Santiago Sept. 28 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000932 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI SUBJECT: Santiago Sept. 28 Media Report Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke -------------- ¶1. U.S. Secretary of Commerce to visit Chile for the Third Americas Competitiveness Forum that starts on Sept. 27 and will conclude on the 29th. Other key participants are President Bachelet and her Guatemalan counterpart Alvaro Colom (Mercurio on line, 9/28). ¶2. The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, sent a video that will be shown at the Forum's official lunch. In the video, the governor sends his regrets for not being able to attend the forum due to time constraints and ends with Terminator's well known farewell, "Hasta la vista" (El Mercurio, 9/27). ¶3. Seven-page supplement on the Americas Competitiveness Forum (Financial Diario Financiero, 9/28). ¶4. One of the key guests to the Third Americas Competitiveness Forum is U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, whose mission is to promote U.S domestic demand and act as ambassador of the U.S. private sector abroad (Diario Financiero, 9/28). ¶5. President Bachelet will open the Third Americas Competiveness Forum today with the Minister of Economy of Canada Tony Clement and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (Business daily Estrategia, 9/28). ¶6. The Americas Competiveness Forum will count on the participation of experts from 34 countries, such as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (Financial daily Diario Financiero, 9/28). U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶7. Photo of Ambassador Paul Simons at the launching of the Equifax Technological Development and Research Center in Santiago, the first center the company has opened outside the United States (La Tercera, 9/27). ¶8. This week there were two high-ranking Chilean delegations in the United States. One headed by President Bachelet and the other by Supreme Court Chief Justice Urbano Marin. In Washington, D.C., Urbano met with U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and with Janice Jacobs in the State Department to discuss international conventions that seek to prevent child kidnapping. Urbano also signed a cooperation agreement with the World Bank to develop Chile's judicial system and met with Harvard School of Law scholars in Boston (Conservative, afternoon La Segunda, 9/25). 
 ¶9. U.S. Pattern Energy will invest US$288 million to open a wind turbine facility in the Fourth Region (La Tercera, 9/26). ¶10. Photo coverage Chile Independence Day celebrations in other countries includes a photo of DAS Christopher McMullen and AS Thomas Shannon at the "18" celebration at Chilean Ambassador Jose Goni's residence in Washington, D.C. (El Mercurio, 9/26). ¶11. Republican congressman Jim DeMint continues to block Arturo Valenzuela's confirmation. In a conversation with this daily, DeMint said, "The Obama administration fails to realize what is at stake here, which is that the United States will end up doing the job for a dictator such as Chavez." DeMint added that "the fight is not" with Valenzuela, "but with his future bosses." There is now talk about a possible formula to confirm Valenzuela but block Shannon. This would send the Obama administration the message about its policy on Honduras but does not show the Republican party as undermining Washington's relationship with Latin America (La Tercera 9/27, Alvaro Vargas Llosa). Bachelet in Venezuela -------------- ¶12. President Bachelet attended the Unasur summit with African nations in Venezuela this weekend. Bachelet spoke to an audience that included Mohammar Kaddafi and the presidents of Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, urging all nations to respects human rights and the rights of women and children. She said she hoped that cooperation between the two regions "will allow us to see an improved situation with regard to human rights and participative democracies in the future" (El Mercurio, 9/28). ¶13. The government said that Bachelet's decision to attend the Unasur-African nations summit was part of an effort to promote ties with Africa, where Chile has only five diplomatic missions. La Moneda underscored that Bachelet had held bilateral meetings only with her South African and Nigerian counterparts, which represent democratic regimes (La Tercera, 9/28). Honduras -------------- ¶14. A study conducted by the U.S. Library of Congress, and released by Republican Congressman Aaron Schock, says that while President Manuel Zelaya's removal from office was legal and constitutional, his expulsion from the country was unconstitutional (La Segunda, 9/25). Poll -------------- ¶15. Results of a telephone poll conducted on 1,198 people after the presidential debate: First round: Pinera 39%, Frei 23%, and Enriquez-Ominami 19%. In a runoff between Pinera and Frei: Pinera 47% and Frei 38%. In a Pinera- Enriquez-Ominami runoff: The first 47% and the latter 40% (La Segunda , 9/25). SIMONS