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### Viewing cable 09BUENOSAIRES461, ARGENTINA: MEDIA PRAISE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA'S

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09BUENOSAIRES461 | 2009-04-21 14:02 | 2011-03-13 07:07 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Buenos Aires
Appears in these articles: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1356989-la-presidenta-queria-una-relacion-mas-estrecha-con-estados-unidos

`

    VZCZCXRO5174
    RR RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHMT RUEHNG
    RUEHNL RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC
    DE RUEHBU #0461/01 1111420
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 211420Z APR 09
    FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3579
    INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
    RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
    RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BUENOS AIRES 000461

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2019
    TAGS: PREL KSUM EFIN ENRG ECON PGOV CU AR
    SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: MEDIA PRAISE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA'S
    SUMMIT PARTICIPATION; CFK SATISFIED WITH OUTCOME

    REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 150
         ¶B. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1407
         ¶C. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1703

    Classified By: CDA Tom Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    ¶1. (C) Summary: Argentine press reacted extremely favorably
    to President Obama's participation in the Fifth Summit of the
    Americas (SOA), describing the meetings as a new, positive
    beginning for U.S.-Latin American relations.  In a press
    conference following the April 18 meeting between President
    Obama and UNASUR heads-of-state, President Fernandez de
    Kirchner (CFK) praised President Obama for listening and for
    his sincerity, though she added that the U.S. would need to
    take additional conciliatory actions to address lingering
    Latin American distrust of the United States.  Local press
    drew attention to the fact that CFK did not have a bilateral
    with President Obama and that Argentina was absent from most
    official and even leaked descriptions of U.S. priorities or
    plans for the region.  Nonetheless, the media seemed to give
    CFK a passing grade for her perceived performance.  Her
    opening remarks at the Summit were described as ""balanced""
    despite the familiar jabs at the United States, and her call
    for the U.S. to lift its embargo on Cuba resonated well.  For
    CFK's part, we hear that she was ""delighted"" with the Summit
    and her interaction with President Obama, though she was
    reportedly annoyed by negative media stories here that sought
    to make an issue of the lack of a bilateral with him.

    ¶2. (U) Although photos of President Chavez's moments with
    President Obama were run in virtually all papers, the
    Venezuela-U.S. theme did not dominate local coverage.
    Reporting on substance focused on Argentina's effort to
    attract World Bank and IDB financing, on the lack of
    agreement over the Summit communique, on Cuba policy, and to
    a lesser extent on public security.  Environment and energy
    issues received relatively little attention.  End Summary.

    President Obama, Cuba Dominate Local Press
    ------------------------------------------

    ¶3. (U) Argentine press reporting on the Fifth Summit of
    Americas was focused on two main themes: first, President
    Obama's first extensive and positively received interaction
    with Latin American leaders and second, the question of U.S.
    Cuba policy (and Cuban participation in the OAS).  The two
    themes were intertwined, as the President's announcements on
    dialogue with Cuba and on travel policy changes were
    portrayed as key examples of a more balanced and
    consensus-based approach to the Hemisphere by the United
    States.  The press duly noted the calls by President Obama
    and Secretary Clinton for Cuba to release its political
    prisoners, embrace democratic reforms, and observe human
    rights.

    ¶4. (SBU) Pro-government daily ""Pagina 12"" got the ball
    rolling with a large front page ""I (Heart) B O"" featuring the
    President's face in the heart.  The paper's coverage noted
    the positive reaction of South American heads-of-state to
    President Obama at the U.S.-UNASUR meeting and led with the
    headline: ""This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.""

    ¶5. (U) Ana Baron, U.S. correspondent for largest circulation
    daily ""Clarin,"" provided a glowing description of Latin
    American reactions to President Obama's humility and
    openness.  She cautioned that President Obama's focus on
    listening aside, it appeared the USG still intended to follow
    its own course toward Cuba via a policy of gradualism and
    calling for reforms on the island rather than acceding to the
    consensus view of other leaders for a quick lifting of the
    embargo.  Indeed, statements by President Obama and WH
    Spokesman Gibbs that the ball was in Cuba's court received
    fair coverage on April 19, eliciting only mild implicit
    criticism in left-leaning Pagina 12.  Following the
    U.S.-UNASUR meeting, Baron noted that all of the South
    American heads of state appeared anxious to have an exchange
    or a photo taken with President Obama.

