Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 5268 / 251,287

### Articles

Brazil Sri Lanka United Kingdom Sweden Editorial United States Latin America Egypt Yemen Jordan

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02 2011/03
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01 2011/02/02 2011/02/03 2011/02/04 2011/02/05 2011/02/06 2011/02/07 2011/02/08 2011/02/09 2011/02/10 2011/02/11 2011/02/12 2011/02/13 2011/02/14 2011/02/15 2011/02/16 2011/02/17 2011/02/18 2011/02/19 2011/02/20 2011/02/21 2011/02/22 2011/02/23 2011/02/24 2011/02/25 2011/02/26 2011/02/27 2011/02/28
2011/03/01 2011/03/02 2011/03/03 2011/03/04 2011/03/05 2011/03/06

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 86 88 89 90 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1986/05
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08
2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/07 2001/10
2002/02 2002/03 2002/11
2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Amsterdam American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Banjul Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone Consulate Guadalajara
Embassy Helsinki Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Hermosillo Consulate Hamburg
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Ljubljana Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy Lilongwe Embassy La Paz Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Mbabane Embassy Maputo Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Malabo Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey Consulate Milan
Embassy New Delhi Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Consulate Vladivostok
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AF ASEC AR AORC AJ AM AMGT AE AU AGMT AG AS AFIN APER ABUD ATRN AL AEMR ACOA AO AX AMED ADCO AODE AFFAIRS AC ASIG ABLD AA AFU ASUP AROC ATFN AVERY APCS AER ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG AEC APECO
BM BR BL BA BILAT BTIO BEXP BH BE BK BRUSSELS BX BU BO BIDEN BY BG BF BB BC BBSR BMGT BTIU
CU CO CH CDG CIA CACM CDB CI CS CVIS CA CBW CASC CD CV CMGT CLINTON CE CJAN CG CF CN CAN COUNTER CIS CM CONDOLEEZZA COE CR CY CTM COUNTRY CLEARANCE CPAS CWC CT CKGR CB CACS COM CJUS CARSON CL COUNTERTERRORISM
DJ DEAX DR DA DHS DOE DEA DK DISENGAGEMENT DS DTRA DOD
EG ECON ETTC EFIN EZ ETRD EUN ELAB EU EINV EAID EMIN ENRG ECPS EN ER ET ES EPET EUC EI EAIR EAGR EIND EWWT ELTN EREL ECIN EFIS EINT EC ECONEFIN ENVR ECA ELN EFTA EXTERNAL EINVETC ENIV EINN ENGR EUR ESA ENERG EK ENGY ETRO ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS ETRDEINVTINTCS ENVI ESENV ELECTIONS ECUN EINVEFIN ECIP EINDETRD
FR FINR FAO FTAA FREEDOM FI FARC FBI FJ FMLN
GM GG GV GH GA GE GT GR GTIP GOI GCC GAZA GZ GTMO
HU HR HA HILLARY HUMAN HO HYMPSK HURI HK HSTC
IV IR IS IZ IAEA IN IT ICTY IQ ICAO INTERPOL IPR INRB IRAJ INRA INRO IO IC ID IIP ITPHUM IWC ISRAELI IRAQI ICRC IMO IF ILC IEFIN INTELSAT IL IA IBRD IMF INR IRC ITALY ITALIAN
JAMES JO JA JOSEPH JP JOHNNIE JUS
KGIC KDEM KTIP KOMC KNNP KWBG KU KPAL KGHG KAWK KISL KPAO KHLS KSUM KSPR KJUS KCRM KGCC KPIN KDRG KTFN KG KBIO KHIV KSCA KN KS KCOR KZ KE KFRD KIPR KPKO KNUC KMDR KPLS KOLY KUNR KIRF KIRC KACT KRAD KCOM KMCA KV KHDP KVPR KDEV KWMN KMPI KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KCFC KTIA KPRP KAWC KCIP KCFE KOCI KTDB KMRS KLIG KBCT KICC KGIT KSTC KPAK KNEI KSEP KPOA KFLU KNUP KNNPMNUC KO KTER KHUM KRFD KBTR KDDG KWWMN KFLO KSAF KBTS KPRV KNPP KNAR KWMM KERG KFIN KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KTBT KCRS KRVC KSTH KREL KNSD KTEX KPAI KHSA KR KPWR KWAC KMIG KSEC KIFR KDEMAF
LE LG LH LY LU LI LO LOG LT
MOPS MARR MNUC MX MASS MCAP MO MIL MTCRE ML MR MZ MPOS MOPPS MTCR MAPP MU MY MA MG MASC MCC MEPP MK MTRE MP MDC MAR MEPI MRCRE MI MT MQADHAFI MD MAPS MUCN MASSMNUC MERCOSUR MC
NATO NL NU NIPP NI NPT NG NO NE NS NAR NZ NPG NK NSG NA NT NASA NGO NP NSF NATIONAL
OVIP OPDC OPRC OIIP OFFICIALS OSAC OAS OEXC ODIP OREP OFDP OTRA OSCE OPIC OECD OPCW OSCI OIE OIC OTR OVP
PARM PREL PTER PHUM PGOV PINR PINS PREF PK PE PBTS POGOV PROP PINL PL POL PBIO PSOE PHSA PKFK PO PGOF PA PARMS PORG PM PMIL PTERE PF PALESTINIAN PY PGGV PNR POV PAK PAO PFOR PHALANAGE PARTY PRGOV PNAT PROV PEL PINF PGOVE POLINT PRL PRAM PMAR PGOVLO PHUMBA PHUS PHUMPREL POLITICS PEPR PSI PINT PU POLITICAL PARTIES PECON
QA
RS RO REGION RU RW RP RIGHTS RICE ROBERT RF RFE
SOCI SY SENV SA SP SNAR SG SCUL SR STEINBERG SF SW SU SL SMIG SO SN SHUM SZ SYR ST SANC SC SAN SIPRS SK SH SI
TS TU TX TBIO TW TSPA TH TIP TI TRGY TC TR TT TERRORISM TO TFIN TD TSPL TZ TPHY TK TNGD TINT TRSY TP
UK UN US UNGA UNSC UNO UNMIK UV UY UP UG USEU USUN UZ UNESCO UE UAE UNEP USTR UNHCR UNDP UNHRC USAID UNCHS UNAUS UNCHC
VE VZ VN VT VM VTPREL
WTO WTRO WA WI WZ WMO WTRQ WHO WWARD WB WBG WEU WHA
XG XT XM XF XR XS XL XK XH XA XY XC XZ XW XD XE
YE YM YI
ZB ZI ZF ZP ZK ZANU ZOELLICK ZR ZU ZA ZO ZJ

