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C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AR
SUBJECT: CONVERSATION WITH CASA ROSADA INSIDER OSCAR 
PARRILLI 
 
REF: A. 05 BUENOS AIRES 141 
 
     ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 97 
     ¶C. BUENOS AIRES 291 

     ¶D. BUENOS AIRES 346 

 

Classified By: Ambassador Lino Gutierrez for Reasons 

1.4 (b) and (d). 

 

¶1.  (C) Summary: In a wide-ranging conversation with DCM, 

Secretary General of the Presidency Oscar Parrilli said GoA 

 

SIPDIS 

efforts to control prices were working and that the 2006 

inflation rate would be lower than generally expected.  He 

defended the government's approach to controlling the 

piquetero movement and demonstrations, claiming recent 

violence during a labor dispute in Santa Cruz province 

(during which a policeman was killed) would have been much 

worse had the police force been armed.  Regarding the 2007 

presidential elections, Parrilli said President Nestor 

Kirchner would not announce his decision on whether to seek 

reelection until the end of this year but speculated he would 

run and that his main competitor would be Neuquen governor 

Jorge Sobisch.  End Comment. 

 

¶2.  (C) The DCM and PolCouns met on February 9 with Oscar 

Parrilli, the Secretary General of the Presidency and one of 

a small group of advisors considered to be in President 

Kirchner's inner circle.  (See Reftel A for biographic 

details on Parrilli and other inner circle members.)  To open 

the discussion, the DCM noted recent developments in 

U.S.-Argentine relations including the January 12 meeting of 

Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon with Kirchner (Reftel B), the 

visit of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Rogelio 

Pardo-Maurer (Reftel C) and emphasized the importance of 

continued assistance and cooperation on regional issues such 

as Haiti and Bolivia and multilateral issues such as the 

recent IAEA Board of Governors meeting in which Argentina 

supported the reporting of Iran to the UN Security Council. 

Regarding potential issues of concern, the DCM noted the 

continued destabilizing activities of Venezuelan president 

Hugo Chavez, the rising inflation rate in Argentina and labor 

violence in Kirchner's home province of Santa Cruz (Reftel D). 

 

¶3.  (C) Responding first to the issue of inflation, Parrilli 

said the recent round of price control agreements with retail 

and industry sectors had been successful and that the rate of 

inflation in February would be significantly lower than in 

January (when it reached 1.3 percent).  He opined the 

government could keep the inflation rate during the remainder 

of 2006 to under ten percent.  The DCM noted that while price 

controls could provide short-term relief to inflationary 

trends, ultimately, appropriate monetary and fiscal policies 

were the only long-term solutions for controlling inflation. 

Parrilli said the GoA was committed to maintaining high 

reserves and a competitive exchange rate while at the same 

time making the necessary infrastructure investments to 

continue economic and social development. 

 

¶4.  (C) On the question of Chavez, Parrilli said Argentina 

had economic ties with Venezuela that could not be 

discounted.  He noted in particular Venezuela's purchase of 

Argentine bonds.  When pressed by the DCM on Chavez's 

undermining of democratic institutions in Venezuela, Parrilli 

only responded that the GoA's economic ties with Venezuela 

did not mean support for Chavez's heavy-handed ways. 

 

¶5.  (C) Turning to the violent labor dispute in Santa Cruz 

province that left one policeman dead, Parrilli defended 

government tactics in dealing with demonstrations and 

piquetero groups.  He said the government's decision to use 

only minimal force in dealing with protesters was the correct 

one, even in the current situation.  Had the police responded 

in kind to the strikers in Santa Cruz, there would have been 

thirty dead instead of just one, he said.  More generally, 

Parrilli said the government's strategy to isolate and/or 

coopt piquetero groups had been successful and that the 

number of protesters who now show up for demonstrations has 

declined significantly in the last three years.  What 

remained, he said, was a group of hard left, professional 

agitators who refused to enter into any sort of dialogue. 

 

¶6.  (C) When asked for his perspective on domestic politics, 

Parrilli said Kirchner would not make any announcements 

regarding his electoral intentions for 2007 until the end of 

this year.  Speaking on a personal basis, Parrilli said it 

would clearly be easier to move forward with the 

administration's long-term goals for Argentina if Kirchner 

remained as president for a second term.  Asked who his 

 

likely competitor might be, Parrilli said Governor Sobisch of 

Neuquen Province would be the chief rival but added he would 

not provide stiff competition for Kirchner.  He opined that 

Buenos Aires city national deputy Mauricio Macri would opt 

for the Buenos Aires city chief of government race. 

 

¶7.  (C) Comment: Parrilli's role in the inner circle is 

primarily that of Kirchner's gatekeeper.  While not a policy 

advisor himself, his views certainly reflect Kirchner's 

thinking on pivotal issues such as the economy.  What was 

most striking about Parrilli's comments was their reflection 

of old-school, classic Peronist thinking, in particular in 

their faith in government intervention and price controls in 

the economy.  Also notable (and consistent with classic 

Peronism) was Parrilli's rejection of the hard left in 

Argentine politics, which could presage a more firm 

government response in the future to violent demonstrations. 

End Comment. 

 

¶8.  (U) Reftels available at 

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires.< /a> 

GUTIERREZ 


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