Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SANTIAGO157
2009-02-20 20:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santiago
Cable title:  

PRESIDENT BACHELET IN CUBA -- A FOREIGN POLICY

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM CU CI 
pdf how-to read a cable
P 202006Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
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INFO AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 
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AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 
AMEMBASSY CARACAS 
AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000157 


STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC, INR/IAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM CU CI
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BACHELET IN CUBA -- A FOREIGN POLICY
FIASCO

REF: SANTIAGO 44

Classified By: EPOL COUNSELOR TIM STATER FOR REASONS 1.4(B/D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000157


STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC, INR/IAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM CU CI
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BACHELET IN CUBA -- A FOREIGN POLICY
FIASCO

REF: SANTIAGO 44

Classified By: EPOL COUNSELOR TIM STATER FOR REASONS 1.4(B/D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Fidel Castro's statement bashing Chile
following a private meeting with President Bachelet has
generated unusually heated debate in Santiago. Critics --
including the Concertacion's Christian Democrats -- call the
visit an "embarrassing" policy setback, some contending the
sole purpose was to bid farewell to a dying revolutionary
with whom the President sympathized. Most Chileans view
Fidel Castro's scathing columns as a rude and gratuitous stab
aimed at disparaging Chile's political system and foreign
policy. Castro's actions were also viewed as intervening in
Chilean affairs and bolstering Bolivia's century old ocean
access claim, a sensitive bilateral irritant for Chile.
Claiming success, the Bachelet administration highlighted the
eight signed accords and downplayed Castro's comments as
those of a retired government leader. The visit, however,
will likely be remembered in Chile for Fidel's vicious attack
and Bachelet's failure to visit Cuban dissidents and
highlight human rights concerns on the island. End Summary.

From Bad to Worse
--------------


2. (C) What promised to be a historic visit to Cuba by a
Chilean president, the first in nearly four decades, turned
into a foreign policy disaster. President Bachelet's trip to
the island (February 10-13) and Fidel Castro's offensive
statement following their meeting on February 12 prompted
widespread commentary and harsh criticism, particularly from
Alianza and Christian Democratic leaders. Since its
announcement, the trip had generated extensive debate among
Concertacion members about whether the President should meet
with Cuban dissidents (reftel). Not wishing to upset her
Cuban hosts, President Bachelet decided against meeting with
the Cuban opposition and profiling human rights concerns.
During the visit and at request of the Chilean Foreign
Ministry, one delegation member from congress canceled a
previously-scheduled meeting with the renown Cuban blogger,
Yoani Sanchez. Chileans lament Bachelet compromised Chile's
democratic principles and paid a heavy price, getting nothing
in return.



3. (C) Perhaps what embarrassed Chileans most was the TV
segment showing President Bachelet leaving a scheduled event
at the Salvador Allende Foundation with the Chilean community
living in Cuba. Chilean commentators highlighted the sudden
and unpresidential exit, at one point trotting, from the
event when she received unexpected word the revolutionary
leader was ready to receive her. Moreover, she rode with
Raul Castro in his motorcade and not in her own.


4. (C) Deputy Chief of Protocol Juan Luis Nilo, who advanced
the Havana trip, told the DCM on February 17 that the entire
delegation was taken by surprise with the sudden change in
schedule to accommodate Fidel. Without consulting her team,
President Bachelet got up and attempted to exit discretely,
missing and disappointing the performance of Chilean Isabel
Para, daughter of a leftist Chilean folklorist. Nilo said
Raul Castro, who accompanied Bachelet virtually the whole
time, awaited outside to escort the President to see the
ailing Cuban leader. Nilo admitted they were unprepared for
what transpired, even though the Chilean team had anticipated
this would be their most difficult and delicate foreign
visit.


5. (C) Former Chilean Ambassador to the United States
Octavio Errazuriz told us February 17 that Bachelet's Cuba
visit could have had some practical benefits but it ended in
"disaster." He described Fidel Castro's "reflexiones" column
as the ultimate "groseria" or insult. Neither Raul's unusual
gesture to accompany President Bachelet to the airport nor
Fidel's second column, claiming the remarks represented his
own personal views, could ameliorate the unexpected
predicament. After coordinating with the Chileans, the Cuban
government did not comment or respond to Minister Foxley's
stern commentary on Fidel's statement, but the damage was
done without any possible recovery, the former diplomat
argued. Errazuriz contended that the Bachelet team made the
best of a lousy situation, and the President acted correctly
waiting to express her "molestia" or displeasure immediately
upon arrival in Chile.

