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 origin: Embassy Quito classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 09QUITO579|09QUITO616 header: VZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHQT #0703/01 2191521 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 071521Z AUG 09 FM AMEMBASSY QUITO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0726 INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8296 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4238 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3664 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG LIMA 3346 RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4535 RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL -------------- header ends -------------- 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 =======================CABLE ENDS============================