VZCZCXRO8205
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLP #0731/01 0752023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 162023Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2862
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6648
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3971
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7856
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 5106
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2336
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 2451
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3384
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4493
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4978
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9564
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0223
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LA PAZ 000731 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/AND 
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH 
MCC FOR AKIRSCHENBAUM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON BL
SUBJECT: GOB DEFENDS MCC IN THE PRESS 
 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On March 14, a respected opposition-leaning La Paz 
newspaper claimed that Bolivia had lost the USD 600 million 
that it hoped to gain from the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC).  The following day, the paper published 
interviews with Ambassador Goldberg and Bolivia's MCC 
coordinator correcting the record, as well as a statement 
from President Morales in which he accused the newspaper of 
lying about MCC and half-jokingly suggested that the press 
should be nationalized.  End summary. 
 
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"USD 600 Million Lost" 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On March 14, La Paz newspaper La Razon published an 
article claiming that Bolivia had lost the USD 600 million 
that it hoped to gain from the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC), as it did not figure in the Corporation's 
2007 or 2008 plans.  The article was based on Ambassador 
Danilovich's testimony to Congress which named a list of 
countries likely to be ready to sign compacts in 2007 and 
2008 that did not include Bolivia. 
 
-------------- 
No -- Not Lost 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On March 15, La Razon published interviews with 
Ambassador Goldberg and Bolivia's MCC Coordinator Graciela 
Toro that clarified the matter.  Without commenting on 
Bolivia's pretensions to the sum of USD 600 million, the 
Ambassador noted that it remains theoretically possible for 
Bolivia to sign an agreement with MCC in 2008, noting that 
there are still many steps to complete before reaching that 
point.  Toro explained that Bolivia was declared eligible by 
MCC to compete for funds again in November and was in the 
process of revising the original proposal submitted in 
December 2005.  Toro, who finalized contracts with a 
technical team of approximately ten people in February, is 
working with her team to create a revised USD 1 billion 
proposal with two elements, a northern road corridor and 
investments for productive projects in the northern region. 
She told the press that her team is working towards signing a 
compact with MCC in early 2008.  Toro and two members of her 
technical team will travel to Washington on March 17 to 
attend an MCC conference and have separate meetings with MCC 
regarding a preliminary proposal draft. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
President Morales Calls La Razon a Liar 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On March 15, respected, opposition-leaning La Paz 
daily La Razon also published a statement from President 
Morales that accused the newspaper of lying about MCC and 
about facts surrounding the hydrocarbons nationalization. 
Morales said that he would "let the people judge" La Razon, 
after he half-jokingly suggested that maybe the Spanish-owned 
press should be nationalized.  Regarding MCC, he said that 
Bolivia has not been discarded from the list of MCC-eligible 
countries.  He added that Bolivia "is still on the road to an 
agreement.  It's true that there are some areas in which we 
must advance, but to say that the country has lost is false." 
 The Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana 
reportedly said that the GOB is working to access MCC 
resources, but that it is also working in parallel to find 
other sources of financing for the northern infrastructure 
 
LA PAZ 00000731  002 OF 002 
 
 
projects. 
 
 
GOLDBERG