Why the "Stab in the Back"
--------------


6. (C) No one knows for sure why Fidel Castro issued his
anti-Chilean diatribe, but several theories abound.
Errazuriz speculated that the objective may have been to show
his disdain for the Chilean model and his preference for the
non-democratic left in the region, headed by Hugo Chavez and
Evo Morales. Chilean author Roberto Ampuero -- who once
lived in Cuba while married to a high-level Cuban official's
daughter -- emphasized Fidel Castro despises the Chilean
example for its successful transition from a dictatorship to
a democracy with stability and prosperity. Pent up anger at
Chile's other socialist leaders, such as Ricardo Lagos who
never visited Cuba as President, might be another
explanation.


7. (C) DC leader Patricio Walker said Fidel "stabbed
Bachelet in the back," arguing that the "professional
provocateur" and "megalomaniac" cannot stand to be out the
limelight. Walker lamented, "While she called for the end to
the 'blockade,' he (Fidel) countered by interfering in
Chile's international affairs." Others speculated that
Fidel's purpose was to sabotage Raul's foreign policy,
including the recent fence mending Raul had accomplished
within the hemisphere. Cuban exiles have pointed to Fidel's
style, promoting division rather than cooperation.

Beating Back the Bolivian Wave
--------------


8. (C) For Chileans, whether from the right or left, the
Bolivia sea access issue is a strictly bilateral one
addressed in carefully-staged meetings. Evo Morales thanked
Fidel publicly and proposed that the international community
get involved in Bolivia's claim following his mentor's crude
advocacy for Chile to return Bolivian territory. Chile's
Communist Party President Guillermo Teillier, who traveled
with the official delegation, characterized Castro's remarks
as those of a former head of state, and agreed with President
Bachelet that the sea access issue should stay between Chile
and Bolivia. Socialist Senator Carlos Ominami emphasized
that Raul is Cuba's President and that Fidel's statements are
those of a former leader obsessed by the issue. UDI
President Juan Antonio Coloma was more direct, stating "this
is part of a campaign by the international left led by Castro
and Chavez, who are looking to force Chile to turn over part
of its territory.


9. (U) The Chilean government has responded publicly to
Morales' idea, emphasizing it is a bilateral matter.
Meanwhile, the Chilean and Bolivian Foreign Affairs Vice
Ministers met on February 19 for nearly three hours. The
Bolivian afterwards noted his country reserved the right to
press the issue internationally if bilateral talks are not
productive.

So-Called Good News
--------------


10. (C) Back home President Bachelet characterized the trip
as "successful," notably for the broad scope of agreements
signed and the important step for strengthening integration
within the hemisphere. She also took special care to
encourage greater business interaction between the two
countries. In all, the Chileans and Cubans concluded eight
accords -- cooperation agreements on forestry, cinema,
sports, national monuments, international cooperation
programs, neurological restoration, science and technology,
and genetic engineering and biotechnology. The Communist
Party leader hailed the historic occasion, praising Bachelet
for being the first Chilean President to visit the island
since Salvador Allende 37 years ago and joining in the call
for an end to the U.S. "blockade" of Cuba.

Comment: Further Fallout Likely
--------------


11. (C) Discussions about Cuba tends to generate high-octane
emotions within Chile, similar to feelings about the
September 11 coup. Fidel's references to the "rancid" UDI
party may have fired up Chile's most conservative party.
While Castro's actions remain a mystery, Chilean leaders
undoubtedly will have second thoughts when it comes to
working closely with their Cuban counterparts. Media
coverage about the visit is waning, but tensions will likely
resurface in March when Foreign Minister Foxley is called to
testify before Congress on the outcome of the trip. Perhaps
of more concern to the ruling Concertacion, the Christian
Democrat's harsh Cuba critique could have the effect of
imperiling coalition negotiations, notably between the
Communist and Christian Democrats, on the selection of
coalition candidates competing in the December national
elections.


SIMONS