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page Contact us on IRC

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 06SANTIAGO2661, SEARED BLEU: THE SOCIALIST CONVICTIONS OF

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06SANTIAGO2661.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06SANTIAGO2661 | 2006-12-29 12:12 | 2011-02-24 07:07 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Santiago

`

    VZCZCXYZ0018
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHSG #2661/01 3631256
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 291256Z DEC 06
    FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0635
    INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2773
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 1607
    RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 3445
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0035
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1227
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ DEC LIMA 4869
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1631
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 002661

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2016
    TAGS: PGOV PREL CI
    SUBJECT: SEARED BLEU:  THE SOCIALIST CONVICTIONS OF
    MICHELLE BACHELET

    REF: SANTIAGO 2432

    Classified By: Ambassador Craig Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b and d)

    ------------
    Summary
    ------------

    ¶1. (C) Eight months into her term as Chile's President, the core socialist principles that guide Michelle Bachelet are very much in evidence.  Her administration's first budget emphasized increased spending on education and health care and she has expended much political capital on social issues such as the ""morning after"" contraceptive.  In the international arena, Bachelet's initial inclination is to adopt positions of brotherly solidarity, including those with an ""anti-imperialist"" tint.  In the case of the UNSC vote, for example, Bachelet preferred a vote for Venezuela until Chavez' various blunders, strong domestic opposition, and steady, persistent US persuasion, made it untenable to do so.  She favors collectivist solutions to problems - the country is awash with commissions - and noted that investigations into corruption allegations did not diminish the inherent virtue of the State.

