CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JUNE 3

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000522 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 - JUNE 3 Leading Stories -------------- ¶1. A 37 year-old man suffering from heart problems died from the AH1N1[JLV1] virus. This makes Chile the first South American country to have a victim of the virus and the fifth worldwide. U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. The New York Times reports that President Obama has authorized U.S. embassies and consulates to invite Iranian officials to their Fourth of July events, as a gesture to that country. Al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, said the President's trip to the Middle East was a "public relations stunt" and that the U.S. President "is not welcome" (El Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 6/3). ¶3. Editorial: "U.S. Recovery": "The signs of economic reactivation show that the Obama Administration's plans to confront the crisis were effective.... The Administration's adequate and timely implementation of stimulus packages was crucial to revoke the depth of the recession" (Estrategia, business and financial daily, circ. 30,000, 6/3). IPR --- ¶4. Chile adhered to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, PCT, yesterday. A University of Chile scientist filed the first request today for a biotechnology invention (El Mercurio, 6/3). Cuba-OAS -------------- ¶5. After the OAS General Assembly last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the organization's efforts to resolve Cuba's suspension via consensus had failed. Reportedly, however, talks continued after the assembly and according to diplomatic sources "moved forward 99 percent" (El Mercurio, 6/3). Chile-Venezuela -------------- ¶6. A Chilean engineering company Venceramica company[JLV2] began legal proceedings with the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes(CIADI)[JLV3]court to sue the government of Venezuela for expropriation and USD 25 million-dollar losses (El Mercurio, 6/3). Local politics -------------- ¶7. President Bachelet named Edmundo Gonzalez to replace Navy Commander-in-Chief Rodolfo Codina. The latter will retire on June 18 (All dailies, 6/3). ¶8. The Senate voted to hold the presidential election on Sunday, December 13, and an eventual runoff on January 10, 2010 (Diario Financiero, business and financial daily, circ. 30,000, 6/3). ¶9. President Bachelet signed into law the bill that establishes equal salaries for men and women who are serving in the same position (La Nacion, government-owned, editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 6/3). Human trafficking -------------- ¶10. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) clarified yesterday that of the 59 male victims of trafficking in persons in Chile last year, 83 percent were victims of labor exploitation. The remaining 13 percent did not suffer sexual exploitation and were on transit to the United States (La Nacion, 6/3). Poll -------------- ¶11. A TNS[JLV4]-Time survey presented a list with three presidential candidates to[JLV5] . The results were 35 percent in support of Sebastian Pinera, 26 percent supported Marco Enriquez Ominami, and 22 percent supported Eduardo Frei. However, in an open question where no names were provided, Pinera received 31percent, Frei 15 percent, and Enriquez-Ominami 13 percent. In an eventual runoff election, Pinera received 46 percent and Frei 36 percent (La Nacion, 6/3). Indigenous Affairs -------------- ¶12. Conservative think tank, Libertad y Desarrollo (LyD) said the government's Indigenous Code, which introduces the concept of sharing the benefits from activities conducted in indigenous territories, could severely damage investment. The code will force companies to seek additional certification, in addition to environmental certification, which will discourage them from investing in indigenous lands altogether, said LyD (El Mercurio, 6/3). SIMONS [JLV1]Double checking if this is really supposed to be AH1N1 versus H1NI [JLV2]Add name of company [JLV3]Should we write this out, or will it be clear to the readers? [JLV4]Do we need to write out acronym or will everyone reading this know it? [JLV5]More useful if we can insert number of people who participated in survey. (presented a survey to X citizens throughout Chile)