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UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001060 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL PGOV SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT:  CHILE MEDIA REPORT -- DECEMBER 4 
 
Lead Stories 
------------ 
¶1.  Front pages highlighted the meeting between former FARC hostage 
Ingrid Betancourt and President Bachelet yesterday.  Dailies also 
reported on a case of serious animal abuse and neglect at the Animal 
Protection Society in Santiago. 
 
U.S-Related News 
---------------- 
¶2.  Photograph of Ambassador Simons with Economic Committee Senators 
Jovino Novoa (UDI) and Fernando Flores at the Congress.  The 
Ambassador met with the Committee yesterday in Valparaiso.  Novoa 
said the discussion had focused on the free trade agreement between 
the two countries and IPR laws, adding that the Ambassador had 
stressed the importance of strengthening ties between the Committee 
and its counterpart in the U.S. Congress, in light of the 
outstanding results of the bilateral Free trade Agreement.  Novoa 
said they had also discussed U.S. concerns about IPR (Senate 
webpage). 
 
¶3.  In the announcement of Bill Richardson's appointment as 
Secretary of Commerce, President-elect Obama said Richardson 
understood that "the success of business in places such as Detroit 
or Columbus depend on the ability to sell products in places such as 
Santiago, Chile, or Shanghai" (La Nacion, government-owned, 
editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 12/4). 
 
¶4.  The U.S. National Health Institute donated $800 million pesos to 
the Biological and Science Faculty of Universidad de Concepcion for 
the development of genetically-modified mice to study the causes and 
effects of alcoholism (El Mercurio, conservative, influential 
newspaper-of-record circ. 129,000, 12/4). 
 
¶5.  CNN-Chile will begin airing 24-hours coverage of Chilean news at 
9:00 pm today (La Tercera, 12/4). 
¶6.  Extensive article on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 
Observatory, which is under construction in northern Chile.  The 
project was designed by an international partnership formed by 
Japanese National Astronomy Observatory, the European Southern 
Observatory, ESO, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory 
(NRAO, in the United States).  ALMA will begin astronomical research 
in 2010 and be completely operational by 2013 (El Mercurio, 12/4). 
Local 
----- 
¶7.  Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt met privately with 
President Bachelet, who explained her announcement several months 
ago to propose Betancourt to the Nobel Peace Award.  "She is an 
exceptional and courageous woman who represents the strife for peace 
in Colombia," said the President.  Bentancourt thanked the President 
for this gesture and said she now feels she must work hard to 
fulfill the expectations about her in this area.  Betancourt also 
met with former president Ricardo Lagos later in the evening, at her 
request (La Nacion, 12/4). 
 
¶8.  Eduardo Frei launched his presidential platform with a program 
that includes 37 constitutional modifications.  The program includes 
the creation of an office similar to a Prime Minister to coordinate 
policy between the Executive Office and Congress.  It is also 
intended to strike a balance of power of the Executive Office and 
Congress.  He also proposed the creation of an office to oversee all 
municipalities in major cities, similar to the system in Bogota (La 
Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 12/4). 
 
¶9.  The November Adimark poll shows a 45.6% rate of approval for 
President Bachelet, but a 40.1 rate of disapproval.  It also shows a 
13 point drop in the approval rating for the health sector and a 44% 
rate of approval for the government's management of the economy, 
which is a reflection on Finance Minister Andres Velasco.  Foreign 
Minister Alejandro Foxley was the best rated cabinet member with a 
51% rate of approval (La Nacion, 12/4; La Segunda, conservative 
afternoon daily, 14/3). 
 
URBAN