CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 8-9

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000022

SIPDIS

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

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TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 8-9

Leading Stories
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1. Dailies highlighted the Central Bank's announcement of a historic
interest rate reduction from 8.25% to 7.25%; the reprimand issued by
the Senate Ethics Commission on PPD Senator Guido Girardi for his
misconduct in a case involving a highway patrol officer; and the
gathering of President Bush and President-Elect Obama with all the
living former U.S. Presidents at the White House.

U.S.-Related News
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2. The FBI has identified the individual responsible for sending
envelopes containing white powder to the U.S. Embassy in Santiago
and 17 other U.S. diplomatic missions worldwide. Sources at the
Western Santiago Prosecutor's Office reported that U.S. authorities
in charge of the investigation disclosed earlier this week that the
person who sent the suspicious envelope was a man with an anarchist
background who lives in California. The FBI is in the process of
arresting him. Chile's Public Safety Institute (ISP) confirmed that
the white powder in the envelope was found to be flour. The
Prosecutor's Office decided to close the case and dismissed a
request for the suspect's extradition. (La Tercera, conservative,
independent, circ. 101,000, 1/9).


3. Approximately one month ago, the U.S. State Department submitted
an official invitation to all chiefs of diplomatic missions in
Washington, stating that, in accordance with tradition, the United
States would not invite foreign delegations or heads of state to the
Presidential inauguration. Thus, the only Chileans officially
invited are Chile's Ambassador to the U.S. Mariano Fernandez and OAS

Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza. Unofficially, there is a
select group of other Chileans who have reserved seats: the parents
of Danny Sepulveda - a Chilean who advises Mr. Obama on immigration
and international trade issues; his uncle, Gonzalo Arenas,
Administrative Director General at the Foreign Ministry; and Claudio
Grossman, Dean of the School of Law at American University, who has
close ties with the Democratic Party (Que Pasa, conservative,
influential weekly, 1/9).


4. President-Elect Barack Obama placed a phone call to OAS Secretary
General Jose Miguel Insulza last Tuesday, 24 hours after the latter
officially withdrew from the race for the presidency of Chile. OAS
sources confirmed the conversation but declined to provide further
details (La Tercera, 1/9). Although members of Insulza's inner
circle would not disclose the contents of his conversation, sources
in the diplomatic arena commented that they spoke about Insulza's
remaining at the OAS and discussed the upcoming Summit of the
Americas. (El Mercurio, conservative, influential
newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 1/9). OAS sources characterized
President-Elect Obama's phone call to Insulza as a gesture of
"courtesy." It is presumed that during their conversation they both
addressed the rather tense relationship the U.S. and OAS have had
during the past eight years of the Bush Administration (La Nacion,
government-owned, editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 1/9).


5. Local newspapers throughout Chile carried stories reporting on
the ten Chilean students selected to participate in the 2009 "Youth
Ambassadors" program of the U.S. State Department. Articles were
published by El Mercurio's online daily Emol.com (1/6); El Sur de
Concepcion (1/8); El Mercurio de Antofagasta (1/7); La Tribuna de
Los Angeles (1/7); El Diario de Concepcisn (1/8).

Local
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6. As a result of the Senate's approval to introduce a
constitutional reform to the Chilean electoral system that would
allow all qualified citizens to register automatically and then vote
voluntarily, the Executive Branch is preparing a strategy to make
this become effective before the upcoming December general
elections. As a first step, next week the Bachelet Administration
will submit new legislation to the Senate determining the mechanism
that would govern the automatic registration of 3,800,000 citizens.
The Government plans to introduce slight modifications to a 2004
draft bill that was rejected by the Lower House last August. In any
case, the Chamber of Deputies must approve the Senate's decision
this month. The Executive Branch believes that the initiative will
pass (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 1/8).
Cuba
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7. It is likely that President Michelle Bachelet will meet with
Fidel Castro during her visit to Havana, February 11-13. Sources at
the Executive Branch noted that the meeting depends on Castro's
health condition. The official program - to be released today by La
Moneda-- includes a business seminar aimed at opening new trade
exchange opportunities, and does not feature a meeting with
dissidents. (El Mercurio, 1/9).


8. Christian Democrat (DC) legislators clashed with Socialist and
PPD counterparts during a session held yesterday in Congress to
discuss a proposal for an agreement to criticize human rights
violations in Cuba. The text calls on the Cuban regime to release
political prisoners and to initiate a democratic transition towards
free elections. After an extensive debate, the DC initiative -
supported by the opposition- was approved by a vote of 57 to 17,
with four abstentions. The discussion took place within the
framework of President Michelle Bachelet's upcoming trip to Havana.
Two Cuban dissidents sent a letter to President Bachelet expressing
their availability to meet with her during the February visit.
Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley responded to the DC's criticisms
of the President's refusal to meet with Cuban dissidents: "State
ministers do not take partisan positions, for we belong in the
government. I am part of the Coalition's government that is headed
by the President," Foxley noted (El Mercurio, 1/8).

Editorials
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9. Column on the gathering of President George W. Bush and
President-Elect Barack Obama with all the living former U.S.
Presidents at the White House, entitled "Tubby's Club" "The value of
the meeting ... is symbolic rather than tangible. The Oval Office
photo attests to a laudable civic culture and respect for tradition
and experience that transcends partisanship" (La Tercera, 1/8)


10. Column by international pundit Raul Sohr, "The CIA's New
Director" "Obama has chosen a man he trusts, who does not come from
the intelligence community. Panetta's job will be difficult. Before
the White House and his fellow citizens, he has to restore the
institution's capacity to detect and warn of the dangers posed
against the country... His words open hopefulness that the
obscurantism which has taken over the United States since 2001 will
begin to dissipate. If the CIA's new orientation becomes a fact, it
is (a matter) of special importance to the Third World. Not
unrealistically, the CIA's agents have been called 'the State
Department's troops' - in other words, the people in charge of
fulfilling the determinations of U.S. foreign policy."

SIMONS