VZCZCXYZ0007
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0940/01 1162006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 262006Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4305
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000940 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, 
WHA/EPSC 
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION CHAVEZ' INFLUENCE ON LATIN 
AMERICA ARGENTINE ECONOMY BOLIVIAN COCAINE DEATH 
PENALTY 04/26/06 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Today's key international stories include President 
Bush's investigation into oil price abuses; Presidents 
Lula and Kirchner's reaction to Venezuelan President 
Hugo Chavez's increasing influence in Latin America; 
the increasing amount of Bolivian cocaine entering 
Argentina; and Argentina's economic situation. 
 
Leading "Clarin" carries an editorial against the 
imposition of death penalty all over the world. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES 
 
- "Bush intervenes to lower the price of oil and 
increase his popularity ratings" 
 
Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading 
"Clarin," writes (04/26) "... Aware that his 
popularity is declining as quickly as the price of oil 
increases, Bush announced yesterday a four-point plan 
to stop the escalation of oil prices. First, he 
launched an investigation into oil price abuses, which 
will be carried out by the US Federal Trade 
Committee... 'We will not accept market manipulation.' 
Secondly, Bush decided to suspend new additions to the 
national strategic oil reserve... Third, he spoke 
about Americans' addiction to oil and the need to 
reward the use of alternative energy. 
 
"Lastly, Bush decided to reduce environmental demands 
imposed on oil corporations, which could serve to 
reduce costs and lower oil prices." 
 
"... Bush's announcement had a positive impact. 
Wholesale prices on futures, for the month of June, 
recorded an eight-cent reduction per gallon." 
 
- "Chavez, the partner Kirchner and Lula wanted, has 
become a dilemma for both of them" 
 
Eduardo van der Kooy, political columnist of leading 
"Clarin," comments (04/26) "... There are regional and 
international issues related to President Chavez that 
raise concern in both Buenos Aires and Brasilia... The 
Venezuelan government has defended Iran's nuclear 
program and stated that every country has the right to 
access nuclear technology with peaceful purposes. 
Venezuela, Cuba and Syria are against the referral of 
the Iranian case to the UN Security Council. 
 
"Last year, Caracas and Tehran signed trade, 
industrial and agricultural cooperation deals... 
Argentina and Brazil do not question this 
rapprochement; however, they do object to Venezuela's 
support for the (Iranian) nuclear program, the final 
goal of which, according to them, is not clear. 
 
"Kirchner and Lula were also worried when Chavez 
threatened to bomb oil wells last week. Truly enough, 
Chavez conditioned said decision to a hypothetical US 
invasion. But, the Venezuelan president's gesture 
disturbed Argentine and Brazilian diplomats, who 
allegedly act as moderators of Chavez in the eyes of 
Washington. 
 
"... Also, Venezuela's decision to get out of the 
Andean Community of Nations dealt a severe blow to 
Colombia, and sent a direct message to Peru. The two 
countries have just ended negotiations with the US to 
conclude FTAs... 
 
"Chavez prefers to be closer to Mercosur than to the 
Andean Community of Nations... (due to Mercosur's 
higher trade volume)... But there is also a political 
interpretation. The Venezuelan president's moves 
symbolize power in an unstable region and also in the 
lurking eyes of Washington." 
 
- "Chavez and the crisis in the region" 
 
Business-financial, center-right "InfoBae" carries an 
opinion piece by Rosendo Fraga, prestigious political 
analyst, who writes (04/26) "The meeting in Asuncion 
among the presidents of Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay 
and Bolivia made obvious the crisis among regional 
 
 
groups. The fact that the two largest Mercosur 
countries were not invited reveals the difficulties 
they have with Uruguay and Paraguay. Chavez used the 
meeting to show that he is becoming the key political 
actor in South America, in detriment to Lula and 
Kirchner. 
 
"Chavez announced that the Andean Community of Nations 
is pointless now that Colombia and Peru negotiated 
FTAs with the US... 
 
