VZCZCXRO5603
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #0540/01 1141203
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231203Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1483
INFO RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 0039
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7942
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6052
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 1923

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000540 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2018 
TAGS: BR PHUM PREL AF
SUBJECT: BRAZIL "MONITORS" ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. BRASILIA 00064 
     ¶B. BRASILIA 00057 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Phillip Chicola for reasons 
1.4 b and d 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Brazil's surprising decision to 
participate in monitoring Zimbabwe's elections was not what 
it initially appeared.  Although Brazil was among those 
countries invited to serve as an observer, it was the 
participation of a federal deputy as an observer on behalf of 
an NGO that forced Brazil's Ministry of External Relations 
(MRE) into an observer role.  Although the Brazilian deputy 
was critical of the process, the Brazilian Ambassador 
uncharacteristically made several comments in the media.  He 
criticized Zimbabwe's opposition for declaring an early 
victory and described Zimbabwe's elections as "exemplary." 
In the end, MRE says that it never had an official delegation 
engaged in election monitoring.  But the incident showed that 
Brazil's increasing global engagement will make it more 
difficult to maintain a low-profile on controversial issues. 
For now, MRE appears determined to follow its usual course on 
such controversial matters by making as few waves as possible 
and maintaining a friendly relationship with the Zimbabwean 
Government.  End Summary. 
 
Drawn Into the Fray 
------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's administration 
offered countries that have never voted against it in 
international fora or otherwise criticized it to participate 
in "election monitoring."  Among those invited were 
Venezuela, China, Iran, and Russia.  MRE, which generally 
avoids placing itself in situations that might require taking 
a controversial stance against another country, had its hand 
forced in this case by Brazilian Federal Deputy Antonio 
Carlos Pannunzio (PSDB -- Brazilian Social Democracy Party, 
Sao Paulo State), who agreed to monitor the elections on 
behalf of an NGO.  This forced Brazilian Ambassador to Harare 
Raul de Taunay to observe along with the deputy.  Pannunzio 
left the elections early, criticizing the process, leaving 
Taunay alone to assess the situation, but Taunay 
uncharacteristically made several public comments, reported 
in the media, in which he criticized Zimbabwe's opposition 
for declaring an early victory and described Zimbabwe's 
elections process as "exemplary."  Taunay heads one of 
Brazil's growing number of single officer posts in Africa, 
part of MRE's South-South diplomatic efforts to gain African 
support for its international ambitions. 
 
A Difference of Opinion 
----------------------- 
¶3.  (SBU) Poloff met with Deputy Pannunzio in his office on 
April 2 to discuss his thoughts on the election.  Pannunzio 
explained that he was not asked to observe the elections at 
the behest of the GOB, but received an urgent invitation from 
the NGO Lawyers for Human Rights.  He said that, from his 
perspective on the ground, the elections were well monitored 
by a variety of international observers and the election 
stations were in order; however, he stressed that he was not 
naive enough to think that his brief stint in Harare 
constituted real "election observation."  His assessment from 
his brief time there is that there is an incredible desire 
for change, especially with the infrastructure in chaos and 
no respect for human rights.  He also noted that the delay 
(at the time only a few days) was unacceptable and "worrying" 
for him.  He said that the results were known by officials 
soon after voting closed.  Ambassador Taunay provided him all 
of his logistical support during his visit, he said, but did 
not work with Taunay in the role of observer. 
 
¶4. (C) In discussions with Poloff, MRE was on the defensive 
with regard to the Ambassador Taunay's comments.  Taunay said 
that he did not see any problems in the early delay of 
releasing the results, saying that "according to the 
electoral calendar, the announcement of results was foreseen 
as occurring between March 30 and April 1.  Therefore, it is 
within the parameters.  Delays are normal.  Here it's not 
like a Swiss timepiece."  He also said that the opposition 
was premature in celebrating its victory as it did during the 
last election; he said that only a fraction of the results 
had been evaluated when they made their announcement. 
Regarding press reports implying that MRE was willing to 
cover up election irregularities to gain support for Brazil's 
goal of obtaining a UN Security Council seat with African 
Union support, MRE Africa II Division's Camila Silva Leao 
d'Araujo Olsen stressed that not all countries are in as 
advanced stages of democracy as others, by and handed Poloff 
 
BRASILIA 00000540  002 OF 002 
 
 
an op-ed from an MRE official rejecting the accusation. 
There were other observers, including Uruguay and South 
Africa (a careful choice of the more credible), and the EU 
and US Ambassadors were also accredited to observe at the 
time the elections.  When Poloff mentioned that the USG was 
not invited to send an official observer delegation to the 
election process overall, she revealed that the GOB actually 
had never taken up the Zimbabwean offer to send a delegation 
to monitor elections.  She said that MRE passed the 
invitation around within the government, but that no one was 
willing to act as an observer. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  Although it appeared Brazil might at last 
be taking a more assertive position with regard to democracy 
than it traditionally has (ref B), that truth is that the GOB 
responded to the offer to act as an observer to Zimbabwe's 
election in a much more typical way.  Brazil's presence in 
Zimbabwe is itself part of a broader development.  The GOB is 
pushing its South-South strategy with a strong focus on 
Africa (ref A), largely with an eye to Brazil's effort to 
gain support for high-level positions in international fora, 
in particular the UNSC seat.  By the end of this year, Brazil 
will have doubled its presence in Africa to 34 embassies 
since the beginning of President Lula's first term in 2003. 
However, Harare is one of Brazil's Ambassador-only posts, and 
Taunay's statements, made after serving over a year there, 
may be an indication that coordination between such posts and 
Brasilia is proving difficult.  Moreover, in Brasilia, the 
entire African continent is currently covered by just ten 
officers, some of whom are in the midst of preparations to go 
overseas themselves.  As Brazil becomes more recognized as a 
global player, it will undoubtedly become more difficult to 
keep a low profile and avoid taking a position on challenging 
issues.  For now, MRE appears determined to follow its usual 
course on such controversial matters by making as few waves 
as possible and maintaining a friendly relationship with the 
Zimbabwean Government.  End Comment. 
SOBEL