CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 3-5

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SUBJECT: CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 3-5

Leading Stories
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1. Dailies highlighted OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza's
final decision not to run for the presidency of Chile; Israel's
offensive in the Palestinian territories; and the case of relatives
of detained and disappeared people who erroneously received
increased government pension payments and are being asked to refund
the overpayments.

U.S.-Related News
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2. Six former FBI agents, including William J. Esposito, a former
Assistant Director of the Bureau, arrived in Chile several weeks
ago. They were hired by the Indian multinational consortium Tata to
conduct a parallel probe into the case of alleged corruption
involving Chile's National Registry Service. The case is being
investigated by Chilean prosecutor Alejandra Godoy. The former
agents are currently working for the Freeh Group, a U.S. auditing
firm. Prosecutor Godoy took their depositions as witnesses in the
case. They were visited by Chilean attorneys and even by a
high-ranking U.S. Embassy official. Chilean law enforcement
officers discovered that the former agents lacked permits to work in
Chile, and had entered the country as tourists. (El Mostrador,
liberal, online, 1/5).


2. OAS Secretary General Jos Miguel Insulza will arrive in Chile
today, earlier than expected, to announce his withdrawal from the
presidential race. (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ.
101,000, 1/5; El Mercurio, conservative, influential
newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000).


3. Women's National Service (SERNAM) Minister Laura Albornoz -who
also chairs the Inter American Women's Commission-- is scheduled to
meet in Washington with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza on
January 26. The meeting is to coordinate resources intended to
counter gender-based violence in the region. (El Mercurio,1/4).


4. A recent study conducted by academics at Dartmouth College and
the Universities of Michigan and Maryland found that the opening of
Wal-Mart retail stores reduces the sales of its competitors by 14%.
(El Mercurio, 1/3).

Local
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5. Two explosive artifacts were detonated in Santiago last night,
causing minor damages. One explosion occurred at the Prison's Social
Reinsertion Center in downtown Santiago, while another detonation
took place at a local police courthouse in the Providencia district.
No group has claimed responsibility. (El Mercurio, La Tercera,
1/5).


6. Chile's Ministry of Energy has doubled its budget for carrying
out nuclear energy studies in 2009. Minister Marcelo Tokman noted
that his office has considered conducting new analyses and studies
in this area. (La Tercera, 1/5).


Chile and Other Countries
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7. Christian Democratic legislator Patricio Walker expressed his
hope that President Michelle Bachelet will meet with Cuban
dissidents during her February visit to the island. Although the
likelihood of such a gathering has been dismissed, Deputy Walker
noted, "I am hopeful that there will be some gesture by the Chilean
delegation... in support of the dissidents, either by meeting with
them or by asking the Castro dictatorship's authorities to free the
prisoners of conscience." Deputy Walker has been denied permission
to visit Cuba at least twice, including when he was chairman of the
Chamber of Deputies in 2007. According to the legislator, Cuban
officials rejected his visit when he acknowledged that he planned to
meet with dissidents. (El Mercurio, 1/4).


8. Representatives of Cuban dissidents sent a letter to the Chilean
Ambassador to Havana requesting a meeting with President Bachelet
during her upcoming visit to the island. Vladimiro Roca, leader of
Cuba's Social Democratic Party, noted that they have not received a
response yet. (El Mercurio, 1/5; La Nacion, government-owned,
editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 1/5).
E

Editorials
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9. International weekly news round-up editorial, entitled "Obama
and the World in 2009:" "After a year full of bad news, which ended
with the entire world preparing for the effects of a global economic
crisis, January begins with high expectations over what will become
a historic landmark: The swearing-in of the first African American
to become U.S. President. Barack Obama arrived in Washington after
taking his end-of-year vacation in Hawaii (...) to begin a task full
of challenges and opportunities..." (El Mercurio, 1/5).


10. Former Chilean Foreign Minister and weekly columnist Hernan
Felipe Errazuriz wrote a piece entitled "50 Years and Decline of the
Castros:" "The dying Communist system of the Castro brothers is an
anachronism (...) The United States has reacted to Cuban excesses
with counterproductive measures (...) In any case, the evolution
towards its freedom depends on the Cuban people, encouraged by both
domestic and external factors. An end to the Castro days could be
one of the good-news stories of 2009." (El Mercurio, 1/3).

SIMONS