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Viewing cable 05BRASILIA1018, AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH BRAZILIAN CONGRESSIONAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05BRASILIA1018 2005-04-13 20:56 2011-07-11 00:00 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Brasilia
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2015 
TAGS: PGOV CVIS PINR PREL SOCI BR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH BRAZILIAN CONGRESSIONAL 
LEADERS 
 
REF: BRASILIA 767 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY POLOFF RICHARD REITER, FOR 1.4B AND 
D. 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  On April 12, Ambassador Danilovich met with 
the new Speaker of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, 
Severino Cavalcanti, who --in his two months leading the 
lower house of Congress-- has butted heads with the Lula 
administration and entertained the press with his untailored 
style.  Cavalcanti described his participation in the 
Brazilian delegation to the Pope's funeral and asked for 
assistance funds for his home state.  Later, the Ambassador 
hosted five key Brazilian Senators at dinner.  Among the 
topics raised was the possibility of eliminating the visa 
requirement for US visitors to Brazil.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SEVERINO CAVALCANTI 
------------------- 
2. (C) On April 12, Ambassador Danilovich paid a courtesy 
call on Severino Cavalcanti, who in February defeated Lula's 
preferred candidate to become Speaker of the Brazilian 
Chamber of Deputies after a long and  undistinguished career 
in state and federal politics.  Cavalcanti has raised 
eyebrows over the past two months with his failed effort to 
boost Congressional salaries, his artless defense of nepotism 
(he has secured public sector jobs for nine relatives), and 
his squabbles with President Lula designed to demonstrate 
that Congress will be more independent of the administration 
in the future (reftel). 
 
POPE'S FUNERAL "TOUCHED ALL WHO WERE THERE" 
------------------------------------------- 
3. (C) Cavalcanti explained that the poster-sized photo over 
his desk of himself with Pope John Paul II was taken in 2001 
when he visited Rome as part of a group "in defense of the 
family".  Cavalcanti, who joined President Lula and the 
Brazilian delegation at the Pope's funeral, noted that the 
funeral "touched all who were there", adding that he was 
delighted by the presence of so many young people in Rome. 
The Speaker, a conservative from the right-of-center 
Progressive Party (PP), explained that he believes Brazil and 
the US are "natural allies" regardless of the government in 
power.  Known for his patronage style of local politics, 
Cavalcanti pointed out that his home state of Pernambuco and 
the entire northeast of Brazil are subject to "great poverty" 
and would welcome US investments.  He returned to this theme 
several times during the conversation and offered to draw up 
a list of organizations that could by funded by the embassy 
or US investors in support of Pernambuco's economic 
development. 
 
FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLITICS 
----------------------------- 
4. (C) Turning to Brazilian politics, Cavalcanti noted that 
he believes Lula will be elected to a second term in 2006, 
and that he will vote for him, despite defeating Lula's 
preferred candidate in the maneuvering to become Speaker.  He 
insisted that Congress will be independent of the Lula 
administration over the next two years.  Regarding foreign 
policy, he explained that developed countries must be more 
attentive to how their policies (import barriers, for 
example) affect the economies of developing nations.  The 
Ambassador agreed, noting that the US is working --through 
FTAA and WTO-- to address these issues.  The Speaker pointed 
out that developing micro- and small businesses is a good 
strategy for Brazil's development, which is why he killed an 
administration bill that would have raised taxes on the 
agriculture and service sectors.  This defeat, he said, will 
sensitize Lula to the fact that development must come through 
increased productivity rather than higher taxes. 
 