"... The two smallest Mercosur partners are holding 
bilateral trade negotiations with the US... 
 
"During their meeting this week, Lula and Kirchner 
will try to contain Chavez's regional influence... The 
two of them have underestimated Chavez's influence on 
South America, which is increasing as the price of oil 
increases. 
 
"Both will attempt to prevent the Mercosur crisis, 
then limit the free action of Chavez in the region and 
lastly, review regional energy plans to be developed 
with Venezuela. 
 
"... Simultaneously, Chavez is developing intense 
activity in the strategic field. During his encounter 
with Lula and Kirchner, he will attempt to seek their 
support to obtain a non permanent chair at the UN 
Security Council... 
 
"Also, election processes in the region reveal 
Chavez's growing influence. To the public support he 
is giving to Ortega in Nicaragua, one should add the 
support he is giving to Ollanta Humala in Peru." 
 
- "If it works, don't fix it" 
 
Michael Soltys, executive editor of liberal, English- 
language "Buenos Aires Herald," writes (04/26) "... 
Victory is said to have many fathers while defeat is 
an orphan - the Kirchner administration is certainly 
not shy about claiming the credit for the current glut 
of positive economic data. 
 
"Yet Argentina is not the only example of growth 
within the region or indeed a world which has been 
growing at a record five-plus percent. Indeed high 
growth and populist government are almost a vicious 
circle within a region that seems to have concluded 
that if neither a Kirchner here nor a Hugo Chavez in 
Venezuela nor an Evo Morales in Bolivia can interrupt 
the good times, then why not an Ollanta Humala in 
Peru? 
 
"Yet should increasingly active states take the 
credit? To answer this question, we should identify 
the sectors with the most spectacular growth and the 
strongest investment. In the case of Argentina those 
sectors would appear to be construction, tourism and 
mining... 
 
"Fortunately, the government has yet to pay any 
serious attention to construction, tourism or mining - 
the ideal recipe for economic success would thus be if 
the government could devote all its energies to 
fretting about the price of, say, artichokes, thus 
leaving all the important activities to flourish 
undisturbed. 
 
"... The exchange rate is also worth watching... A 
three-peso dollar continues to be this government's 
convertibility - even if the government fails to 
recognize the exchange rate's role in fuelling an 
inflation which a sturdy fiscal surplus should be 
averting." 
 
- "US: Argentina is receiving more Bolivian cocaine 
than in the past" 
 
Business-financial "Ambito Financiero" (04/26) 
"According to US Assistant Secretary for International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Anne W. 
Patterson, the US is concerned about the 'explosive 
increase in the coca leaf crops in Bolivia,' whose 
surplus feeds cocaine factories. 
 
 
 
"Patterson expressed her concern during a press 
conference after having met with Bolivian President 
Evo Morales... 
 
"The USG official argued that said concern over the 
increase in Bolivian coca leaf crops is based on 
studies revealing that 'Some 30,000 hectares were 
cultivated last year out of which only 7,000 were used 
for traditional consumption.'" 
 
¶3. EDITORIALS 
 
- "Prevalence of death penalty" 
 
An editorial in leading "Clarin" reads (04/26) "While 
the human rights culture has notably increased ever 
since the Second World war, many governments continue 
implementing sanctions that are incompatible with the 
respect for the dignity and life of people. 
 
"In this way, the death penalty is still in force in 
several countries... 
 
"According to Amnesty International, China is the 
State that most resorts to the death penalty... Iran, 
Saudi Arabia and the US follow it in order of 
importance. Then death penalty is also imposed on 
minors of 18 years in Iran and the US. 
 
"Multiple reasons justify the rejection of the death 
penalty. Its role as a deterrent has not been proved, 
and this is why its use has not managed to reduce 
crime rates... It resembles a form of retaliation 
rather than a punishment that has been established 
based on reasonable and humanistic ethic values." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
GUTIERREZ