VZCZCXRO1916
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0360/01 0941359
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041359Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4811
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 5956
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 2823
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6971
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2489
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2144
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0030
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0024
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, NEA/ELA 
H PASS REP. ISSA 
NSC FOR CRONIN 
TREASURY FOR OASIA, DAS LEE AND FPARODI 
 
TAGS: OREP PGOV PREL ETRD PTER EFIN BR LE
SUBJECT: REP. ISSA'S MEETING WITH LEADERS OF LEBANESE COMMUNITY IN 
SAO PAULO 
 
SENSTIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During the visit to Sao Paulo of CODEL Grassley (septels), 
Rep. Darrel Issa (CA) held a separate meeting with four leaders of 
Sao Paulo's Lebanese community.  They discussed the size and 
activities of Brazil's Lebanese community as well as the influence 
of the broader Arab community on the Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) in 
formulating Brazil's Middle East policy.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
REPRESENTATIVE ISSA MEETS SAO PAULO'S LEBANESE LEADERS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In a separate meeting from the rest of the CODEL, California 
Representative Darrell Issa met over drinks at the CG's residence 
with four leaders of Sao Paulo's Lebanese community to discuss 
issues of Lebanon, the Middle East, and Lebanese expatriates.  In 
addition to Rep. Issa, CG, Issa staffer Laurent Crenshaw, and 
Poloff, participants included Joseph Sayah, Lebanese Consul General 
in Sao Paulo; Souheil Yamount, a long-time investment and government 
relations advisor to the Hariri Family Group; Alfredo Cotait Neto, 
President of the Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce; and Guilherme 
Mattar, a Director and Secretary-General of the Brazil-Lebanon 
Chamber of Commerce.  Rep. Issa told the group he is of Lebanese 
descent and his grandfather lived in Rio de Janeiro before settling 
in the United States.  He has been actively engaged in issues 
related to Lebanon and the Middle East for years, both as a 
Congressman and before that as a businessman. 
 
¶3.  (U) Brazil's Lebanese community is the largest expatriate group 
of Lebanese worldwide.  CG Sayah confirmed for Representative Issa 
that after four generations since large-scale immigration began, Sao 
Paulo alone is home to some eight million persons of Lebanese 
descent.  Issa wondered aloud if large Lebanese expatriate 
communities such as Sao Paulo's might be tapped to support the 
democratic process in Lebanon.  Sayah pointed out that currently 
Lebanon does not have an absentee voter process, and the country's 
parliamentary system would not provide the opportunity to affect 
presidential elections, which is critical to advancing Lebanon's 
fragile democracy. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Rep. Issa and the group discussed a range of issues facing 
Lebanon today, the most pressing being Iran's new influence in the 
country after the power vacuum left by Syria's pullout.  Sayah 
repeatedly linked Hezbollah to Iran, and warned that in upcoming 
presidential elections in Lebanon, any candidate who does not 
specifically denounce Hezbollah is implicitly supporting Iran as 
Hezbollah's current benefactor and puppet-master.  Closer to home, 
the group candidly acknowledged that Hezbollah supporters operate in 
Parana State and the tri-border region where Brazil, Paraguay, and 
Argentina meet. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
ALLEGED SYRIAN INFLUENCE WITHIN ITAMARATY 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Sayah and Yarmout gave a somewhat surprising account of 
the current influence on the GoB of various elements of the Arab 
community in Brazil.  When asked why the GoB had taken some 
confusing stands counter to the United States regarding Middle East 
policy, both men described the MFA (Itamaraty) as being greatly 
influenced by Syrians in Brazil.  They said that for generations, 
Syrian-Brazilians have become diplomats, while Lebanese immigrants 
have focused on business.  In the past these trends were not noticed 
because there was no divergence in opinion or interests among the 
various elements of the greater Arab community in Brazil. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) However, with the Syrian pullout from Lebanon and a 
growing hostility between the two countries fueled by the 
assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the 
GoB finds itself behaving almost schizophrenically, both Sayah and 
Yarmout asserted.  The descendents of Syrians purportedly entrenched 
in the Brazilian Foreign Ministry have taken public stands in 
 
SAO PAULO 00000360  002 OF 002 
 
 
support of Syria, allegedly at times even without the knowledge or 
authorization of others in the Lula administration.  Further, the 
Arab-Brazil Chamber of Commerce has become extremely influential, 
and the organization tends to oppose U.S.-led initiatives in the 
Middle East.  EMBASSY BRASILIA COMMENT: Lebanese CG Sayah's comments 
reflect a fascinating and apparently sincere point of view within 
Brazil's Lebanese community, and merit further examination and 
reporting.  That said, while under the Lula administration the MFA's 
positions on a number of Middle Eastern issues have been problematic 
for the USG, vexing and even inexplicable, we have no way at present 
of verifying whether or not they are signs of the existence of a 
cabal of Syrian-Brazilian diplomats pursuing their own agenda.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Yamout said that to counter this putative Syrian-based 
influence, he recently obtained 10,000 signatures of 
Lebanese-Brazilians on a petition demanding that the Lula 
administration as a whole, including Itamaraty, play a more balanced 
role regarding the Middle East.  (NOTE: Both Yamout and Sayah 
implied that "Arab" interests may no longer be the same as 
"Lebanese" interests.  They referred to a subtle change in Itamaraty 
policy from being pro-Lebanese to pro-Arab, and thus increasingly 
incompatible with Lebanese interests.  END NOTE.)  He called the 
petition a down-payment on grass-roots activism, and said the 
community will push Itamaraty to support U.S. resolutions on 
Lebanon, Syria and Iran.  Rep. Issa said it will be important to 
garner international support for a new U.N. resolution following 
Resolution 1559, and for smart investments in Lebanon, avoiding the 
corruption that has been seen in past programs. 
 
¶8. (U) Issa wrapped up the evening by declaring that if the Lebanese 
expatriate communities of Brazil and the Unites States can stand 
together to press their respective governments to cooperate on 
promoting democracy and strengthening institutions in Lebanon, the 
day may come soon when Lebanon will finally be free of all foreign 
influence. 
 
¶9. (U) This cable was coordinated/cleared with Embassy Brasilia. 
 
MCMCULLEN