AN UNSOPHISTICATED MAN 
---------------------- 
5. (C) Cavalcanti is not a sophisticated man and does not 
strike a visitor as a deep thinker.  His 74 years may be 
taking their toll, as his notes were prepared in oversized 
fonts and a few times he had trouble hearing the Ambassador's 
comments.  He is mentally sharp and self-confident, and he 
became notably more voluble on topics with which he is 
intimately familiar (such as why he killed Lula's tax bill). 
His inner office is spartan, adorned with the large photo of 
the Pope, a dusty STU-III telephone, and a shelf of carved 
wooden images of Catholic saints.  He was joined at the 
meeting by his international affairs advisor --a Foreign 
Ministry secondee who studiously took notes and offered 
occasional translation-- and his long-time Chief-of-Staff who 
hovered nearby.  Although he has said in interviews that he 
has not read a book or been to the movies in many years, 
Cavalcanti accepted the Ambassador's gift of a book of 
Abraham Lincoln's speeches gracefully.  He said he was 
inspired at age thirteen when he read a book about Lincoln's 
personal story.  "Lincoln gave me my ambition", he said. 
"I'll read these speeches and I hope they will give me a 
better public voice." 
 
DINNER WITH THE SENATORS 
------------------------ 
6. (C) Also on April 12, the Ambassador hosted five key 
Brazilian Senators at dinner: current Senate President Renan 
Calheiros (PMDB); former Senate President Jose Sarney (PMDB); 
Tasso Jereissati of Ceara (PSDB); Paulo Octavio of Brasilia 
(PFL); and Eduardo Azeredo of Minas Gerais (PSDB).  Calheiros 
became Senate President in February after winning a tough 
battle against Sarney, who wanted to remain in that post for 
two more years.  The two have reconciled and together lead 
the pro-Lula wing of the divided PMDB party.  It was 
interesting to note how deferential Calheiros is to Sarney, 
72, who was Brazil's President in 1985-1990 and remains a 
powerful kingmaker with great influence in several parties 
and states.  Calheiros is savvy and competent in his own 
right, but often glanced at Sarney while making comments or 
invited the former President to add further remarks.  Sarney, 
who always positions himself on the side of the government in 
power, said that he will continue to support Lula, who he 
believes will be reelected in 2006. 
 
A PUSH FOR VISA EXEMPTIONS FOR US VISITORS 
------------------------------------------ 
7. (C) Senator Paulo Octavio announced that he is sponsoring 
a bill to exempt US visitors to Brazil from having to obtain 
Brazilian visas, and says he has support on the floor.  He 
recognizes that the US will not be able to reciprocate, but 
believes that attracting more US tourists and investors to 
Brazil will provide economic benefits that far outweigh the 
value of strict adherence to a reciprocal visa regime.  When 
the Ambassador pointed out that Brazil's notoriously 
protocol-conscious Foreign Ministry ("Itamaraty") will likely 
oppose his measure, Octavio snorted, "Itamaraty will do what 
Congress tells them".  A Foreign Ministry representative 
(Sen. Calheiros' International Affairs Advisor) was at the 
dinner and, indeed, expressed opposition.  He stated, with 
visible frustration (and incorrectly), that he is not aware 
of any instances where the US does not insist on reciprocity, 
i.e., where a country allows US visitors to enter without 
visas while the US requires visas of that country's citizens. 
 (Note, in fact the list of such countries is long and 
includes, inter alia, most of Latin America.  Post will 
provide provide this list to the Senators.)  Clearly, the 
Foreign Ministry will be an obstacle to Sen. Octavio's 
efforts. 
 
8. (C) But Octavio is not alone.  Separately, Emboffs met on 
April 13 with Federal Deputy Carlos Cadoca, who hails from 
tourist-friendly Recife and is pushing a bill similar to Sen. 
Octavio's to exempt US visitors from Brazilian visa 
requirements.  Cadoca's bill is in committee, and he told us 
that he is facing stiff resistance from Lula's Workers' Party 
in Congress.  He plans to hold public hearings in the coming 
weeks in order to publicize the economic benefits his bill 
would bring.  But Cadoca noted that Itamaraty is not alone in 
resisting a unilateral visa exemption for US visitors.  Many 
Brazilians, he said, are persuaded that US consular and 
immigration authorities do not like Brazilians and treat them 
poorly.  This attitude will complicate passage of his bill. 
It is far too early to say whether these proposals can be 
implemented, but we will remain in close touch with Sen. 
Octavio and Deputy Cadoca as their bills move forward. 
DANILOVICH