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DE RUEHBU #1242/01 2491712
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051712Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1963
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001242 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL ECON AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: HIGH-PROFILE GOVERNOR ASPIRES TO LESS 
AUTHORITARIANISM, MORE PARTICIPATION IN PROVINCIAL RULE 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Ambassador Wayne met with the governor of 
Argentina's prosperous and populous Santa Fe province Hermes Binner 
August 28 to discuss potential avenues of cooperation which included 
tax reform, health, education and commerce.  The two hours of 
discussion were also an opportunity to hear the perspective of the 
only Socialist governor in Argentina's history.  Binner, one of the 
country's highest-profile governors, indicated that his overall 
objective is to promote transparency and solicit active civic 
participation throughout Santa Fe province.   He expressed concern 
over Argentina's growing isolationism and the potential effect the 
government's conflict with the farm sector has had on the country's 
international image.  The Governor also bemoaned the province's 
inability to act decisively due to a lack of resources and support 
from the central government.  The Governor and his aides welcomed 
the Embassy's support in cultivating new connections between the 
United States and Santa Fe via sister city exchanges.  Although 
Governor Binner has been touted in the press as a potential 
presidential candidate in 2011, he did not indicate such ambitions 
during the visit, nor did he exhibit these ambitions in his style. 
The low-key Governor seemed resigned to the status quo of a strong 
central government and focused on his province's immediate 
challenges.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Ambassador Wayne met with Santa Fe Governor Hermes Binner 
on August 28 in the Ambassador's first visit to Santa Fe province's 
capital city.  Binner was accompanied by Minister of Government and 
State Reform Antonio Bonfatti and Minister of Finance Angel Jose 
Sciara.  The two-hour meeting and lunch provided an opportunity to 
discuss potential areas of bilateral cooperation and to hear the 
perspective of the only Socialist Governor in Argentina's history. 
The trip's control officer, Embassy press attache, and poloff 
(notetaker) also attended. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Relations with the Central Government 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In opening the meeting, the Ambassador remarked that he was 
interested in hearing Binner's perspective on the challenges he 
faced and expectations he had after his first eight months in 
office.  Binner replied that he is focused on promoting transparent 
and socially responsible governance to create a "less authoritarian 
and more participatory government."  He bemoaned the difficulties of 
dealing with a central government that "takes a lot and 
redistributes little," referring to the GoA's "co-participation" 
system of sharing tax revenues with Argentina's 23 provinces and 
federal capital.  He stressed that the federal government should 
share a larger part of the revenue pie throughout the country, 
particularly in the wake of a year-long drought in Santa Fe. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Binner expressed his apprehension about the current state 
of relations between the federal government and the rural sector, 
noting that the farm conflict has polarized the country and impeded 
the government from resolving other key matters.  He relayed his 
concern about Argentina's growing isolation and the effect this 
dispute has had on the country's international reputation.  The 
Governor stated that he wanted the Fernandez de Kirchner 
administration to succeed, but did not know if it would be possible 
when the administration monopolized key decisions and did not 
consult outside their immediate circle. Minister of State Reform 
Bonfatti added that relations with the federal government were in a 
"permanent state of confrontation."  In response to PolOff's 
question about interaction with other provincial leaders, Binner and 
his aides laughed and wryly responded that the Governors were kept 
apart by design.  He added that if all the Governors gathered, the 
Kirchners would worry that they might be conspiring against them. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In discussing Santa Fe's key priorities, Binner repeatedly 
referred to the province's inability to act decisively due to the 
lack of resources and support from the central government.  He 
complained that while provinces are responsible for primary 
education, federal law mandated structural changes that created 
thousands of new schools without providing resources to adequately 
fund them.  Binner added that public utilities like electricity were 
difficult to regulate because they were centrally controlled and 
subsidized.  He lamented that Argentina does not have clear or 
mutually-beneficial rules to govern provincial and central 
government relations. 
 
---------- 
Tax Reform 
---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Binner's Finance Minister Sciara noted his strong interest 
in improving the provincial tax system. Sciara mentioned that the 
province was considering a new project to improve the rail system 
between Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, and Rosario that ideally would be 
financed by tax revenue.  The Ambassador noted the San Francisco 
region's positive results from using sales tax as an additional 
mechanism to finance regional transportation projects that voters in 
the state oppose paying for with property taxes.  Sciara 
 
acknowledged the value of this method, but commented that people in 
the United States were very used to paying additional taxes.  Binner 
added that he was especially impressed with the concept of a social 
security tax, but noted the challenges in mandating new taxes.  The 
Ambassador offered Embassy assistance in facilitating exchanges on 
best practices at the state level, particularly with California, 
which bore several similarities to Santa Fe. The mayor of Rosario, 
Santa Fe's largest city, and a fellow Argentine Socialist, has 
already begun to establish ties with California. Binner highlighted 
the challenges in creating new taxes, and thought that further 
industrialization of the Parana River's ports would further attract 
investment and revenue from abroad. 
 
----------------- 
Government Reform 
----------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Turning to a discussion of government reform, the governor 
explained that he is working to propose amendments to the province's 
Constitution, which he deemed crucial since the national reforms of 
¶1994.  He said the provincial Constitution is very outdated.  He 
prioritized three main areas for progress: environmental issues, 
economic production, and social programs.  He wants to industrialize 
agricultural processes in the province to gain a foothold in the 
global market, and noted that he had to lessen disparities in the 
province between the humid and dry areas.  To date, no single media 
outlet broadcasts throughout the province, evidence that the 
communications infrastructure has yet to reach capacity to support 
an informed electorate.  Improving social inclusion and citizen 
political participation were also high on the Governor's agenda, not 
only soliciting input from various think tanks, universities, and 
institutes, but also from "every rung of the social ladder." 
 