    CFK: Balanced, to a Point
    -------------------------

    ¶6. (SBU) Media coverage of President Cristina Fernandez de
    Kirchner's (CFK) opening speech at the SOA on April 17 was
    light compared to the attention given to President Obama.
    Local press described her remarks as balanced, with her
    critiques of U.S. Cuba policy ""balanced"" by her recognition
    that President Obama was new in office and had taken steps to
    ""lift the absurd restrictions"" placed by President Bush on
    Cuba in 2004.  She urged the U.S. to lift its ""blockade""
    (sic) of Cuba.  Somewhat discordantly, she contrasted U.S.

    BUENOS AIR 00000461  002 OF 004

    insistence on expelling Cuba from the OAS in 1962 due to
    Soviet involvement on the island with the United States'
    ""failure to comply"" with its Rio Pact obligations of mutual
    assistance toward Argentina when Argentina was ""attacked
    (sic) by Great Britain in 1982.""  She called on the creation
    of a new regional order based on ""coordination, not
    subordination, and integration, not interference"" to replace
    what had been a ""traumatic relationship"" between the U.S. and
    the region.  FM Jorge Taiana echoed these comments when he
    told reporters that ""the SOA demonstrated the hemisphere is
    in a new phase based on the recognition of the importance of
    dialogue, of respect, of the principle of non-intervention
    and cooperation.""

    ¶7. (SBU) CFK said her criticisms were not a ""reproach"" to
    President Obama.  ""He was not responsible for the Washington
    Consensus nor that bipolar (Cold War) world.  Indeed, he,
    too, may have had his civil, economic and political rights
    trampled due to the color of his skin.""  She also claimed
    that the 2005 SOA in Mar del Plata had been a ""turning point""
    in hemispheric relations because ""different countries of our
    Americas, with different historical experiences and different
    ideas said no to the Free Trade Area of the Americas.""  In
    the wake of that rebellion, Latin America left behind ""the
    uncriticizing subordination to any (U.S.) proposal.""  CFK
    lamented that developing nations were unfairly being forced
    to pay the consequences of a global crisis they did not
    create.

    ¶8. (SBU) Following the U.S.-UNASUR meeting, CFK praised
    Obama's participation, noting that it was a ""democratic""
    meeting at which all spoke and that President Obama was
    sincere in answering every head-of-state in turn.  Slipping
    into critical mode, she said that ""we all suggested that an
    improved U.S.-Latin American relationship would require a
    different attitude and commitment to non-interference by the
    United States in the internal affairs of the other states.
    This hasn't been the case for 30 years.""  She alleged U.S.
    quiescence over an ""institutional coup"" attempt against
    President Evo Morales in 2008.  Of the 2002 coup attempt
    against President Chavez, moreover, she added that the ""only
    government in the world which supported this endeavor was the
    United States,"" in turn praising President Chavez for
    dialoguing with President Obama despite this history.

    CFK's Economic Agenda at the Summit
    -----------------------------------

    ¶9. (SBU) With no bilateral meetings scheduled at the Summit,
    CFK focused her attention on firming up multilateral
    development bank (MDB) credits that have been in the works
    for some time.  Local media reports on CFK's public remarks
    that ""we need the IDB to be recapitalized and provided with
    more funds.  Obama told us that he will study the
    recapitalization (request).  I believe that the study should
    be short and the decision needs to be made quickly.""  The
    President met for 10 minutes with IDB President Luis Albert
    Moreno on a US$ 1.5 ) 1.8 billion loan package to support
    GOA ""social infrastructure and labor programs.""  (Note: Ref B
    reported on Moreno's October 2008 conversation with
    Ambassador on growing GOA interest in expanded IDB credits in
    the face of global credit crunch.  The IDB was then working
    with the Ministries of Social Development and Labor to
    develop a $1.6 billion two-year program to revamp the
    nation's social safety net programs.  End Note.)  Local media
    also reported on CFK's meeting with World Bank Latin American
    Director Pamela Cox to discuss a pending US$ 700 million
    credit to fund the Riachuelo cleanup program.  (Ref C for
    details).

    Brazil Encourages Support for Argentina
    ---------------------------------------

    ¶10. (SBU) An interesting economic subtext to the Summit were
    overt efforts by Brazil's President Lula and his cabinet to
    encourage IMF support for Argentina.  (Comment: Argentina is
    broadly considered ineligible for new IMF financial crisis
    credit lines due to the unreliability of its statistics and
    default status on some official and private debt.  WH
    Economic Advisor Summers' suggestion, quoted in Clarin, that
    countries would not qualify unless they had sound economic
    policies in place was read as meaning Argentina would in fact
    not qualify.  End Comment.)  In an April 16 interview with
    ""La Nacion"" that was published on Sunday, April 19, Lula
    remarked: ""We don't think there should be an IMF delegation
    coming to check Argentina, Brazil, or Venezuela's accounts...
    We don't want that any more.  We don't want missions... We
    don't want them to come and tell us we have to make fiscal
    adjustments.  That's for the authority and sovereignty of
    each country to decide.""

