CHILE MEDIA REPORT - APRIL 13

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000342

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 - APRIL 13

Leading Stories
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1. Final figures are not yet in, but Holy Week holiday is expected
to leave close to US$200 million in profits for the tourism
industry. Market analysts say that Chile's forestry and retailing
sectors are most vulnerable to the economic crisis.

U.S.-Related News
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2. Editorial on IPR: "Just a few weeks before the USG puts together
the list of countries that don't respect IPR, the U.S. Trade
Representative's Office expressed concern over the application and
protection of these rights in Chile.... This contradicts what Chile
has done in the years to assure the protection of IPR.... In
January 2008, the GOC created the IPR Investigations Brigade...
which in addition to investigating these crimes is responsible for
prevention programs.... In October, the Senate ratified the Patent
Cooperation Treaty (PCT).... The impression is that the U.S. Trade
Representative's Office has not taken into account the progress that
Chile has made in this area (El Mercurio, conservative, influential
newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 4/12)


3. The United States published the norm that permits the entry of
Chilean grapefruits and oranges into its market. Agriculture
Minister Marigen Hornkohl highlighted the positive impact of this
decision on unemployment (La Tercera, conservative, independent,
circ. 101,000, 4/9).


4. Three weeks ago the local authorities seized 1.1 tons of
ephedrine in route to Mexico. The Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office
is investigating the case and has asked the Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) for its assistance to identify the woman who supervised the
operation. The DEA estimates the value of the confiscated chemical
at US$13.2 million. Chile has a norm which obligates them to report
transactions and transportation of ephedrine. However, there is no
legal sanction for not complying with this norm (La Tercera, 4/11).


5. "Chile is not a passage," in the sense that it is not regularly
used by narcotics organizations, said Manuel Guerra, the Chief of
the Narcotics Unit in the Office in National Prosecutor. However,
he said, Chile's long border, large number of uninhabited border
crossings and its open economy make it especially vulnerable for
specific operations (El Mercurio, 4/11).


6. Jeffrey Davidow, President Obama's delegate to the Summit of the
Americas (SOA),was a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in
Santiago from 1971-74. Declassified documents by the United States
in 1999, show that Davidow was well aware of the human rights
situation in Chile after the military coup and reported about it to
his superiors. In one document, Davidow informs the military junta
of the USG's position in this matter: "It's not the desire of the
U.S. government to relate the issue of human rights to economic and
military assistance" he wrote (La Nacion, government-owned,
editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 4/12).


7. Local wheat producers have asked government authorities to set a
marketing order to restrict the import of the product into Chile.
Almost all locally employed wheat is imported (El Mercurio, 4/13).



8. Weekly round-up column: "Barack Obama's decision to finish his
first trip abroad... with a visit to Iraq was a significant
gesture... which confirmed his commitment to the U.S. military
withdraw from Iraq, but also reminded Iraqis that that they are
responsible for their country's stability" (El Mercurio, 4/13).


9. Raul Sohr's column: "In Strasburg the U.S. President said, 'The
United States is committed to looking for peace and safety in a
world without nuclear weapons.' His words imply a change in
Washington's national security and points to less dependence on
atomic weapons.... It won't be easy to convince powerful nuclear
lobbyists that their weapons are no longer necessary, but the mere
fact that the U.S. President proclaimed this is already an important
political event" (La Nacion, 4/12).

Summit of the Americas - Cuba
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10. President Obama will try to set up a new alliance with Latin
America at the Summit of the Americas, but his reluctance to change
his stance on immigration policies and the embargo on Cuba could
undermine that effort, said analysts (El Mercurio, 4/13).


11. Cuba will be "the most present absentee" at the Summit of the
Americas. Over the past six months, dozens of chiefs of state have
visited Havana, including Bachelet, in a sign that the isolation of
the Castro regime has ended. Now those leaders will ask Obama to
lift the economic blockade against the island (La Nacion, 4/12).


12. In diplomatic circles it is said that OAS Secretary General
Jose Miguel Insulza has plans for Cuba to rejoin the organization.
Insulza said the exclusion is unreasonable, when virtually all of
the 34 countries in the region have diplomatic ties with Havana,
except for Costa Rica, El Salvador, and the United States (La
Tercera, 4/13).

Regional affairs
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13. Bachelet will hand her pro-tempore presidency of the Union of
South American Nations (UNASUR) to Ecuador in a few weeks. This
means the Chilean President is about to fail in her commitment to
find a consensus candidate to chair the regional organization (El
Mercurio, 4/12)

Local politics
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14. The array of think tanks preparing proposals for presidential
candidate Eduardo Frei's programming team concur on the topics to be
included in the campaign: more investment in education and health,
innovation on energy, and according to "Instituto Igualdad," an
in-depth analysis of nuclear energy (El Mercurio, 4/12).


15. Bachelet will visit The Hague at the end of May and will visit
the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the Chilean Congress has
ratified the court by then (El Mercurio, 4/10).

Energy
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16. The government's plans to diversify the energy matrix are
beginning to yield results. A total of US$20.77 billion worth in
projects have been submitted for the Central Interconnected System
(SCI) alone. Of this total, almost 10% are for the construction of
eolic parks (America Economia Magazine, March 9).

Indigenous conflict
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17. Eleven individuals who ambushed and injured prosecutor Mario
Elgueta and five policemen in Tirua in October of last year were
taken into custody. They all belong to the Mapuche organization
"Coordinadora Arauco Malleco" (CAM) and will remain in prison for
the duration of the investigation. They face charges for frustrated
homicide and terrorist association with the intent to commit illegal
activities (El Mercurio, 4/12).


18. Yesterday individuals burned down two summer homes in the area
of Tirua, presumably in retaliation for the arrest of 11 CAM members
(El Mercurio, 4/13).

SIMONS