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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000703 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS 
TAGS: AORC PREL ECIN MARR EC CO XM XR
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S UNASUR AGENDA: AN ANTI-AMERICAN TONE? 
 
REF: A. QUITO 616 
     ¶B. QUITO 579 
 
Classified By: Ambass...



id: 219973
date: 8/7/2009 15:21
refid: 09QUITO703
origin: Embassy Quito
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 09QUITO579|09QUITO616
header:
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0703/01 2191521
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071521Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0726
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8296
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4238
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3664
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG LIMA 3346
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RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL


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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000703 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS 
TAGS: AORC PREL ECIN MARR EC CO XM XR
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S UNASUR AGENDA: AN ANTI-AMERICAN TONE? 
 
REF: A. QUITO 616 
     ¶B. QUITO 579 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Heather M. Hodges for Reasons 1.4 (b&d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  On the 200th anniversary of its so-called 
"First Call for Independence" on August 10, Ecuador will 
assume the rotating presidency of UNASUR on the same day that 
President Correa is inaugurated.  The MFA announced the GOE's 
objectives and planned projects for UNASUR on August 3, which 
include the creation of legal advisory and arbitration 
centers, strengthening of existing councils and creation of 
new ones, and integration of educational systems.  Although 
the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement being 
negotiated appears to cause some concern among UNASUR members 
and could be raised by President Correa during the UNASUR 
ceremony, it is not clear whether this will become a focus of 
the UNASUR meetings on August 8-10 in Quito or be included in 
the resulting declaration.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ECUADOR ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF UNASUR 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Ecuador will assume the Presidency Pro Tempore of 
the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on August 10, 
¶2009.  President of Chile Michelle Bachelet will hand over 
the presidency to President Rafael Correa in an early morning 
event in the Capital Room of the Saint Augustine church, the 
historic location where Ecuador's Act of Independence was 
signed 200 years earlier on the same date.  The "First Call 
for Independence" was not the date that Ecuador actually 
gained independence because the Spanish troops reasserted 
control a few months later, killing those involved in the 
rebellion.  Ecuador won its independence from Spain in 1822 
and became the Republic of Ecuador in 1830 when it split from 
Gran Colombia, but celebrates August 10 as its independence 
day.  Following the UNASUR ceremony, President Correa will be 
sworn in for his first term under the new constitution at the 
National Assembly building. 
 
¶3.  (U) Foreign Minister Fander Falconi announced during an 
official press conference on August 3 that assuming the 
UNASUR presidency represents "a commitment to strengthen the 
coordination of Latin American integration and to contribute 
to the equitable development of the peoples, the coordination 
of international cooperation, and the fight against inequity 
and social exclusion." 
 
ECUADOR'S OBJECTIVES 
 
¶4.  (U) Outlining Ecuador's objectives during the coming 
year, Falconi said that Ecuador would promote the creation of 
a center for arbitration, as an alternative to the 
International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes 
(ICSID) of the World Bank.  (The Government of Ecuador 
announced early July its withdrawal from ICSID -- Ref B.) 
Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense Gustavo Martinez 
told PolOff on July 30, confirmed by Falconi during the MFA 
press conference, that another of Ecuador's objectives is to 
strengthen the level of coordination of the existing councils 
of Defense, Energy, and Health, while supporting the creation 
of other councils. 
 
¶5.  (C) During the official press conference, Falconi also 
set forth a list of projects for UNASUR, including the 
establishment of a system of educational evaluation specific 
to Latin America, the development of academic programs, and 
the establishment of a Latin American university system. 
Falconi made no mention of President Correa's statement made 
during his June 6 radio address that Ecuador would present a 
proposal that UNASUR "protect governments from the press," or 
that a regional electoral observation organization be 
established.  Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Marques Porto had 
downplayed the possibility of UNASUR taking acting against 
the press in a July 8 luncheon with the Ambassador, saying 
that the majority of UNASUR countries (including Brazil) 
would never support such a proposal. 
 
DECLARATION OF QUITO 
 
¶6.  (C) MFA Coordinator for UNASUR Marjorie Ulloa told PolOff 
on August 5 that UNASUR's "Declaration of Quito" would 
consist of only five short paragraphs.  Prior to the official 
UNASUR ceremony, the 19th Meeting of the UNASUR Council of 
 
Delegates will meet on August 8, followed by a meeting of 
UNASUR foreign ministers on August 9.  During these meetings 
a consensus text of the Declaration of Quito will be 
negotiated. 
 
U.S. ON THE AGENDA? 
 
¶7.  (C) Ulloa assured us that the UNASUR meeting would not be 
a forum for discussing the U.S.  There has been concern that 
UNASUR would use the occasion to criticize the negotiation of 
an agreement between the U.S. and Colombia to allow for U.S. 
use of military bases in Colombia, which FM Falconi in public 
comments termed "worrisome."  Lula is also quoted as calling 
for a separate meeting in late August of the South American 
Defense Council so that the Defense Ministers can "inform us 
about the problem that a U.S. base could bring to Colombia." 
 
FULL PARTICIPATION 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, 
Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and 
Venezuela have confirmed their attendance at the August 10 
ceremony; Colombia is notably the only UNASUR member that 
will likely send a lower level representative. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶8.  (C) The closure of the U.S. Forward Operating Location 
(FOL) in Manta has been covered heavily in the Ecuadorian 
press, including the alleged "transfer" of FOL operations to 
Colombia (Ref A).  Even if the Declaration of Quito does not 
include problematic language on U.S.-Colombia defense 
cooperation, we cannot rule out that President Correa would 
use the ceremony as an opportunity to raise that issue.  We 
can be sure he will emphasize the importance of deepening 
South American integration, and he may well put this in the 
context of seeking to minimize the influence of and 
dependence on the United States in the region. 
 
HODGES 

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