    BUENOS AIR 00000461  003 OF 004

    ¶11. (SBU) An April 20 article in ""Clarin"" reported that Lula
    called the reporter's attention to this earlier interview,
    noting ""We gave Cristina a hand, right?""  That same ""Clarin""
    article quoted GOB sources on a meeting between National
    Security Advisor James Jones, GOB Defense Minister Nelson
    Jobim and Lula's foreign affairs advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia
    in which the GOB told Jones that Argentina is key to regional
    security and integration and that the region needs a strong
    GOA and a strong Argentina.  The article interpreted these
    comments as a GOB request that the USG give Argentina
    political and financial support.

    Where Does Argentina Fit In?
    ----------------------------

    ¶12. (SBU) Despite Brazil's best efforts, the negative story
    for the GOA out of the Summit was the repeated assertion or
    implication that Argentina was not of great importance to the
    USG's Latin American policy.  Clarin's Baron quoted an
    unnamed White House source saying that President Obama had
    been interested only in five one-on-one conversations at the
    SOA -- with the Presidents of Colombia, Peru, Haiti and Chile
    and the Prime Minister of Canada.

    ¶13. (SBU) ""La Nacion"" on 19 April reported that the White
    House had said Colombia would be the next country in Latin
    America visited by the President.  It also noted White House
    confirmation that President Obama had developed an ""extensive
    and very good dialogue"" with Brazilian President Lula.  The
    paper noted that Argentina had not been raised among possible
    travel destinations and that there was no evidence of any
    significant dialogue between CFK and President Obama at the
    Summit.  Other press had noted that Argentina was not among
    the countries mentioned by President Obama in his remarks
    either by name or by its capital.  ""La Nacion"" also noted
    that CFK did not meet with Labor Secretary Solis, as had
    other heads-of-state and that her ""only"" bilateral with the
    U.S. was with ""seven Members of Congress"" (i.e., Codel Engel).

    Venezuela: An Interesting Sidebar
    ---------------------------------

    ¶14. (SBU) Although the photos of Presidents Chavez and Obama
    shaking hands or of Chavez presenting the President with a
    book were run in all media, the lack of U.S.-Venezuela
    theatrics made this a one-and-out story.  Clarin ran an
    interview with Chavez on April 19 in which Chavez described
    how important he viewed the book he had presented to
    President Obama, Eduardo Galleano's ""The Open Veins of Latin
    America.""  He confirmed his interest in ""becoming friends""
    with President Obama and in an improvement in Venezuelan-U.S.
    relations.  He said that he could not imagine another Summit
    without Cuba's participation and referred positively to
    ""Cristina's"" (CFK's) admonition that the Hemisphere not miss
    a ""second opportunity"" to reestablish the inter-American
    system with Cuba included, without conditions.

    CFK's Take on the Summit
    ------------------------

    ¶15.  (C) After debriefing his boss on his return to the MFA
    April 20, Foreign Minister Chief of Staff Alberto D'Alotto
    reported that CFK and Taiana were ""delighted"" with the
    Summit.  They both were highly impressed with President
    Obama's charisma, noting that he communicated humility and
    leadership simultaneously.  In the view of Argentina's
    leaders, the new U.S. administration got off to a very good
    start in a new relationship with Latin America at the Summit.
     D'Alotto said that Taiana ranted about Argentine press
    reports that President Obama ignored CFK or treated her
    coolly.  In fact, in Taiana's account, President Obama
    eagerly sought CFK out, walking across a crowded hallway to
    engage her.  CFK, according to this version (documented by a
    press photo showing CFK and her aide Carlos Zanini beaming in
    his presence) had her share of face time with the POTUS.

    Comment: Less Mileage from Anti-Americanism
    -------------------------------------------

    ¶16. (C) Although CFK stuck to some of her familiar themes in
    criticizing the U.S. record in Latin America, she appeared
    sincere in her suggestion that, from Argentina's perspective,
    a new beginning was possible under the Obama Administration.
    Memories of Kirchner and Chavez-led anti-American theatrics
    in 2005 at Mar del Plata were dispelled, at least for the
    local audience, with the upbeat photos of CFK with President
    Obama.  With less political space for profitable
    anti-American posturing and little to show in terms of a
    positive foreign policy agenda, the CFK Administration finds

    BUENOS AIR 00000461  004 OF 004

    itself without much to build on for domestic political
    consumption from the Summit.  At a minimum, though, CFK did
    not make any noteworthy misstep at Port of Spain.
    WAYNE

`