VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #0124/01 0332004
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 022002Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0649
INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000124 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT: Santiago Feb. 2 Media Report 
 
Lead Story 
 
¶1.      President Obama's 2011 budget proposal was front-page news 
on all major dailies today (2/2). 
 
 
 
Chile-U.S. 
 
¶2.      Front-page headline: "U.S. President Obama phones Chilean 
President-elect Sebasti????n Pi????era and commits to continue 
working 
closely with Chile" 
 
Inside headline: "Barack Obama phones Pi????era to congratulate him. 
The president-elect confirms his participation in the summit in the 
U.S." 
 
 
 
Yesterday afternoon Sebasti????n Pi????era received a phone call from 
no 
other than the U.S. President who phoned to congratulate him "for 
his historical victory," said a White House release.  In the 
conversation President Obama "underscored the close ties" that 
exist between the two countries "based on mutual interests and 
values" and expressed his commitment to "continue working closely 
with Chile," said the release.  Pi????era confirmed he would attend 
the April energy and safety summit in Washington, where nuclear 
energy will be among the topics.  In Pi????era's circle the view is 
that the conversation had been "cordial, interesting, and very 
prolific" (Conservative, influential newspaper-of-record El 
Mercurio, 2/2). 
 
 
 
¶3.   Headline: "Obama congratulates President-elect Pi????era and 
invites him to Chile" 
 
In a phone call yesterday, President Barack Obama congratulated 
Pi????era and underscored the "strong alliance" between the two 
countries.  Pi????era expressed his commitment with human rights in 
Chile, said he would maintain Chile's peace force in Haiti, and 
invited Obama to visit the country in a tour of Latin American. 
Reportedly, Obama said he would try to visit (La Tercera, 2/2). 
 
 
 
¶4.   American Chilean Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) President 
Ricardo Garcia said that one of the obstacles that the Pi????era 
administration will have to resolve regarding its ties with the 
United States is the enforcement of IPR laws. "The United States 
bases its development on the protection of (intellectual) property 
and the fact that Chile does not duly protect these rights ... is a 
situation that must be improved" (El Mercurio, 2/2). 
 
 
 
Coverage of President Obama's budget proposal 
 
¶5.    President Obama revealed yesterday his US3.8 trillion dollar 
2011 fiscal budget plan with emphasis on creating jobs and cutting 
space and global warming programs (La Tercera, 2/2). 
 
 
 
¶6.   Headline: "Barack Obama confronts fiscal deficit with a 2011 
budget that emphasizes jobs, security, and closing the Guantanamo 
prison" 
 
Given the drop in his popularity and having lost the majority in 
the Senate, President Obama's budget proposal for next year focuses 
on primary issues to regain confidence (Government-owned La Nacion, 
2/2). 
 
¶7.   Headlines: "A budget with its feet on the ground - U.S. 
president renounces to manned trips to the moon and Mars" (La 
Nacion, 2/2); "Obama proposes US 3.8 trillion budget for 2011 with 
emphasis on employment (Financial dailies Diario Financiero and 
Estrategia, 2/2/); "Obama announces tax increase for individuals 
and corporations to finance his budget" 
 
(El Mercurio, 2/2). 
 
 
 
Local Politics 
 
¶8.  Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim will meet with 
Sebasti????n 
Pi????era in Santiago on February 12.  After the election, Brazilian 
President Lula da Silva congratulated Pi????era and invited him to 
work for South America's integration (Diario Financiero, 2/2). 
 
 
 
Poll 
 
¶9.   Adimark GFK poll revealed an 83% rate of approval for 
President Bachelet and 65% for the government.  The president was 
also highly rated on personal attributes: 95% said she is "loved," 
91% that she is "respected," 90% that she has the "ability to face 
a crisis," and 88% that she is "credible." Adimark noted that while 
Bachelet is widely approved, her political coalition - Concertacion 
-- lost the election (Conservative, afternoon La Segunda, 2/1). 
 
 
 
¶10. Adimark Director Roberto Mendez:  "This survey is a paradox.... 
The president has a record support, which does not transfer to the 
candidate of her coalition (...) Bachelet was harshly criticized by 
her own coalition in her first years in office and later faced 
difficult situations stemming from divisions among coalition 
parties. Many view Bachelet as a victim of her coalition" (Popular 
tabloid Las Ultimas Noticias, 2/2). 
 
 
 
Haiti 
 
¶11. Column by Andres Oppenheimer on Haiti: "Deforestation in Haiti 
has made its soil lose the ability to retain water, which has 
drastically reduced water supplies and hurt intensive 
agriculture.... At the individual level, each and every one of us 
should donate a tree to Haiti.  At the international level... 
donors should refuse the temptation to focus on just constructing 
building. That is a cosmetic solution and Haiti needs trees and gas 
stoves, but perhaps ones that run on solar (energy) rather than 
bricks" (El Mercurio, 2/2). 
 
 
 
OAS 
 
¶12. Editorial supporting Jose Miguel Insulza's reelection to the 
OAS: "Insulza's performance has been approved by the majority of 
Latin American and the Caribbean.... The questions about the 
outdated mechanisms of the OAS did not changed much during 
Insulza's term.... For these to change, member nations must 
restructure the organization and overcome the acute differences 
that prevail in the continent.  According to the OAS Charter, the 
secretary general... can only carry out political initiatives that 
have unanimous support, which is rarely reached on transcendental 
issues. That is the difficult scenario in which Insulza has had to 
work and ... in a region where differences among countries and 
among its presidents prevail.  It is probable and convenient that 
once Insulza explains his program to the new (government) officials 
they will choose to endorse his reelection (El Mercurio, 2/2). 
URBAN