VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0902 3121812
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081812Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7664
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8777
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8430
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2945

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000902 
 
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: SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT SARKOZY'S VISIT TO 
WASHINGTON; WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA; SAO PAULO 
 
 
¶1. "Bush's New Best Friend" 
 
Center-right national circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo's Paris 
correspondent Giles Lapouge commented (11/7): "It was a U.S. friend 
who arrived yesterday in Washington for a two-day visit. The 
Americans, who are not used to kind words from French presidents, 
are radiant by feeling themselves loved.... For Bush, the French 
flattery is opportune to a president who is limping with an approval 
rate of only 25%, who is hated in other nations and who has just 
lost his best ally, Tony Blair.... The replacement of the English 
friend for a French one is precious because Washington is facing 
several confusions: Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Pakistan, environment, 
Putin.... Sarkozy's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is a 
pro-American militant - sometimes more bellicose than the 
Americans.... However, Sarkozy is intelligent enough not to be 
blindly associated with the US.  He insisted on that although the 
visit marks 'the rapprochement' with the Americans, he will not be a 
White House pet. Sarkozy is not Blair." 
 
¶2. "Remember 2002" 
 
Liberal, national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo's columnist 
Elio Gaspari wrote (11/7): "The rupture between General Raul Isaias 
Baduel and President Hugo Chvez indicates that there is once again 
a smell of coup d'tat in Venezuela. In Baduel's words, the threat 
comes from Chvez himself, with his referendum proposal.  It is the 
old coup model that became famous in 1929, in Benito Mussolini's 
Italy.... The other threat is the old Latin American coup d'tat 
model of the second half of the past century.... The Venezuelan 
crisis is contaminated by two irreducible blocs following the style 
of Latin American confusions that result in coups. Some may hate 
Chvez, but it is not fair to believe that half a dozen of 
plutocrats have the power to close the Congress and the Supreme 
Court as they did in 2002." 
White