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O 191249Z MAR 07
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SAO PAULO 000212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/ES, WHA/FO, WHA/BSC, E 
STATE PASS USTR SCRONIN 
STATE PASS EXIMBANK 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR DMORONESE, NRIVERA, CVERVENNE 
NSC FOR FISK, CARDENAS, FEARS 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD 
TREASURY FOR OASIA, DAS LEE AND JHOEK 
DOE FOR GWARD 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP BUSH GEORGE PREL PGOV SOCI EPET KTIA BR
SUBJECT: VISIT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH TO SAO PAULO, BRAZIL 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) On March 8-9, President George W. Bush came to Sao Paulo, 
Brazil for the first stop in his five-country visit to the Latin 
American nations of Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and 
Mexico.  This visit served to underscore the U.S. commitment to the 
Western Hemisphere and highlighted the common agenda to advance 
freedom, prosperity, social justice, and the benefits of democracy 
in the areas of health, education, and economic opportunity.  The 
President was accompanied by the First Lady, Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice (Secstate), USTR Ambassador Schwab, and Ambassador 
Sobel.  The one-day visit in Sao Paulo included bilateral talks 
between President Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da 
Silva, at which the two Presidents covered a range of issues.  A 
major focus of the day was biofuels, including cooperation between 
Brazil and the United States in third countries.  President Bush was 
treated to a demonstration of the ethanol production process and 
flex-fuel automobile engines, and he and President Lula spoke 
publicly about the importance of partnering in biofuels.  In 
addition, Secstate signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 
Foreign Minister Amorim to enhance collaboration and research in the 
biofuels area (see septel). 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On the afternoon of March 9, the President held a 
roundtable discussion on opportunities for at-risk youth, attended 
by the director of a Sao Paulo social inclusion program centered on 
teaching life skills via music and dance (the Meninos do Morumbi), 
other directors of at-risk youth programs, and selected 
representatives of U.S. private-sector sponsors.  Mrs. Bush 
conducted a separate program as she visited and held discussions 
with several social programs for at-risk youth concentrating on 
literacy and college preparation. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The visit received extensive media coverage, focusing on 
Brazilian and U.S. cooperation on biofuels and U.S. Brazil trade 
relations.  Although there was also press coverage of the protests 
and traffic disruption caused by the visit, overall the local media 
inclined towards a positive view of both the visit and of continued 
and improved Brazil - U.S. relations.  End Summary. 
 
BIOFUELS: ETHANOL PRODUCTION AND FLEX FUEL CARS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The President's visit included a stop at a facility of 
Petrobras Transporte, a bulk petroleum transport and storage 
company.  It is a subsidiary of Petrobras, Brazil's parastatal 
energy company, and the largest publicly traded corporation in the 
Southern hemisphere.  He was greeted by President Luiz Inacio Lula 
da Silva and Petrobras President Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo. 
Immediately after a briefing by industry experts, the President 
viewed a demonstration of the ethanol production process and flex 
fuel engines, and then a demonstration of GM Brazil and Ford Brazil 
flex fuel cars presently sold in Brazil, which have the option of 
 
SAO PAULO 00000212  002 OF 004 
 
 
operating on either traditional gasoline or ethanol - or any 
combination thereof. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In addressing the group, both Presidents expressed the 
importance of the strategic partnership between the two countries 
centered on the potential represented by innovation in alternative 
fuels, particularly ethanol and biodiesel.  President Lula 
emphasized the social and environmental benefits resulting from the 
use of biofuels.  President Bush expressed similar sentiments while 
noting that this is also a national security issue.  He encouraged 
other countries, particularly in Central America, to minimize their 
dependence on oil and to look more to alternative energy.  The 
overall message from both Presidents was optimistic about the future 
potential of alternative fuels.  They both emphasized the importance 
of continued collaboration between the GoB and the USG on research 
and development in this area.  President Lula said that partnership 
between Brazil and the United States on biofuels offered the 
possibility of a new moment for humanity. 
 
VISIT TO MENINOS DO MORUMBI: INFECTIOUS DRUM BEAT 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The President and Mrs. Bush were welcomed by Flavio 
Pimenta, founder of the "Meninos do Morumbi" (Children of Morumbi) 
project.  Originally a factory, the Meninos facility has now been 
converted into classrooms and a performing arts center for 
teenagers.  They entered the "digital garage," where the President 
engaged with a dozen students who showed him their computer 
projects.  Then, accompanied by the Ambassador, the President took 
part in a roundtable discussion on opportunities for at-risk youth 
employment.  The roundtable participants included Sister Angela 
Kerry of Notre Dame, Indiana, and Doctor Claudio Lottenberg - both 
of whom headed projects to reach at-risk youth - as well as Meninos 
director Pimenta and Congressman Paulo Lustosa from Brazil's 
northeast state of Ceara.  Two young people who once benefited from 
the featured programs but now teach in them, participated, as did 
two private-sector sponsors, the country directors of Dell Computers 
and Becton Dickinson.  After the roundtable, the President went to 
the hall where 80 Meninos de Morumbi youth danced, sang and drummed 
the infectious Brazilian samba beat.  The President spent over an 
hour at the project before departing for the airport. 
 
