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STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT:  CHILE MEDIA REPORT - APRIL 13 
 
Leading Stories 
--------------- 
¶1.  Final figures are not yet in, but Holy Week holiday is expected 
to leave close to US$200 million in profits for the tourism 
industry.  Market analysts say that Chile's forestry and retailing 
sectors are most vulnerable to the economic crisis. 
 
U.S.-Related News 
----------------- 
¶2.  Editorial on IPR: "Just a few weeks before the USG puts together 
the list of countries that don't respect IPR, the U.S. Trade 
Representative's Office expressed concern over the application and 
protection of these rights in Chile.... This contradicts what Chile 
has done in the years to assure the protection of IPR....  In 
January 2008, the GOC created the IPR Investigations Brigade... 
which in addition to investigating these crimes is responsible for 
prevention programs....  In October, the Senate ratified the Patent 
Cooperation Treaty (PCT)....  The impression is that the U.S. Trade 
Representative's Office has not taken into account the progress that 
Chile has made in this area (El Mercurio, conservative, influential 
newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 4/12) 
 
¶3.  The United States published the norm that permits the entry of 
Chilean grapefruits and oranges into its market. Agriculture 
Minister Marigen Hornkohl highlighted the positive impact of this 
decision on unemployment (La Tercera, conservative, independent, 
circ. 101,000, 4/9). 
 
¶4.  Three weeks ago the local authorities seized 1.1 tons of 
ephedrine in route to Mexico.  The Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office 
is investigating the case and has asked the Drug Enforcement Agency 
(DEA) for its assistance to identify the woman who supervised the 
operation.  The DEA estimates the value of the confiscated chemical 
at US$13.2 million.  Chile has a norm which obligates them to report 
transactions and transportation of ephedrine.  However, there is no 
legal sanction for not complying with this norm (La Tercera, 4/11). 
 
¶5.  "Chile is not a passage," in the sense that it is not regularly 
used by narcotics organizations, said Manuel Guerra, the Chief of 
the Narcotics Unit in the Office in National Prosecutor.  However, 
he said, Chile's long border, large number of uninhabited border 
crossings and its open economy make it especially vulnerable for 
specific operations (El Mercurio, 4/11). 
 
¶6.  Jeffrey Davidow, President Obama's delegate to the Summit of the 
Americas (SOA), was a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in 
Santiago from 1971-74.  Declassified documents by the United States 
in 1999, show that Davidow was well aware of the human rights 
situation in Chile after the military coup and reported about it to 
his superiors. In one document, Davidow informs the military junta 
of the USG's position in this matter:  "It's not the desire of the 
U.S. government to relate the issue of human rights to economic and 
military assistance" he wrote (La Nacion, government-owned, 
editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 4/12). 
 
¶7.  Local wheat producers have asked government authorities to set a 
marketing order to restrict the import of the product into Chile. 
Almost all locally employed wheat is imported (El Mercurio, 4/13). 
 
 
¶8.  Weekly round-up column:  "Barack Obama's decision to finish his 
first trip abroad... with a visit to Iraq was a significant 
gesture... which confirmed his commitment to the U.S. military 
withdraw from Iraq, but also reminded Iraqis that that they are 
responsible for their country's stability" (El Mercurio, 4/13). 
 
¶9. Raul Sohr's column:  "In Strasburg the U.S. President said, 'The 
United States is committed to looking for peace and safety in a 
world without nuclear weapons.'  His words imply a change in 
Washington's national security and points to less dependence on 
atomic weapons....  It won't be easy to convince powerful nuclear 
lobbyists that their weapons are no longer necessary, but the mere 
fact that the U.S. President proclaimed this is already an important 
political event" (La Nacion, 4/12). 
 
Summit of the Americas - Cuba 
----------------------------- 
¶10.  President Obama will try to set up a new alliance with Latin 
America at the Summit of the Americas, but his reluctance to change 
his stance on immigration policies and the embargo on Cuba could 
undermine that effort, said analysts (El Mercurio, 4/13). 
 
¶11.  Cuba will be "the most present absentee" at the Summit of the 
Americas.  Over the past six months, dozens of chiefs of state have 
visited Havana, including Bachelet, in a sign that the isolation of 
the Castro regime has ended. Now those leaders will ask Obama to 
lift the economic blockade against the island (La Nacion, 4/12). 
 
¶12.  In diplomatic circles it is said that OAS Secretary General 
Jose Miguel Insulza has plans for Cuba to rejoin the organization. 
Insulza said the exclusion is unreasonable, when virtually all of 
the 34 countries in the region have diplomatic ties with Havana, 
except for Costa Rica, El Salvador, and the United States (La 
Tercera, 4/13). 
 
Regional affairs 
---------------- 
¶13.  Bachelet will hand her pro-tempore presidency of the Union of 
South American Nations (UNASUR) to Ecuador in a few weeks.  This 
means the Chilean President is about to fail in her commitment to 
find a consensus candidate to chair the regional organization (El 
Mercurio, 4/12) 
 
Local politics 
-------------- 
¶14.  The array of think tanks preparing proposals for presidential 
candidate Eduardo Frei's programming team concur on the topics to be 
included in the campaign:  more investment in education and health, 
innovation on energy, and according to "Instituto Igualdad," an 
in-depth analysis of nuclear energy (El Mercurio, 4/12). 
 
¶15.  Bachelet will visit The Hague at the end of May and will visit 
the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the Chilean Congress has 
ratified the court by then (El Mercurio, 4/10). 
 
Energy 
------ 
¶16.  The government's plans to diversify the energy matrix are 
beginning to yield results.  A total of US$20.77 billion worth in 
projects have been submitted for the Central Interconnected System 
(SCI) alone.  Of this total, almost 10% are for the construction of 
eolic parks (America Economia Magazine, March 9). 
 
Indigenous conflict 
------------------- 
¶17.  Eleven individuals who ambushed and injured prosecutor Mario 
Elgueta and five policemen in Tirua in October of last year were 
taken into custody.  They all belong to the Mapuche organization 
"Coordinadora Arauco Malleco" (CAM) and will remain in prison for 
the duration of the investigation.  They face charges for frustrated 
homicide and terrorist association with the intent to commit illegal 
activities (El Mercurio, 4/12). 
 
¶18.  Yesterday individuals burned down two summer homes in the area 
of Tirua, presumably in retaliation for the arrest of 11 CAM members 
(El Mercurio, 4/13). 
 
SIMONS