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TAGS: PREL AORC SOCI XM SP PO UY
SUBJECT: LACKLUSTER XVI IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN MONTEVIDEO 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The XVI Ibero-American Summit took place in 
Montevideo on 3-5 November without major logistical or 
security incidents.  Leaders from 22 Latin American and 
European countries focused on "Migration and Development," 
though we detected few concrete accomplishments in these 
areas.  There was some U.S. bashing against its plans to 
build a fence along its border with Mexico and against the 
Cuban embargo.  The biggest story was the no-show of 
important attendees, including the Presidents of Brazil, 
Venezuela, Cuba and Peru, a particular disappointment to the 
Uruguayan hosts who had invested great effort into the 
biggest event here in many years.  Lack of meaningful 
participation by Mercosur Presidents underscored ongoing 
problems within the trading bloc.  Nevertheless, there were 
some interesting outcomes: Spain's King Juan Carlos offered 
to help with the long-running dispute between Uruguay and 
Argentina over pulp mills, Chile's President Michelle 
Bachelet had positive things to say about its FTA with the 
U.S. and the Summit produced a detailed report on migration 
from Latin American countries.  The communique against 
terrorism appears useful and the separate summit by 
entrepreneurs in Punta del Este raised important questions 
about investment climate.  An Argentine-sponsored declaration 
on the Falklands Islands called for quick resumption of 
negotiations.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The XVI Ibero-American Summit officially opened at a 
ceremony on the evening of November 3. Throughout the Summit, 
a portion of the city of Montevideo was cordoned off and most 
principals were lodged at a single hotel (the Raddisson). 
Montevideo's international airport was temporarily closed on 
the afternoon of November 2 due to a bomb threat.  The 
Uruguayan armed forces augmented police security with rarely 
seen combat aircraft and ships.  There were no major security 
incidents, except for small protests by anti-Summit, 
anti-globalization fringe groups.  The closing press 
conference was held at noon on November 5.  It was hosted by 
President Vazquez and included the King of Spain, Michelle 
Bachelet, UNSYG Kofi Annan and the forum's first 
Secretary-General Enrique Iglesias. 
 
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¶3. (U) Perhaps the biggest story was the non-participation by 
important personalities; a record seven heads of State did 
not attend. Brazil's President Lula da Silva explained that 
he could not attend because of exhaustion after his election 
campaigning. Later, he was filmed strolling on a Brazilian 
beach in an unflattering Speedo, and pictures of Lula's 
vacation adorned the pages of Uruguayan dailies along with 
coverage of the summit he had shunned.  Presidents from Cuba, 
Peru, Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua 
did not attend for various reasons.  Queen Sofia of Spain 
also canceled because of the flu.  Cuba was represented by 
Vice-President Lage.  President Kirchner of Argentina arrived 
late, missed the opening ceremony and departed Saturday 
afternoon without meeting with President Vazquez.  President 
Vazquez responded to criticism about the absences by saying, 
"All Latin American countries were present, 16 were 
represented by their presidents, five by their 
vice-presidents and three by their ministers of foreign 
affairs." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Perhaps most galling to the GOU (in particular to 
the left-wing of the Frente Amplio) was the last minute 
no-show of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who stayed home 
ostensibly to participate in campaigning.  In a rush to 
please Chavez, the Frente-dominated Chamber of Deputies had 
approved Venezuela's entry into Mercosur through a special 
session that began in the wee hours of November 2. (The 
Senate had approved it earlier in the week.)  After Chavez' 
no-show at the Summit, the conservative daily "El Pais" 
called the fast-tracking of Venezuelan membership into 
Mercosur a "servile act."  (Note: A news article in the daily 
"Ultimas Noticias" implied that to make up for his absence, 
Chavez was sending $20 million to upgrade a public hospital. 
End Note.) 
 