MRS. BUSH'S SOCIAL PROGRAMS VISIT 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Throughout her program in Brazil, Mrs. Bush impressed those 
she met with her warmth and genuineness. She began her individual 
program in Sao Paulo at the Alfasol Literacy program, where she was 
hosted by Alfasol Chief Executive Officer Regina Esteves, a 
participant in the 2006 White House Conference on Global Literacy in 
New York City.  Mrs. Bush participated in a roundtable discussion 
with eleven Brazilians who represented Alfasol's innovative literacy 
promotion partnerships with businesses, universities, and all levels 
of government.  She expressed particular interest in the program's 
highly successful community engagement, measurement of 
effectiveness, and use of literacy programs in penitentiaries. 
 
SAO PAULO 00000212  003 OF 004 
 
 
Immediately following the roundtable discussion, Mrs. Bush attended 
a classroom demonstration where she met two of the Alfasol literacy 
teachers, observed the students participating in reading and writing 
activities, and heard stories of how learning to read had changed 
their lives. 
 
¶8.  (U) Upon leaving Alfasol, Mrs. Bush traveled to Projeto 
Aprendiz, an award-winning social program for at-risk youth, where 
the founder and general manager provided a brief overview of the 
program's "neighborhood as school" concept and introduced her to 
students who are participants in the project's highly successful 
college preparatory program.   After watching younger children 
participating in a variety of activities in the inner courtyard 
(including serenades from several young musicians), she observed 
older youths engage in sports activities and entered the Aprendiz 
Caf where she met with five alumni who told her how the project had 
changed their lives.  Among the stories she heard was that of a 
former street child who ended up going to college, writing a book 
about her life and becoming a journalist. 
 
¶9.  (U) Mrs. Bush was the guest of honor at a small luncheon in the 
Hilton hosted by the Brazilian First Lady Maria Leticia Lula da 
Silva.  Other guests included prominent Brazilian women, including 
the wives of Sao Paulo Governor Jose Serra and Foreign Minister 
Celso Amorim. 
 
MEDIA COVERAGE:  EXTENSIVE AND POSITIVE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Mission staff worked with White House and Planalto staff 
to organize media coverage of President Bush's arrival and 
departure, the biofuels event, joint press availability, MOU signing 
and visit to the NGO, Meninos do Morumbi.  Separate arrangements 
were made for the press coverage of the First Lady's program as well 
as media interviews with USTR Susan Schwab and Ambassador Sobel. 
The arrival, biofuels event and joint press availability were open 
press; all other events were covered by a pool. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The visit received extensive media coverage on a wide 
variety of themes impacting U.S.-Brazil relations, although the 
major focus was on Brazilian and U.S. cooperation on biofuels and 
bilateral trade relations. While the press took note of the various 
protests in Sao Paulo and throughout Brazil and the disruption to 
local traffic, the overall coverage focused on the purpose of the 
visit itself and reported on the visit as a positive event. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Pre-visit local media coverage focused on the purpose of 
President Bush's visit to Brazil and included various editorials, 
op-eds and commentary on the United States and Brazil's trade 
relationship and the role Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may have 
played in the President's decision to visit the region.  Mission 
placed an op-ed by Ambassador Sobel in Brazil's largest circulation 
newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, on Sunday, March 3, to both sum up 
recent visits by U/S Burns and AG Gonzales and to set the scene for 
the President's visit.  Ambassador Sobel also did print interviews 
with other major newspapers - Globo, Gazeta Mercantil, and Jornal do 
 
SAO PAULO 00000212  004 OF 004 
 
 
Brasil - on March 6 to set the stage for discussion.  Other media 
reported on comments by President Lula indicating that he would push 
for reductions in ethanol tariffs and agricultural subsidies. 
Post-visit coverage focused on the MOU signed by both Presidents, 
President Lula's comments on the possibility of reaching agreement 
on the Doha Round and President Chavez's parallel activities in 
Argentina. Editorials and commentary contrasted the need for 
investment and trade versus aid in Latin America, the value of 
President Bush's visit to Brazil and the impact of the MOU.  Many 
articles commented on President Bush and President Lula's excellent 
personal relationship.  Press coverage also focused on President 
Bush's statement that no change in ethanol tariffs will occur before 
¶2009.  Photos and stories of the visit to Meninos do Morumbi and the 
First Lady's program were also featured. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Ambassador Clifford Sobel was interviewed by four media 
outlets (TV Globo and three newspapers) immediately after the 
President's departure and these interviews were included in the 
weekend post-visit coverage and in the March 12 edition of 
economic/business newspapers.  USTR Susan Schwab also interviewed 
with two economic newspapers and held a post-visit press conference. 
Her interviews and comments featured prominently in the March 10-12 
newspapers as well. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Comment:  The visit of President Bush to Brazil on the 
first leg of his five country visit to the Western Hemisphere 
generated much positive momentum in Brazil - U.S. relations.  Brazil 
is a leader in biofuels research and production, and the MOU signed 
between Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Amorim opens up more 
opportunities for both countries to advance a common agenda, and to 
further address issues of prosperity and social justice within the 
region and beyond Latin America.  Future discussions are also likely 
to address cooperation between the United States and Brazil on 
combating malaria.  The bilateral talks offered opportunities to 
continue discussion on important trade issues prior to President 
Lula's visit to the U.S. next month, while the President's and Mrs. 
Bush's events with NGOs emphasized the importance of corporate 
social responsibility programs and social inclusion programs in 
advancing the benefits of democracy.  Media coverage was very 
positive and highlighted the optimism both presidents expressed in 
future alternative biofuels collaboration and in advancing bilateral 
relations.  End Comment. 
 
¶15.  (U) This cable was coordinated with the Deputy Executive 
Secretary, NSC/WHA, and Embassy Brasilia, and was approved by 
 
SIPDIS 
Ambassador Sobel. 
 
MCMULLEN