Santiago Oct. 22 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001002 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI SUBJECT: Santiago Oct. 22 Media Report Lead Story -------------- ¶1. The National Teachers Association will go on an indefinite national strike tomorrow that will affect public schools. Teachers claim the government owes them a special bonus to pay for the paychecks and jobs lost when the administration of public schools was moved from the Ministry of Education to municipalities in 1981. They call this a "historical debt" (All dailies, 10/22). U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. Otto Reich and Jeffrey Davidow are some of the former Assistant Secretaries of State to Latin America who wrote the U.S. Senate a letter expressing concern for the delay in the confirmation of several officials, including Arturo Valenzuela. The delay, says the letter, could compromise U.S. interests in the region with regard to immigration, energy, trade, and counternarcotics efforts (Conservative, influential El Mercurio, 10/22). "Salitre" Military Exercise -------------- ¶3. Peru, which initially rejected Chile's invitation to send observers to the "Salitre" exercise, will now send its Air Force Attach???? in Santiago to the exercise on October 28. Peru reviewed its decision after Chile agreed to change the hypothetical scenario of the exercise (El Mercurio, 10/22). ¶4. Peru's Defense Ministry is open to the possibility of sending its Air Force Attach???? in Santiago to observe the "Salitre" exercise on October 28 (Conservative, independent, La Tercera, 10/22). ¶5. Photographs of the different types of aircraft participating in the "Salitre" exercise in Antofagasta (Popular Las Ultimas Noticias, 10/22). 6 Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Velasquez said that a delegation from Lima would be traveling to UNASUR countries to gather support for the signature of a non-aggression pact to stop an alleged arms race in the region, as proposed by President Alan Garcia (Government-owned La Nacion, 10/22). Atomic Energy -------------- ¶7. International Energy Agency Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka is in Chile to deliver the agency's assessment report of Chile's electricity sector. "We understand that there is concern over the use of hydroelectricity and nuclear energy in Chile, but these technologies are needed as a source and as part of the solution," said Tanaka. He said that the future lies in the development of sustainable and efficient energy and investment in alternative energy sources, such as the sun and the sea (El Mercurio, 10/22). SIMONS