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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0177/01 0721705
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131705Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6520
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7628
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 7875
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2739

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000177 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: 
PRESIDENT BUSH IN BRAZIL; SAO PAULO 
 
 
¶1. "Lula And Bush In Globalization" 
 
Economic columnist Carlos Alberto Sardenberg commented in 
center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (3/12): "Many Latin American 
nations have already signed free-trade agreements with the US and do 
not pay the ethanol tariff Brazil has to pay.... Seen from this 
viewpoint, Brazil is in a disadvantageous position given the Lula 
administration's decision to bury the FTAA and its diplomats' 
contempt vis-`-vis free-trade agreements with the US. This is an 
ideological position adopted by the GOB, which, like the 
demonstrators, only sees the US as an imperialist devil. Reality has 
shown the contrary,that the US may become the preferential ally in a 
globalization process that is in Brazil's interest because it may 
foster economic growth and create jobs, especially in the interior 
of the country. President Lula seems to have realized that and will 
try to reach an understanding with Bush in the case of ethanol. But 
let us imagine that Bush proposes the complete removal of tariffs on 
ethanol in exchange for a removal of Brazilian barriers on 
industrial and service sectors. Before answering, Lula will have to 
consult with his Mercosul colleagues Chvez, Kirchner...." 
 
¶2. "Bush Didn't Say What We Would Like To Hear" 
 
Ambassador Marcos Azambuja opined in center-right O Estado de S. 
Paulo (3/11): "Bush did not have the power or the intention to say 
what we would like to hear: that the US will reduce protection of 
its corn and facilitate the entry of Brazilian ethanol in its 
immense market. Bush does not have the conditions to defy the US 
agricultural lobby.... But there have been and there will be 
advances in this area because our as well as the US's interest will 
create space for accommodations that work for both parties.... We 
are not on the top of the USG agenda for Latin America, which is 
essentially negative: drugs, clandestine immigration, human rights 
violations and environmental threats.... Brazil does well in not 
serving as an instrument for the US policy interests in the region. 
We have, for the most part, a sometimes turbulent and irrational 
neighborhood and it is not useful for us to give preference to 
others' interests over ours.... Our interests favor an efficient 
multilateralism, and we can work with Americans, Europeans and the 
main Asian nations in a firm and constructive way.... An enlarged 
G-8 and a full participation in the OEDC are preferable to a 
problematic permanent presence in the UN Security Council.... This 
visit by President Bush has been perhaps the most profitable among 
all visits of American presidents to Brazil.... The visit may have 
helped Washington to recognize that Brazil is one of the necessary 
pillars to build a multipolar, globalized and stable international 
order." 
 
¶3. "Few Decisions, Much Intimacy" 
 
Center-right O Estado de S. Paulo remarked (3/11): "President Bush's 
visit to S. Paulo neither marked a 'renewal' of Brazil-US relations 
nor showed a higher level of 'intimacy' between the two nations, as 
Foreign Minister Celso Amorim had announced. But the visit showed 
that the contact between the two presidents became more fluid and 
informal. The result of such a personal affinity will only be 
noticed after March 31, when Lula will arrive in Washington for an 
official meeting with Bush in Camp David.... Only time will be able 
to reveal if the cooperation agreement in the biofuel area will 
truly become a strategic partnership and bring benefits to Brazil 
from the transformation of ethanol into a commodity and the opening 
of markets. Bush's visit to Sao Paulo indicated that he has little 
power to respond to Latin America's demands." 
 
¶4. "Beyond Ethanol" 
 
Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo (3/10) 
editorialized: "The memorandum of cooperation on ethanol signed by 
President Lula and Bush is a generic and unpromising document. What 
saves it from irrelevance is the context in which it was signed. The 
partnership to develop new technologies, the transfer of productive 
know how to Latin American and Caribbean nations and the dialogue to 
make ethanol a global commodity have gained importance due to 
changes in the energy policy of the world's two largest economies. 
The European Union has ratified its plan to use at least 10% of 
biofuels in transportation by 2020. The US intends to add 20% of 
renewable fuels to gasoline by 2017. Japan is just awaiting a sign 
of confidence from the world market to announce a similar public 
policy.... Therefore, it is natural that Brazil privilege 
agricultural negotiations in both the Doha Round and its relations 
with the US. But in the opportune strengthening of relations with 
Washington, Brazil should have more comprehensive and strategic 
goals. Brazil and the US - responsible for the FTAA fiasco - are the 
only actors with the conditions to relaunch a trade liberalization 
 
initiative in the Americas." 
 
¶5. "Much Ado About Nothing" 
 
Center-right national circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo (3/10) 
maintained: "Bush's capability to substantially reduce his 
administration's lack of attention to Latin America in the second 
term is negligible. The FTAA is gone and it is very unlikely that 
ethanol will be the fuel of a new effective alliance between the US 
and its southern neighbors. What really matters is that Bush does 
not have and will not have political power in the US to go from 
words to action.... The executive powers he abuses in foreign and 
military policies do not extend to the trade arena.... Now that the 
ethanol bubble - which had served to create the mirage that Brazil 
would finally ascend to the First World through biofuel - has been 
emptied, what remains from Bush's visit to Sao Paulo is a climate of 
much ado about nothing. There is no doubt that Hugo Chvez's 
influence has forced Bush to change his policy towards Latin 
America, a region he ignored after September 11." 
McMullen