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UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000623 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 - JULY 6 
 
Leading Story 
------------- 
¶1.   All dailies ran front-page stories on the latest development in 
Honduras, highlighting that demonstrations left at least two dead. 
 
Chile-U.S. 
---------- 
¶2.  Photo coverage of the July 4 reception at Ambassador Paul 
Simons' residence: "Hundreds of guests arrived at the residence for 
the reception, which had a theme of Abraham Lincoln and Barack 
Obama. In addition, Ambassador Simons with Ministers Marcelo Tokman 
and Sergio Bitar planted the last bush of the xeri-scaping project 
at the residence, a landscaping method based on the use of native 
plants, and an efficient use of energy and resources to protect the 
environment. Amid red, white and blue balloons, the guests were also 
able to listen to Secretary Hillary Clinton's taped Fourth of July 
message." (Sunday edition, El Mercurio, conservative, influential 
newspaper-of-record, 7/5). 
 
¶3.  Chilean Jose Miguel Larenas was injured by a land mine at the 
age of 18 in northern Chile.  Now, thanks to U.S. Department of 
Defense (DARPA) funding, Larenas designed a system to locate, 
deactivate, and remove land mines using robots.  There are still 
100,000 anti-personnel land mines left in Chile (El Mercurio, 7/5). 
 
 
¶4.  Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin attended the Second Finance 
Ministerial of the Americas and the Caribbean in Vina del Mar. 
"Consumer confidence is the highest it has been in the last sixteen 
months and credit flow is recovering, so although there is still 
work to be done, things are moving in the right direction," said 
Wolin (Diario Financiero, business and financial, 7/6). 
 
¶5.  World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who attended the Finance 
Ministerial, praised Chile's savings and monetary policy, flexible 
and competitive exchange rate, and low public debt, stating this 
would enable it to quickly recover from the crisis (El Mercurio, 
7/3; Diario Financiero, 7/6). 
 
¶6. Photo of the Navy fleet during the last stage of the Teamwork 
South 2009 exercises off the coast of Iquique in northern Chile 
(Metro newpaper Publimetro, 7/3). 
 
¶7. There are 26 Chileans in U.S. prisons.  Among them are Diego 
Alcalde, recently sentenced to life for raping and murdering a 
college student in Colorado; Luis Castro, who videotaped his raping 
of a seven- year old girl and took the tape into the United States; 
Luis Moreno, who has ties to arms dealer Al Kassar (La Tercera, 
conservative, independent, 7/5). 
 
¶8. In a letter to the editor, a woman says she has "never felt so 
discriminated against" as when she was turned down for a U.S. visa. 
"It seems that my salary was not enough nor that my son in law, an 
American citizen, would pay for my expenses, nor that I own a home 
and have a daughter who is a professional" (Metro newspaper 
Publimetro, 7/4). 
 
Local Politics 
-------------- 
¶9.  Adimark-GFK survey gives Bachelet a 74% approval rating, which 
is three points higher than in May and the highest rate of any 
president since the re-establishment of democracy (1989).  This rate 
of approval is related to her Government's economic management and 
therefore the country's ability to confront the economic crisis.  On 
the other hand, her administration ranked poorly with regard to its 
performance in education, health, transportation, and the fight 
against crime and corruption (El Mercurio, 7/4). 
 
¶10.  Commentary:  "Bachelet's high approval rating is opposite to 
the rate of disapproval of her government in specific areas. The 
President is loved and respected; her economic policy is her 
strength.  But the government does not score well in health, 
education, transportation, fight against crime and corruption.... 
Bachelet swept all the categoaries related to personal attributes. 
Chileans seem to be enamored with her....There are two ways to 
interpret this. First... when Chileans like someone, they attribute 
more positive qualities to that individual in other relevant areas. 
'Love and caring' seems to be the criteria that Chilean use to 
choose their candidates and evaluate their presidents" (La Tercera, 
conservative, independent, Patricio Navia commentary, 7/4). 
 
¶11. La Tercera survey shows that Chileans admire President Obama and 
consider him more trustworthy than any other president in the 
region. On a score of 1 to 7 (seven being the highest), Obama 
received a 6.  Two years ago, President Bush received a 3. The 
perception of the Chile-U.S. relationship also improved.  While two 
years ago 70% labeled bilateral relations "good," the most recent 
survey shows it is up to 92% (La Tercera, 7/5). 
 
Honduras 
-------- 
¶12.  Editorial:  "The Honduras case is evidence of a growing threat 
to democracy in Latin America... whereby democratically elected 
leaders begin dismantling institutions and amending laws and 
constitutions to try to suffocate the opposition.  The events in the 
small Central American country are an unfortunate reaction against 
the Chavez model. . . and regardless of the outcome to this crisis, 
will set a precedent in Latin America" (El Mercurio, 7/4). 
 
¶13.  Editorial: "The threat to Democracy in Latin America": "A 
trend... has risen in the region that weakens and threatens to 
destroy democracies. . . . Democratically elected leaders. . . 
ignore constitutional boundaries and refuse their citizen basic 
rights. . . Thanks to condescending judicial systems and congresses 
that play no role in countering them, these leaders gain full 
authority.... The OAS has been inconsistent in sanctioning these 
countries.... It's important for multilateral organizations to carry 
out the role for which they were created.... The successful 
experience of the European Union... shows that adequate incentives 
can favorably influence effective and long-lasting democratization" 
(La Tercera, 7/5). 
 
¶14.  Editorial:  "Chile has the moral obligation to take an active 
role in denouncing and find a way to recover from the democratic 
break in Honduras.  We know very well how coup d'etats start and how 
they end, and they are always presented as the 'inevitable' solution 
to an institutional breakdown" (La Nacion, government-owned, 
editorially independent, La Nacion, 7/5). 
 
¶15.  Asked about the eventual return of Zelaya to Honduras, OAS 
Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said it was "too risky," but 
also said that it was for Zelaya to decide whether to return (El 
Mercurio, 7/5). 
 
¶16.  Honduras Ambassador to Chile, Francisco Martinez, said 
the OAS should send a delegation to get a real sense of the 
situation in Honduras, "which is very different from what the 
international community believes." Martinez said that "more than 80% 
of Hondurans support Micheletti's government, because of the fear 
that Zelaya was imposing a "leftist model that strayed from the 
democratic spirit of the people of Honduras" (El Mercurio, 7/5). 
 
¶17.  OAS Secretary General Insulza said that after meeting with 
Honduran Supreme Court officials and Catholic Cardinal Oscar 
Rodriguez, he sees there is no intention to allow Zelaya to return 
to office. Reportedly, Supreme Court officials told Insulza that "no 
one is above the law" in Honduras, including Zelaya (El Mercurio, 
7/4). 
 
¶18.  Journalist and former ambassador Jose Rodriguez Elizondo 
comments on Honduras: "It seems we are now before a preventive coup 
to stop Zelaya from turning into another Chavez." Asked about the 
role of the OAS in this conflict, Elizondo said it is important, 
because the United States is part of the OAS, and its stance can 
never be ignored" (La Tercera, 7/4). 
 
URBAN