------- 
Justice 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Ambassador congratulated the Governor on his province's 
decision to establish a special police unit to investigate 
trafficking in persons crimes.  The Governor acknowledged the 
praise, but did not address the issue, referring instead to the need 
for a federal witness protection program. 
 
-------------------- 
Investment Promotion 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Binner said investment promotion was important to the 
development of Santa Fe, especially as his province not only has 
fertile land but is also exceptionally rich in skilled labor.  He 
cited Santa Fe's dominant agricultural products in dairy and poultry 
products, and proudly noted the establishment of dairy cooperative 
Sancor and U.S. investor Clorox in the province.  He said that they 
wanted to be able to further utilize the labor pool by opening more 
factories, and he welcomed the recent inauguration of a new 
production line at the GM plant in Santa Fe.  He said further 
industrialization of the Parana River's ports could help attract 
investment and revenue from abroad, but admitted that Santa Fe had 
few ways to improve its competitiveness relative to other provinces. 
 He said he would welcome coordination with the Embassy Commercial 
section to establish an Office for Trade and Investment.  The 
Ambassador pointed out that public-private partnerships are an 
increasingly popular approach to trade and investment in the United 
States. 
 
------------------------------ 
The Importance of Partnerships 
------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Ambassador mentioned the importance of promoting 
educational and youth exchanges and of state to province exchanges 
and partnerships.  Binner and his aides welcomed the Embassy's 
support in cultivating new connections between the United States and 
Santa Fe.  They were enthusiastic about working with California, 
noting that San Francisco has the largest population of 
Santafesinos.  Binner described the city of Rosario's close 
relationship with the Boston Port Authority, thanks to Harvard's 
Lincoln Institute, which consists of regular contact between customs 
officials through courses and internship opportunities in different 
harbors in the U.S.  This program has been instrumental to 
formulating reform proposals in Rosario, and was initiated through 
the Director of the Lincoln Institute, who is originally from Santa 
Fe as well. 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) Binner, himself a medical doctor, noted that the World 
Bank is funding 19 public health projects in Santa Fe.  He 
passionately spoke about the disparity between public and private 
 
hospitals in the province, observing that most public hospitals were 
more than a century old and lacked modern medical equipment.  The 
Ambassador suggested the benefits in decentralizing the appointments 
system through an automated Internet service could help improve 
service.  Binner explained that the problem was not only scarce 
resources, but also increasing corruption in a cumbersome 
bureaucracy. 
 
------------ 
Conservation 
------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) Binner stated that he wishes to promote environmental 
conservation in Santa Fe and protect its precious natural resources. 
 He related the recent discovery of 26 neglected pumas found in a 
raid on a farm that exposed a cruel business and abuse of a 
vulnerable species.  He also spoke of farm conservation, noting that 
an increase in French tourists that went bird-hunting was 
contaminating the soil and water, which in turn adversely affected 
agricultural production. The Ambassador said he would be visiting an 
environmental NGO shortly after lunch which is promoting a 
sustainable fishing and commercial sales project in Santa Fe. 
 
----------- 
Bio Note 
----------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Binner was elected to his post in September 2007 with 
48.6% of the votes.  He is not a member of the government coalition 
but has enjoyed a respectful relationship with the Kirchners. 
Nonetheless, he has been a vocal critic of the government's handling 
of the conflict with farm groups over agriculture export taxes, 
calling for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to be less 
confrontational and more open to dialogue. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) An active member of the Socialist party since his 
university years, Binner, together with his mentor Guillermo Estvez 
Boero, co-founded the Socialist Popular Party in 1972.  During 
Argentina's "Dirty War" (1976 to 1983), Binner supported human 
rights initiatives and labor unions in Santa Fe, and became director 
of public hospitals when democracy was reestablished in 1983.  From 
1989 to 1993, Binner served as secretary of public health during 
Socialist Hector Cavallero's term as mayor of Rosario and he was a 
member of Rosario's City Council from 1993 to 1995.  Binner served 
for two consecutive periods as mayor of Rosario, Santa Fe's largest 
city, from 1995 to 2003.  In 2003, he was a candidate for Santa Fe 
governor, but lost the election to Peronist Jorge Obeid.  Binner 
served as a national congressman from 2005 to 2007. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Binner was born in the city of Rafaela in Santa Fe on 
June 5, 1943 to a family of Swiss origin.  He received a degree in 
medicine in 1970 from the National University of Rosario and later 
obtained postgraduate degrees in anesthesiology and labor medicine. 
He has four children from his first marriage (two sons, who are both 
doctors and two daughters-one a doctor and the other an engineer) 
and a nine-year-old son with his current wife.  He enjoys classical 
music, watching soccer, and eating asado (Argentine barbecue). 
Binner's travel to the U.S. includes New York City and Washington 
D.C. in 1996 and Chicago in 1999. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Binner was a warm and considerate host. Although he has 
been touted in the press as a potential presidential candidate in 
2011, he did not indicate during the visit that he had such 
ambitions.  The Governor came across as low-key, reserved, and 
reflective.  He appeared focused on his province's immediate 
challenges, but also resigned to the status quo of a strong central 
government.  Binner was vague about his Socialist Democrat identity, 
allowing his close aides Sciari and Bonfatti to narrate the history 
of Socialist thought in Santa Fe.  He spoke at the macro level, 
failing to provide specifics on a single project, while repeatedly 
stating his overall objective to promote transparency and solicit 
active civic participation. He did not display the verve or ambition 
one would expect from a potential presidential candidate. Rather, he 
came across as a concerned, competent provincial leader. 
 
WAYNE 
 
[hng1]for what?