ecuador's objectives during the coming
year, Falconi said that Ecuador would promote the creation of
a center for arbitration, as an alternative to the
International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID) of the World Bank. (The Government of Ecuador
announced early July its withdrawal from ICSID -- Ref B.)
Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense Gustavo Martinez
told PolOff on July 30, confirmed by Falconi during the MFA
press conference, that another of Ecuador's objectives is to
strengthen the level of coordination of the existing councils
of Defense, Energy, and Health, while supporting the creation
of other councils.


5. (C) During the official press conference, Falconi also
set forth a list of projects for UNASUR, including the
establishment of a system of educational evaluation specific
to Latin America, the development of academic programs, and
the establishment of a Latin American university system.
Falconi made no mention of President Correa's statement made
during his June 6 radio address that Ecuador would present a
proposal that UNASUR "protect governments from the press," or
that a regional electoral observation organization be
established. Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Marques Porto had
downplayed the possibility of UNASUR taking acting against
the press in a July 8 luncheon with the Ambassador, saying
that the majority of UNASUR countries (including Brazil)
would never support such a proposal.

DECLARATION OF QUITO


6. (C) MFA Coordinator for UNASUR Marjorie Ulloa told PolOff
on August 5 that UNASUR's "Declaration of Quito" would
consist of only five short paragraphs. Prior to the official
UNASUR ceremony, the 19th Meeting of the UNASUR Council of

Delegates will meet on August 8, followed by a meeting of
UNASUR foreign ministers on August 9. During these meetings
a consensus text of the Declaration of Quito will be
negotiated.

U.S. ON THE AGENDA?


7. (C) Ulloa assured us that the UNASUR meeting would not be
a forum for discussing the U.S. There has been concern that
UNASUR would use the occasion to criticize the negotiation of
an agreement between the U.S. and Colombia to allow for U.S.
use of military bases in Colombia, which FM Falconi in public
comments termed "worrisome." Lula is also quoted as calling
for a separate meeting in late August of the South American
Defense Council so that the Defense Ministers can "inform us
about the problem that a U.S. base could bring to Colombia."

FULL PARTICIPATION


7. (SBU) The presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil,
Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and
Venezuela have confirmed their attendance at the August 10
ceremony; Colombia is notably the only UNASUR member that
will likely send a lower level representative.

COMMENT


8. (C) The closure of the U.S. Forward Operating Location
(FOL) in Manta has been covered heavily in the Ecuadorian
press, including the alleged "transfer" of FOL operations to
Colombia (Ref A). Even if the Declaration of Quito does not
include problematic language on U.S.-Colombia defense
cooperation, we cannot rule out that President Correa would
use the ceremony as an opportunity to raise that issue. We
can be sure he will emphasize the importance of deepening
South American integration, and he may well put this in the
context of seeking to minimize the influence of and
dependence on the United States in the region.

HODGES

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