Press Reactions 
--------------- 
¶5. (U) While Montevideo's inhabitants complained about 
disruption to the downtown area, other editorials lamented 
the low level of participation, and questioned Spain's 
leadership of the Summit process and Vazquez' inability to 
get his Mercosur partners to attend.  On November 3, an 
editorial in the conservative daily "El Pais" asked "what 
will become of Latin American solidarity when we don't have 
President Bush to criticize?"  The paper also carried a 
full-page paid ad signed by former presidents Patricio Aylwin 
(Chile), Armando Calderon (El Salvador), Luis Alberto Monge 
(Costa Rica), and Luis Alberto Lacalle (Uruguay) in the form 
of an open letter.  The letter called on Summit participants 
to enforce the 1996 Summit's declaration on human rights, 
noting that Cuba had not complied with the declaration's 
human right requirements. 
 
Pulp Mill Dispute 
----------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Throughout the Summit, Argentine protesters blocked 
two of the three international bridges linking Argentina and 
Uruguay to protest construction of pulp mills on a shared 
river. They also constructed a low cinder block wall on one 
of the bridges. Presidents Kirchner and Vazquez did not meet 
during the course of Kirchner's brief visit, partly because 
Vazquez said that talks could not take place while the 
bridges were blocked. In a surprise development at the 
Summit, the Spaniards offered King Juan Carlos de Borbon to 
"mediate" the paper mill controversy.  Both sides' initial 
reactions were positive, though it is unclear what the offer 
truly entails. 
 
Business Summit 
--------------- 
¶7. (U) Parallel to the Ibero-American Summit, some of the 
region's most prominent entrepreneurs gathered at the second 
"Ibero-American Impresario Encounter" at a posh hotel in the 
seaside resort of Punta del Este. The entrepreneurs sought 
among other things "clear rules of the game (for investors), 
respect for the rule of law and for private property, and 
democratic values". They also called on Summit leaders to 
fight corruption, respect contracts and engage in social 
dialogue. These efforts, they said, are aimed at capturing 
and preserving the "economic bonanza" currently being 
experienced in Latin America. Ibero-American 
Secretary-General Enrique Iglesias and Uruguayan Economy and 
 
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Finance Minister Danilo Astori also attended the conference. 
Astori said that "a permanent increase in productive 
investment has to be the cornerstone" of maintaining the 
economic bonanza. 
 
Speeches and Documents 
---------------------- 
¶8. (U) Full texts of the final documents can be found on a 
handy web site at www.xvicumbre.org.uy.  Included are: The 
Final Resolution of Montevideo on Migration and Development 
by Heads of State and Government of the Ibero-American 
Community, The Declaration of Montevideo, The Ibero-American 
Cultural Letter, and "special communiques" on Colombia, the 
Cuban Blockade and Helms-Burton, Energy and Sustainable 
Development, the Panama Canal, Gender, the Falklands Islands, 
the Fence on the U.S.-Mexican Border, and Terrorism.  The 
final documents include criticism of the U.S. for its 
"blockade" of Cuba and for the "wall" to be built along the 
U.S.-Mexican border.  Presidents Fox, Morales, Bachelet and 
the Venezuelan delegation sharply criticized the wall in 
their public statements.  Lage is quoted as saying that 
"Emigration is a right that must be respected."  Spain and 
Mexico were at odds over the inclusion of "human rights for 
migrants."  Bolivia's Evo Morales made some attendees 
uncomfortable when he said, "When immigration came from north 
to south, there were no walls or deportations, but that is 
what we face now." Morales also told his own story of when he 
was a union activist arriving in Madrid and was asked to pay 
$500 to enter the country. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
¶9. (SBU) While we are still sifting through the speeches and 
documents and consulting with our contacts who attended, our 
impression is that the XVI Ibero-American Summit was long on 
style and quite short on substance.  We could detect no major 
advances in the stated themes, though the "Commitment on 
Immigration and Development" document is aimed at promoting 
the defense of immigrant's rights and economic development to 
stem emigration.  The real story was the no-shows and minimal 
participation by important leaders, a significant letdown 
that speaks volumes to the cohesion of a group of countries 
sharing much in terms of history, culture and language.  We 
understand that cohesion is to be a major theme at next 
year's Ibero-American Summit in Chile.  Internally, Chavez's 
no-show ridiculed the radical wing of the Frente, which had 
gone out of its way to ram congressional approval of 
Venezuela's entry into Mercosur.  As for Mercosur, its lack 
of cohesion was evidenced by the no-show of two of its 
leaders and the fly-by appearance of a third.  End Comment. 
Nealon