CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JUNE 16

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000560 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 16 Leading Stories -------------- ¶1. Santiago dailies noted that the Government Coalition and the Communist Party (PC) signed an agreement to collaborate in the upcoming presidential campaign. Front pages also reported on President Michelle Bachelet's announcement to allocate approximately $34 million dollars to fully renovate the National Stadium in Santiago. U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. The State Department's latest Country Reports on Terrorism issued on April 30 noted that the U.S. Embassy in Santiago continued to "monitor the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM),a violent Mapuche Indian group in southern Chile that has burned fields and attacked police while fighting for land it claims belongs to it." The document also pointed out that the group appeared as using "increased planning and a more professional use of weapons and tactics." Yesterday, the Embassy's Press Office said that (the Embassy) "maintains regular contact with law enforcement institutions in Chile to obtain information on the situation in the area of conflict and activities of the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco" and has not conducted its own investigations of the conflict (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 6/16). ¶3. Three American scholars will speak this week in Santiago at a Cultural Policy Seminar organized by Chile's National Council for Culture and the Arts, the Binational Center, and Catholic University of Chile. Ms. Denise Rehg, Chair of Culture Works in Dayton; Frank Hodsoll, Chairman of the U.S. Cultural Committee at UNESCO and former President of the National Endowment for the Arts; and Wayne ¶P. Lawson, Executive Director of the Ohio Arts Council are the guests of honor (La Nacion, government-owned, editorially independent, circ. 5,000, 6/16). New Electoral Pact -------------- ¶4. The Government Coalition and the Communist Party (PC) partnered with other left-wing allies under the "Juntos Podemos" (Together We Can) group signed an agreement to collaborate in the upcoming presidential campaign and beyond. The pact seeks to secure seats in Congress for the PC, to maintain two legislators in those districts already controlled by the Concertacion, and to neutralize the opposition's predominance in one of Santiago's largest districts (El Mercurio, 6/16). Chile-Peru -------------- ¶5. President Bachelet confirmed that Chile will not challenge the competency of International Court of Justice at The Hague over the maritime demand filed by Peru. As recommended by Chilean Foreign Ministry experts, the strategy will focus on collecting the necessary information to present by March 9, 2010 a response to counter Peru's position (La Tercera, 6/16). Chile-Economy -------------- ¶6. The Ministry of Finance corrected the country's growth projection for 2009. It was originally set on 4 percent, but with updated information estimates range between -0.75 percent to +0.25 percent. In addition, the Executive Branch decided to issue $4 billion dollars of accumulated foreign sovereign funds during the second semester of this year to finance additional needs caused by the economic crisis (El Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 6/16). SIMONS