CHILE MEDIA REPORT - FEBRUARY 19

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000145

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE MEDIA REPORT - FEBRUARY 19

Leading Stories
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1. Chile and Bolivia scheduled a meeting of Foreign Affairs
officials to lower the tension over the impasse created by Fidel
Castro's endorsement of Bolivia's sea access claim and Evo Morales'
subsequent remarks that he would like the international community to
become involved. Dailies also report that polls conducted in the
region indicate Chile is the region's best prepared country to face
the international crisis.

U.S.-Related News
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2. Customs figures show that the United States is again the largest
recipient of Chile's exports, displacing China. In January, 19.5%
of total Chilean exports went to the United States, and 15% to China
(El Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ.
129,000, 2/19).


3. The American Chilean Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) reports a 7%
decrease in Chilean exports to the United States in 2008. Exports
to the U.S., however, have grown 125% compared to 2003. On the
other hand, U.S. exports to Chile grew 51% in 2008, primarily due to
petroleum oils (Estrategia, business and financial, circ. 30,000,
2/19).


4. Photo coverage of the luncheon hosted by Ambassador Simons with
prominent Chileans to watch and discuss President Obama's
inauguration on January 20 (Poder, monthly magazine, 2/19)


5. Money Morning from the United States placed Chile among the five
most promising emerging economies in the region, noting that
although it has net assets of only US$ 112 million, it has built up
a reserve equal to 12% of its GDP (El Mercurio, 2/19).


6. The United States began its conversion to digital television on
February 18, which is equal in importance to the change that
occurred when black and white television was replaced by color TV.
A March 2007, U.S. law established that all television sets sold
should include the digital standard and that stations should be
airing using the digital standard (ATSC) by February 2009. The
Federal Government, however, extended the deadline to June 12, since
disinformation has prevented several million Americans from claiming
the US$ 40 dollar government bond to help pay for the conversion (La
Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 2/18).


7. Editorial: "Obama's Plan" -- "In his first month of office,
President Obama has been making enormous efforts to bring confidence
to the markets.... The President's words have combined hope, the
kind he instilled in his campaign, with strong elements of caution.
Along those lines, he has warned that things could become worse
before they get better and the current trend is reversed.... The
world is confident that the public policies of the Democratic regime
will adjust to the needs of the global economy so that the extension
of the negative stage shortens" (Estrategia, 2/19).


8. Editorial: "Obama's Tough First Month": "In his first thirty
days in office, Obama has announced his third emergency plan.....
But in spite of the President's efforts there are still no signs of
progress. Dow Jones ... and the treasury bonds... have renewed
their fall, showing that investors are still looking for refuge....
Obama can at least say that he has fulfilled his promise of risking
everything in trying to resolve the crisis. But this has been a
tough first month and there are still issues pending" (Diario
Financiero, business and financial, circ. 30,000, 2/19).

Bolivia
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9. Chilean and Bolivian Foreign Affairs Under Secretaries will meet
"in the next few days" to help resolve the impasse created by Fidel
Castro's endorsement of Bolivia's claim for a passage to the sea and
President Evo Morales' rQarks that he wants the international
community to have a role in that discussion. Chile wants to
persuade Bolivia to keep the claim as a bilateral issue and give
assurance that the talks will continue using the mechanism of
political consultations established by both countries last year (La
Tercera, 2/19).

Chile and other countries
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10. Ecuadorian Congressman Fausto Lupera asked his country's
judicial authorities to issue a warrant to prevent Chilean Juan de
Dios Parra from leaving Ecuador. Parra is the Director of NGO
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Derechos Humanos (Aldhu),which
allegedly has ties to the Colombian FARC. Following the government
of Ecuador's announcement that it had annulled the agreement of
immunity with the Aldhu due to these alleged ties, Parra said that
he and several other members of his organization would leave the
country (El Mercurio, 2/19).

SIMONS