VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMN #0007/01 0091451
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091451Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8698
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0349
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000007 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA FOR BSC 
SAN JOSE FOR USAID/OFDA TIM CALLAGHAN AND PHIL GELMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SENV EAID EAGR ECON SOCI UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: DROUGHT CONTINUES, BUT GOVERNMENT NOT YET 
READY TO REQUEST FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: 08 MONTEVIDEO 0685 
 
¶1. (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified, and not for 
Internet distribution. 
 
Summary: 
- - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU) Uruguay continues to suffer from a serious drought, 
but Deputy Chief of Staff Jorge Vazquez told Ambassador 
Baxter January 8 that the GOU does not yet consider it 
necessary to request international assistance.  A recent USG 
donation of firefighting equipment was well received.  The 
government is following closely the impact of the drought in 
the southern part of the country, particularly the impact on 
dairy farms.  End Summary. 
 
Drought Effects Widespread 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3. (U) Uruguay's second serious drought in three years 
continues unabated.  Reftel detailed the drought's negative 
economic effects, which to date have been concentrated in the 
southern part of the country, but all of Uruguay is dry and 
the weather does not show any signs of offering relief.  The 
GOU has purchased and installed over two hundred water 
storage tanks in affected areas, which it fills using a 
network of mobile tanker trucks.  That system means that no 
Uruguayan is currently going without potable water, but 
livestock and crop losses continue.  During this tourist 
season, the most visible manifestation of the dry conditions 
has been a constant outbreak of brush/forest fires, including 
some along the main coastal highway that temporarily blocked 
traffic.  Massive locust hatches and swarms are also being 
reported. 
 
USG Delivers Assistance, Offers Further Help 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4. (SBU) The ambassador contacted Deputy Chief of Staff of 
the Presidency Jorge Vazquez January 8 to follow up on the 
Embassy's recent (January 3) donation of aerial firefighting 
equipment, the most significant part of which consisted of 
four Bambi Buckets from USSOUTHCOM Humanitarian Assistance 
Funds.  Responsible for overseeing Uruguay's equivalent of 
FEMA, Vazquez coordinates the GOU's response to natural and 
other disasters.  Ambassador Baxter expressed the USG's 
willingness to help further to ameliorate the drought's 
effects on ordinary Uruguayans.  Vazquez thanked the 
ambassador warmly for the rapid provision of firefighting 
equipment which arrived just as fires began to intensify 
along the coast.  The GOU believes it can -- for the moment 
-- respond to this disaster without international assistance. 
 Note: the Embassy is coordinating closely with USAID/OFDA 
and USSOUTHCOM. 
 
Government Focuses on Small & Medium-sized Producers 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (U) Jorge Vazquez told Ambassador Baxter that the GOU's 
principal concern is for small and medium-sized farmers, 
especially dairy operations.  Vazquez explained that most of 
Uruguay's larger farms and ranches invested in considerable 
pumping, irrigation, and water storage capacity after the 
last drought in 2006, and they are therefore not as severely 
affected by today's conditions.  Smaller producers generally 
lack those assets, Vazquez said, and are suffering from 
shortages of both water and feed.  The GOU is providing both 
of those essentials where needed, Vazquez said, and 
recipients are able to finance their purchase via 
zero-interest rate lines of credit established by the GOU. 
The GOU has also directed state-run Banco Republica to 
provide short-term zero-interest loans to farmers in need, 
according to Vazquez.  He did not disclose the number of 
beneficiaries of either program. 
 
Comment: 
- - - - 
 
¶6. (SBU) The U.S. has already received significant public 
relations benefits attendant with our donation of 
firefighting equipment, with stories appearing in both print 
and television.  We hope for further positive exposure from 
an upcoming event featuring Jorge Vazquez and the ambassador, 
at which the ambassador will formally hand over the 
equipment.  Such benefits are not accruing to the GOU, 
 
 
despite its efforts.  Many agricultural producers 
(particularly the larger firms that are not receiving 
financial assistance) are indignant at what they characterize 
as a weak GOU response, and their attacks on the GOU 
(particularly the agriculture minister) have begun to 
resonate in the local media. 
Baxter