    ¶2. (C) Bachelet likely maintains in her heart ambivalence towards capitalism and too close ties to the American ""hegemon,"" a gut instinct that may sometimes frustrate USG policymakers on issues such as IPR. But intellectually Bachelet understands that Chile's future lies in moderation, contrary to the currents that have moved the continent towards the populist left.  At the recently concluded Cochabamba summit, for example, Bachelet acknowledged the benefits of globalization (to Chavez' visible discomfort) and her government remains committed to free market principles, tight fiscal policies, and Chile's growing web of free trade agreements.  We will continue to stress to her and her team the importance of innovation and investment, keys to the regional leadership role we feel Chile should assume.  End summary.

    -----------------------
    Pink on the Inside
    -----------------------

    ¶3. (C) Go to one of Santiago's better restaurants specializing in meats and one option for how meat is cooked is ""bleu"" - seared on the outside but rare inside.  Nine months into her administration, it is clear 	President Michelle Bachelet is politically bleu - a moderate with fundamentally socialist core beliefs that will sometimes bloom 	into full evidence.  Bachelet's first official act after taking the presidential oath was to sign legislation mandating free health care for the elderly.  Her first budget posits a 10.6 percent increase in 	spending on education alone and overall spending on domestic programs (health care, education, and infrastructure) is set to increase by 11 percent. The President's tendencies were evident as well in a social issue that dominated news headlines for much of the winter - her proposal to make the so-called ""morning after pill"" available to under age of majority girls, without the consent of parents.  Bachelet's stance put her squarely at odds with the influential Catholic Church an offended many within a society that is still conservative - albeit slowly changing - when it comes to traditional ""family values.""  In the end, she was forced to table the proposal.

    --------------------------------
    Michelle & Hugo 4ever?
    --------------------------------

    ¶4. (C) The press here still runs occasionally a photo of a visibly 	pleased Bachelet receiving a quick rub on the shoulders from Hugo Chavez at the 2006 European-South American summit in Vienna, and notes her warm interactions with the Venezuelan president at other 	high-visibility functions.  Coupled with Chavez' repeated declarations that he is a committed ""michellista"" (most recently at the December 200 Cochabamba summit of South American leaders), coy analysts posit a political ""love affair.""   Ideologically, Bachelet is sympathetic to much of the rhetoric and some of the politics found on the left.  At th 	risk of delving too far into easy pop psychology, Bachelet is a child o the 60's.  At the November 2006 APEC summit in Hanoi, she revealed that she had visited Vietnam in the mid-1970's, and fondly reminisced about her days marching in the streets against the U.S-led war in Vietnam. Bachelet lived in exile for several years in then-communist East Germany. And, of course, her father, an air force general who remained loyal to Allende, was tortured and died in one of Pinochet's prisons, not long after the coup that was facilitated - at least those of the left sincerely believe - by the USG.

    ¶5. (C) The President's collectivist worldview is reflected as well in her embrace of regional solidarity she is loathe to move 	Chile out in front of the pack or to make moves that risk offending her brother states.""  (Comment: To be fair, that caution also speaks to a Chilean national character trait.)  This was most in evidence during th debate leading up to the UNSC vote.  We believe - based on comments we 	received from well-placed contacts in the Foreign Ministry (including a nearly despairing FonMin Foxley), the office of the Presidency, 	and others who know Bachelet's mind - that she truly wanted to cast Chile's vote in favor of Venezuela and Chavez.  It was only after the many Chavez blunders, strong domestic opposition from the Chilean public, the opposition and members of her own coalition, bolstered by a low-profile USG campaign over the course of seven months, that Bachelet recognized that a vote for Venezuela would be a serious error, and gave Foxley the nod for an abstention.

    --------------------------------------------- ------------
    We're the Government, and We're Here To Help
    --------------------------------------------- ------------

    ¶6. (C) Bachelet's early months in office were rocked by street protests led by high school students protesting the woeful state of Chile's educational system.  She was heavily criticized for a tentative respons deemed inadequate in the face of street violence. Some in this still male-dominated society pointed to her reluctance to use force as a womanly"" weakness.  Others attributed it to the ""natural attribute"" of a socialist hesitant to employ the State's security apparatus.  Bachele was able to finally bring matters under control with the promise of the formation of a commission - to include student leaders some of whom are barely in their teens - to study the problem and propose solutions.  Si months later, that commission and its eighty-one(!) members has yet to conclude its work and, indeed, have not even agreed on the nature of th problem.

