VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0983/01 1381545
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181545Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8188
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000983 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, 
WHA/EPSC 
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; US IMMIGRATION DEAL; WOLFOWITZ'S 
RESIGNATION FROM WORLD BANK; 05/18/07 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Major international stories today include the US deal to overhaul 
immigration legislation; and Paul Wolfowitz's resignation from the 
World Bank. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS 
 
- "Key US immigration deal" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," penned (05/18) "As a result of the 
mutual need to solve this dilemma as soon as posible, US President 
George W. Bush and a bipartisan group of senators reached a first 
and controversial deal yesterday to reform the immigration system, 
which will have to overcome serious obstacles both at the US Senate 
and the Lower House. 
 
"... The reform of the immigration system signifies a challenge and 
a decisive opportunity for George W. Bush. 
 
"The riddle is whether he will be able to turn this long-standing US 
headache into perhaps the most important accomplishment of his 
second term in office. Otherwise, it will only be a hard slap on his 
face in his short remaining time in office. 
 
"Bush has promoted worldwide immigration reform for years. He 
believes that the fact that millions of immigrants work many years 
for miserable salaries to improve the competitiveness and income of 
their employers is 'unfair.' However, he knows that a wide segment 
of Americans is against what could be seen as an amnesty. 
 
"... Even so, immigration reform is a golden opportunity for the 
White House, which is increasingly overwhelmed by the occupation of 
Iraq. Bush could well give hurrahs if he obtains a measure of high 
political impact with a Congress under the control of Democrats." 
 
- "The US reaches a deal to regularize the situation of immigrants" 
 
Ana Baron, leading "Clarin's" Washington-based correspondent, 
comments (05/18) "Republican and Democratic senators, with the wink 
of the White House, reached a historic deal yesterday to launch the 
most important US immigration reform in 40 years... 
 
"... While the deal has significant support from the Senate, it is 
still unclear whether it could be passed by the Lower House, with 
its hard-line conservative legislators. 
 
"Seeking what for some is the only positive legacy he can obtain in 
his two terms in office, Bush energetically supported the draft bill 
yesterday. 
 
".. The deal reached is dangerous for Republicans bearing in mind 
that, they are already in the election campaign, and the base of the 
party in power is the group that most fiercely opposes legalization 
of illegal immigrants. In this regard, Bush has the merit of going 
against the tide." 
 
- "Fragility" 
 
Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarin," opines 
(05/18) "It is a step forward, but it will hardly be a gigantic 
step. The deal shows a sign of realism. The US needs to legalize 
immigrants because they make up a crucial workforce, which will also 
generate taxes. The problem is that the path appears to be filled 
with obstacles, particularly for temporary workers... 
 
"The truth is that the North of the world faces a growing challenge 
on this issue... Illegal immigrants are not only a force crossing 
borders. They are a symbol of deliberately arranged fragile 
conditions of work, a distortion they did not create." 
 
- "World Bank - one of Bush's 'hawks' is out" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (05/18) "It is over. Last night, 
the controversial Paul Wolfowitz announced his resignation as 
President of the World Bank after trying for two months to resist 
the scandal that paralyzed his work during recent weeks, and 
negotiated an more elegant way out than what his European opponents 
wanted. 
 
"Wolfowitz will leave June 30 and, he obtained a final gesture from 
the WB Board, which acknowledged that he acted 'on good faith'... 
 
"... His past as a Bush 'hawk' and author of the invasion of Iraq 
has always created domestic tension... 
 
 
"Wolfowitz went through a tortuous transition ever since he left the 
US Pentagon and joined the World Bank in 2005. His incorporation 
into the IMF's sister entity was interpreted in many capital cities 
of the world as another unilateral rebuff from US President George 
¶W. Bush to the international community. 
 
"... His actions were soon interpreted as treating friendly 
countries differently from countries that are in disagreement with 
the White House... According to Manis Bapna, Executive Director of 
the Center for Information, a private institution controlling the 
Bank, 'Wolfowitz's style was thought of as a subjective tool to 
punish enemies and reward friends.' The White House sought to 
prevent his downfall until it turned out to be inevitable." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
WAYNE