VZCZCXRO6297
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #1262/01 3491203
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151203Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6157
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7248
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2228
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2555
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2866
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3275
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7653

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 001262 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: CVIS ECON CMGT BR
SUBJECT: SAO PAULO REACHES OUT TO UNIVERSITIES 
 
REF: (A) SAO PAULO 1038; (B) SAO PAULO 1105; (C) Sao Paulo 862 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: As a part of a Mission-wide initiative to reach out to 
institutions that have historically had little contact with the USG, 
Sao Paulo Consulate General's Entry Level Officers are visiting 
universities and other organizations throughout its consular 
district.  The officers found students to be receptive and curious 
about the full range of bilateral and multilateral issues and 
exchange programs.  Post will continue this initiative and 
periodically report results.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SAO PAULO UNIVERSITY OUTREACH EVENTS 
 
¶2. On October 5, Conoff Keith Gilges teamed up with two fellow vice 
consuls from the Canadian and German consulates to discuss the 
present and future of diplomacy at a local college.  Gilges and 
associates addressed over 300 students and faculty in standing-room 
only accommodations at the Ipiranga University (Faculdades 
Associadas Ipiranga em Centro Universitrio Assungco).  The team 
answered questions about diplomacy and its role given the advent of 
email, the internet and twenty-four hour news coverage. 
 
¶3. On November 23, Conoff Ory Abramowicz addressed approximately 25 
students from Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP), a 
multi-disciplinary private university. Abramowicz spoke to business, 
economics, and government relations students on an array of topics 
that included U.S.-Brazilian environmental cooperation, the Kyoto 
Protocol, the recent U.S. mid-term elections and its impact on USG's 
Iraq policy, U.S. concerns regarding Venezuela, and anti-drug 
trafficking efforts. 
 
¶4. On December 7, Conoffs Christopher Rose and Sheila Carey fielded 
questions from a small group of international relations students at 
Sao Marcos University, a small liberal arts school founded in 1970 
and officially recognized as a university in 1994.  Its student body 
numbers about 5,000 and includes many older students from lower and 
middle class families who work during the day and attend classes at 
night.  The majority of the discussion centered on U.S.-Venezuela 
and Bolivia relations, U.S. elections, and immigration reform. 
 
OUTREACH IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL - PORTO ALEGRE 
 
¶5. Conoffs Tomika Konditi and Andrew Witherspoon visited the Campo 
do Tuca community and two top universities in Porto Alegre, capital 
of the southern Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul, from October 16 
through 18, to conduct consular outreach.  With a population of 
almost 11 million, Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest state and 
pool of visa applicants in Sao Paulo's consular district.  As is 
prevalent throughout the country, the visit revealed the wide gap 
between the rich and poor and provided insight into the profile of 
applicants from the state. 
 
¶6. The Conoffs kicked off their trip with a visit to the Tuca 
daycare center located in one of the city's poorest sections, Campo 
do Tuca.  Tuca is a daycare center for children from low-income 
families that is subsidized by the government and supported by 
corporate donations.  Approximately 100 children, aged one to 
fourteen, are guaranteed two meals and basic dental and nutritional 
care at the facility.  The center also teaches sewing and culinary 
job skills to women in the community and offers counseling on 
government-sponsored programs such as "Bolsa Familia" (REF A). 
 
¶7. The community surrounding the center is impoverished.  Homes with 
no electricity, teenaged parents with limited education, and 
unemployment are common.  President Lula's Workers Party (Partido de 
Trabalhadores - PT) (REFS B-C) has strong support in the area, as 
evidenced by the party's logo painted on many modest and makeshift 
homes.  The pride of the community is the cooperative recycling 
operation that provides subsistence income to roughly twenty 
adults. 
 
¶8. The community center personnel were eager to talk to consulate 
representatives and outline ways the consulate could get involved 
with the center, including encouraging large U.S. corporations like 
Dell to donate computers and learning material.  The center would be 
an ideal organization for long-term and continued outreach efforts 
with an American Presence Post (APP) in Porto Alegre. As of now, the 
center's biggest donors are Brazilian banks, which provide 
foodstuffs. 
 
¶9. In stark contrast to the Conoffs' visit to Campo do Tuca was the 
setting for their next outreach visit - the top private university 
in the state, Pontifical Catholic ia University (PUC), and the 
prestigious Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.  The majority 
of students at these schools received a private secondary education 
that prepared them for rigorous college entrance examinations.  A 
private high school education is usually affordable only to the 
 
SAO PAULO 00001262  002 OF 002 
 
 
upper-middle and upper classes of Brazil.  Students at both 
universities were interested in discussing exchange and study 
opportunities and visa procedures. 
 
¶10. COMMENT: Residents of Rio Grande do Sul frequently ask when the 
USG will open a new Consulate in Porto Alegre to replace the one 
closed in 1996.  Many complain of the inconvenience of having to 
travel to Sao Paulo for visa interviews.  There will likely be 
considerable interest in the proposed APP for the city when people 
find out about it, and vocal demand for it to include a visa 
component. 
 
¶11. Future outreach activities will continue to broaden the range of 
universities and expand to include more institutions that 
historically have had little personal contact with the Consulate. 
We have found that lower and middle class students at newer and 
less-prestigious institutions are just as interested in the U.S. and 
its policies as those attending more established universities.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
WOLFE