    ¶7. (C) Forming commissions - inclusive of all segments of society as is feasible - to address issues seems to be the default position of the Bachelet government) one wag bewailed that the country was ""awash in commissions.""  Recently formed commissions have studied pension reform and the allegations of corruption arising out of the Chiledeportes scandal (reftel).  When the latter released its report suggesting the adoption of some thirty measures to address the problem of corruption in government, Bachelet herself announced the package.  In a revealing comment on her socialist worldview, the President allowed tha corruption was an issue, but then provided a ringing endorsement of the State's involvement in the life of the citizen:  ""I am not one of those who believe that reform of the State signifies its weakening to reform the State the first thing to do is believe in the State.""

    -----------------------
    A Necessary Evil
    -----------------------

    ¶8. (C) The ""inner Michelle,"" the president who has shown a remarkable ability to connect with the everyday person on the street - the Ambassador has seen examples of this empathy up close - reinforces the conceit of the Chilean center-left that it is more ""caring.""  That quality helps explain that despite a sometimes first rough year office, 	including charges that she is indecisive, that many on her team of advisors are inexperienced, and that her government is uncoordinated, the most recent polls have Bachelet's approval ratings at fifty-six percent, nearly the equal of where she stood on inauguration day nine months ago.

    ¶9. (C) Blessed with charisma, Bachelet also has a pragmatic side.  And that characteristic allows her to embrace - or at least accept - 	concepts and policies normally anathema to the left.  She is quite familiar with the United States, having lived and studied there and has voiced admiration for certain aspects of U.S. society and its people. At the Cochabamba summit she stated - before an unhappy Chavez - that globalization was here to stay and that properly managed it brought concrete benefits to the world's disadvantaged.  With no experience in the business world, indeed no ""feel"" for the concerns of business, Bachelet has nonetheless had the good sense to allow her top-notch Minister of Economy to adhere closely to the sound fiscal policies of her predecessors.  Chile's economic growth in her first yea has been respectable if not spectacular.  And she has smartly allowed FM Foxley and other true believers in free trade to continue 	past Concertacion governments' policy of negotiating FTA's with virtually every country under the sun.

    ¶10. (C) But her lack of familiarity with commerce - and her innate belief that it arises out of man's baser instincts - also means she and her administration can be a hard sell on policies of importance
    to the USG, such as protection of IPR, for example.   That the protection of pharmaceutical patents prejudices the poor through higher prices, or that copyright infringement of movies and music is a victimless crime, permeates the worldview of many of our contacts withi the Bachelet administration.  There is a frustrating disconnect between that stance and that one which declares, as Bachelet did recently in an end-of-year essay published in the ""The Economist,"" that Chile seeks access to better health care and new technologies.

    -------------
    Comment
    -------------

    ¶11. (C) On a continent that has drifted to the populist left, and with anti-U.S. invective on the rise, Michelle Bachelet remains committed to pursuing moderate, responsible social and economic policies.  Regardles of core convictions that would normally suggest closer alignment with Chavez and his ilk, Bachelet recognizes that correct, respectful, and even close ties with the U.S. are in Chile's long-term interest.  Even if she were to try to reverse course, a majority of Chileans, half her coalition and the entire opposition - which won 47 percent of the vote in January - would seek to stop her.

    ¶12. (C) The larger question is whether her somewhat antiquated faith in 	the power of the State to solve all evils will allow her to move quickl enough to address the problems that Chile faces.  Bachelet now has little more than three years to go, having lost her first year to the distraction of protests, allegations of corruption, the death of Pinochet, and a steep learning curve.  As a Mission, we will continue to urge Bachelet and her key advisors to take those steps that will foster innovation and attract investment, thereby assuring Chile of the economic growth and democratic consolidation we hope leads as well to a more active regional leadership role.

    KELLY

`