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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT:  CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 3-5 
 
Leading Stories 
-------------- 
¶1.  Dailies highlighted OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza's 
final decision not to run for the presidency of Chile; Israel's 
offensive in the Palestinian territories; and the case of relatives 
of detained and disappeared people who erroneously received 
increased government pension payments and are being asked to refund 
the overpayments. 
 
U.S.-Related News 
----------------------- 
 ¶2.   Six former FBI agents, including William J. Esposito, a former 
Assistant Director of the Bureau, arrived in Chile several weeks 
ago.  They were hired by the Indian multinational consortium Tata to 
conduct a parallel probe into the case of alleged corruption 
involving Chile's National Registry Service. The case is being 
investigated by Chilean prosecutor Alejandra Godoy. The former 
agents are currently working for the Freeh Group, a U.S. auditing 
firm. Prosecutor Godoy took their depositions as witnesses in the 
case. They were visited by Chilean attorneys and even by a 
high-ranking U.S. Embassy official.  Chilean law enforcement 
officers discovered that the former agents lacked permits to work in 
Chile, and had entered the country as tourists. (El Mostrador, 
liberal, online, 1/5). 
 
¶2. OAS Secretary General Jos Miguel Insulza will arrive in Chile 
today, earlier than expected, to announce his withdrawal from the 
presidential race.  (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 
101,000, 1/5; El Mercurio, conservative, influential 
newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000). 
 
¶3. Women's National Service (SERNAM) Minister Laura Albornoz -who 
also chairs the Inter American Women's Commission-- is scheduled to 
meet in Washington with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza on 
January 26. The meeting is to coordinate resources intended to 
counter gender-based violence in the region. (El Mercurio,1/4). 
 
¶4.  A recent study conducted by academics at Dartmouth College and 
the Universities of Michigan and Maryland found that the opening of 
Wal-Mart retail stores reduces the sales of its competitors by 14%. 
(El Mercurio, 1/3). 
 
Local 
------- 
¶5. Two explosive artifacts were detonated in Santiago last night, 
causing minor damages. One explosion occurred at the Prison's Social 
Reinsertion Center in downtown Santiago, while another detonation 
took place at a local police courthouse in the Providencia district. 
No group has claimed responsibility. (El Mercurio, La Tercera, 
1/5). 
 
¶6. Chile's Ministry of Energy has doubled its budget for carrying 
out nuclear energy studies in 2009.  Minister Marcelo Tokman noted 
that his office has considered conducting new analyses and studies 
in this area. (La Tercera, 1/5). 
 
 
Chile and Other Countries 
-------------------------------- 
¶7.   Christian Democratic legislator Patricio Walker expressed his 
hope that President Michelle Bachelet will meet with Cuban 
dissidents during her February visit to the island. Although the 
likelihood of such a gathering has been dismissed, Deputy Walker 
noted, "I am hopeful that there will be some gesture by the Chilean 
delegation... in support of the dissidents, either by meeting with 
them or by asking the Castro dictatorship's authorities to free the 
prisoners of conscience."  Deputy Walker has been denied permission 
to visit Cuba at least twice, including when he was chairman of the 
Chamber of Deputies in 2007.  According to the legislator, Cuban 
officials rejected his visit when he acknowledged that he planned to 
meet with dissidents.  (El Mercurio, 1/4). 
 
¶8. Representatives of Cuban dissidents sent a letter to the Chilean 
Ambassador to Havana requesting a meeting with President Bachelet 
during her upcoming visit to the island. Vladimiro Roca, leader of 
Cuba's Social Democratic Party, noted that they have not received a 
response yet. (El Mercurio, 1/5; La Nacion, government-owned, 
editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 1/5). 
E 
 
Editorials 
-------- 
¶9.  International weekly news round-up editorial, entitled "Obama 
and the World in 2009:"  "After a year full of bad news, which ended 
with the entire world preparing for the effects of a global economic 
crisis, January begins with high expectations over what will become 
a historic landmark: The swearing-in of the first African American 
to become U.S. President.  Barack Obama arrived in Washington after 
taking his end-of-year vacation in Hawaii (...) to begin a task full 
of challenges and opportunities..." (El Mercurio, 1/5). 
 
¶10. Former Chilean Foreign Minister and weekly columnist Hernan 
Felipe Errazuriz wrote a piece entitled "50 Years and Decline of the 
Castros:"  "The dying Communist system of the Castro brothers is an 
anachronism (...) The United States has reacted to Cuban excesses 
with counterproductive measures (...) In any case, the evolution 
towards its freedom depends on the Cuban people, encouraged by both 
domestic and external factors. An end to the Castro days could be 
one of the good-news stories of 2009."  (El Mercurio, 1/3). 
 
SIMONS