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DE RUEHGE #1281/01 3411702
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 071702Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2841
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0066
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL 0010

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 001281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAGR ELTN SCUL KPAO XM GY
SUBJECT: JAGDEO: U.S. LOSING PR BATTLE IN LATIN AMERICA 
 
REF: A. GEORGETOWN 1271 
     ¶B. GEORGETOWN 1273 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Benjamin Canavan for reason 1.4(d) 
 
 ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Charge and PolOff met with President Jagdeo 
on December 5 for an informal, amiable discussion of ongoing 
bilateral issues.  Jagdeo also shared his candid view on a 
topic that clearly interests him -- the U.S. public relations 
problem in Latin America.  During the conversation, Jagdeo 
could not conceal his deep mistrust of Guyana's main 
opposition party, the PNC/R.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
"US is Losing the Public Relations Battle in Latin America" 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Charge and PolOff met with President Jagdeo on 
December 5 for an informal, amiable discussion of ongoing 
bilateral issues.  Jagdeo had requested the meeting when 
speaking with Charge at a dinner the week before. 
 
¶3. (C) Jagdeo used a discussion of Guyana's border dispute 
with Venezuela to segue into sharing his view of Chavez and, 
more broadly, anti-American sentiment in Latin America.  He 
began with an admonition that the U.S. has to be more careful 
in its dealings with Latin America since "neo-liberalism has 
not worked in the region".  Jagdeo said that he and other 
Latin American leaders, noting Chavez as an exception, do 
understand and accept that a model based on the private 
sector is the only solution for achieving economic 
development.  However, improvements can be made to the 
neo-liberal model, he said, and lots of ordinary people feel 
that it is causing greater poverty in society.  He said that 
Latin American leaders, regardless of whether they are 
left-wing or right-wing, need to be seen as focusing on 
alleviating poverty, promoting land reform, improving health 
care, and addressing issues of indigenous and minority 
groups. 
 
¶4. (C) Jagdeo said that the "U.S. is losing the public 
relations battle in Latin America".  People have the 
perception that transnational companies are carrying away the 
wealth of Latin American countries.  He said that the more 
the U.S. attacks and criticizes Chavez publicly, the more it 
reinforces this negative perception in Latin America -- 
despite the generosity and idealism of the American people. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Comfort with Election Process, Deep Mistrust of PNC/R 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶5. (C) Charge raised the issue of election preparations, 
noting general donor satisfaction with the voter registration 
process except that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) 
does not have a robust public relations initiative and 
Amerindians in remote communities often do not have the 
documents required to register and vote (ref A).  Jagdeo 
responded that getting the registration process' momentum 
going in time for the election was the key issue in his mind. 
 As for registration in remote communities, he said that 
GECOM, the General Register Office, the Ministry of Home 
Affairs, and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs had met 
recently to address this issue. 
 
¶6. (C) While distancing himself from GECOM's activities, 
Jagdeo did say that GECOM needs to look at three issues -- a 
more robust public relations strategy, more registration 
stations since the current twenty-three are too far and 
expensive to reach for many constituents, and strong 
penalties for any illegal activities in the registration and 
voting process.  He pointed out that some groups encourage 
tactics like underage voting -- a thinly veiled barb directed 
at the opposition PNC/R party.  He said the government (GoG) 
has acceded to GECOM's additional funding requests, even 
though GECOM is "milking us now", because of the importance 
of a smooth election process.  He said there needs to be one 
coordinating local election observer group as GECOM cannot 
practicably accredit three hundred churches, for example. 
Jagdeo expressed his hope that the Carter Center would return 
to monitor the 2006 election.  In addition to the Carter 
Center, he said the GoG has officially asked the OAS, EU, and 
Commonwealth Secretariat to monitor the elections. 
 
¶7. (C) In discussing election preparations, Jagdeo made 
several strongly partisan statements that underscore the 
absolute mutual distrust between the PPP/C and PNC/R parties. 
 He is unconvinced of the need for long-term international 
election observers because the problem with Guyana's 
 
GEORGETOWN 00001281  002 OF 002 
 
 
electoral mechanisms is not one of incompetence but rather 
the burden of the past.  He said elections staff show bias 
and, putting it in very blunt terms, "we're paranoid" and 
"you should understand it", most likely referring to a 
recently released volume of Foreign Relations of the United 
States that details covert US support to assist former PNC 
president Forbes Burnham rig elections.  When Charge 
mentioned the importance of leaders' commitment to the 
democratic political process and OAS' high reputation 
democracy and governance work, Jagdeo expressed his deep 
skepticism of the value of such work in Guyana's political 
environment.  What is the point of another training program 
for the same MPs, he asked, when they do not want to then 
engage in a constructive political process in parliament.  He 
said that smart people attend the training sessions, return 
to their offices, and plot -- because they think there is a 
different way to power than fair elections. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Mennonites Eye Guyana - GoG Fears Jonestown's Ghost 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8. (C) Last week Jagdeo expressed interest in beginning 
cultivation of Guyana's intermediate savannahs.  Charge told 
Jagdeo that a group of Mennonites from the Southern U.S. was 
returning to Guyana for a second look at the possibility of 
establishing a farming community in Guyana's southern 
interior.  He briefly described Belize's half century of 
experience with Mennonite farming communities.  Jagdeo 
acknowledged that the Mennonites' intentions might dovetail 
with his plan to cultivate more of Guyana's hinterlands (ref 
B), and said he would ask the government of Belize about 
their experience.  However, Jagdeo also noted that 
establishment of a religious farming community would be a 
sensitive issue given the firm hold that the Jonestown 
experience still has on the national psyche.  He said that 
GoG was also talking with an Israeli group that hoped to 
develop a large agricultural project in the interior. 
 
¶9. (C) Jagdeo mentioned Guyana's changing geography in light 
of GoG's transportation initiatives.  Specifically, he 
described a road project underway that would link Supenaam, 
Essequibo, with Venezuela.  He emphasized, though, that he 
was "not creating access for Chavez" as the road would end a 
little short of the border. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (S)  Jagdeo, attending the meeting alone, remained 
amiable, attentive, unhurried, friendly and frank throughout. 
 He urged Charge to forget diplomatic niceties and share his 
impressions of Guyana, as he is open minded to criticism. 
The President became noticeably more animated when he turned 
the conversation to Latin America's perception of the U.S. 
and again when discussing his frustration with the political 
opposition.  By contrast, he openly deferred to the 
Presidential Secretariat Head on the subjects of 
counter-narcotics and security, saying that he "does not pay 
much attention to those subjects".  An economist himself, 
Jagdeo clearly relishes repartee over economic models and 
theories.  His view of the U.S. relationship with Latin 
America dealt exclusively with differences in economic 
frameworks rather than political philosophies.  Jagdeo's 
contempt for the PNC/R seeped out over an hour-long 
conversation.  Like for most PPP party members, the past 
(specifically, the 1964-1992 period spent effectively shut 
out of Guyana's political system) is a constant companion. 
For Jagdeo, even the country's regrettable litter problem is 
a direct result of the Guyanese people losing respect for the 
rule of law when the PNC outlawed wheat flour during 
Burnham's self-sufficiency drive.  End Comment. 
THOMAS