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DE RUEHBR #1410 1921507
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P 111507Z JUL 06
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6039
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 2443
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 7436
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 5099
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL FOREIGN MINISTRY PREDICTS DEEPENED RELATIONS FROM 
LULA-GARCIA MEETING 
 
REF:  LIMA 2427 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The June 13 meeting between Brazilian President Lula 
da Silva and Peruvian President-elect Alan Garcia will increase 
physical integration, increase information sharing and strengthen 
political ties between the two neighbors, according to the Brazilian 
Foreign Ministry (MRE).  Poloff was told during a July 10 readout of 
the meeting that the two presidents also discussed the role that 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez played during the Peruvian 
presidential election and the subsequent chill in 
Peruvian-Venezuelan relations.  Our interlocutor predicted that 
Garcia's presidency, coupled with Lula's expected reelection, would 
result in a continuous and significant strengthening of relations 
between the GoB and the GoP. End Summary 
 
¶2.  Poloff met with Lauro Beltrao of the MRE's Division for Meridian 
America on July 10, to discuss the GoB's impressions of the June 13 
meeting between President Lula and President-elect Alan Garcia, of 
Peru.  While Beltrao was not present at the meeting, he shared 
information he had gleaned from the GoB's internal reports.  Beltrao 
noted that the meeting had been extremely positive and focused on 
three issues: physical integration, information sharing and 
strengthened political ties. 
 
¶3.  Beltrao opened by noting the excellent relationship shared by 
Garcia and Lula, pointing out that President Garcia had been the 
only world leader to call Lula after his failed Presidential bid in 
¶1989.  As social democrats, possessing similar values, Beltrao 
believes that Garcia and Lula will remain very close, and possess 
definitive ideological ties.  Those ties, in turn, should lead to 
stronger ties between Brazil and Peru.  He also noted that he 
believed Garcia would move to strengthen commitments with the United 
States and Chile. 
 
¶4.  During the meeting Lula and Garcia discussed the three pillars 
on which Brazil and Peru can develop their cooperation.  The first 
is via physical integration projects.  The given example was the 
intercontinental highway which will provide Brazil's first link to 
the Pacific Ocean, while increasing sorely needed development in the 
Southern reaches of Peru.  Second, Peru and Brazil, by means of an 
MOU signed in 2003 and implemented in the last few months, would 
increase information sharing through the SIPAM/SIVAM system for 
spacial mapping, cartography and prevention of illicit activities in 
the Amazon regions of both countries.  Lastly, the meeting previewed 
deepening political relations between the countries, especially as 
relations with Venezuela have soured following Chavez' interference 
in the Peruvian elections. 
 
¶5.  The President's comments on Hugo Chavez emphasized the momentary 
chill in relations between Venezuela and Peru, Beltrao said. 
Beltrao believes that Garcia will/has become a target for Chavez and 
that there may be further deterioration between the two countries. 
Lula, in this scenario, may play the role of a negotiator and 
peacekeeper. 
 
¶6.  Moving beyond the confines of the Lula-Garcia meeting, Beltrao 
opined that that Lula's first term as president is a model for 
Garcia.  He sees Garcia promoting foreign investment, pro-market 
reforms and other sound macroeconomic policies to foment the 
Peruvian economy's continued growth.  Lula's emphasis on social 
programs may also be a beacon for Garcia, who desperately needs to 
reach out to a country where 40% of the population lives in poverty. 
 During the meeting the two leaders spoke about implementing a 
program in Peru similar to the Bolsa Familia.  Beltrao ended the 
meeting by noting that Lula has already committed to attending 
Garcia's inauguration and that he is very optimistic for the future 
of the Peru- Brazil relationship. 
 
WILLIASON