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Viewing cable 08BUENOSAIRES500, A CONSERVATIVE MEGACONFERENCE TAKES PLACE IN LEFT-LEANING

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BUENOSAIRES500 2008-04-18 13:22 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Buenos Aires
VZCZCXRO1862
RR RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHQU RUEHTM RUEHVC
DE RUEHBU #0500/01 1091322
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181322Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0807
INFO RUCNMRC/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUENOS AIRES 000500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR ECON PHUM KJUS XM VZ AR
SUBJECT: A CONSERVATIVE MEGACONFERENCE TAKES PLACE IN LEFT-LEANING 
ARGENTINA 
 
 
1.  (U)  Summary.  Argentine think tank the Liberty Foundation 
celebrated its twentieth anniversary March 26-28 with an 
international seminar drawing over 300 participants from around the 
region and Spain.  Participants included noted author Mario Vargas 
Llosa as well as five ex-Presidents of Latin America: Vicente Fox 
(Mexico); Jorge Quiroga, (Bolivia); Osvaldo Hurtado (Ecuador); 
Francisco Flores (El Salvador); and Luis Alberto Lacalle (Uruguay). 
During the conference, the five presidents gave presentations where 
they discussed the gains Latin America has made over the last 
decade, the rise of illiberal democracy, the region's development 
challenges, and the measures Latin America needs to undertake to 
sustain growth.  The conference took place in Rosario, Argentina's 
second-biggest industrial center and a "Socialist" party bastion, 
and was noteworthy for presenting contrarian, conservative views in 
a country that is majority-left.  Unfortunately, a bus carrying 
Vargas Llosa and other conference participants was stoned and 
detained by protesters who then smashed all its windows, 
highlighting the challenges faced by those expressing conservative 
political views in Argentina.  End summary. 
 
2. (U)  On March 26, five ex-Presidents of Latin America addressed 
an audience of 300 center-right intellectuals, political officials, 
and policy wonks on the challenges and opportunities in Latin 
America.  Vicente Fox (Mexico); Jorge Quiroga, (Bolivia); Osvaldo 
Hurtado (Ecuador); Francisco Flores (El Salvador); and Luis Alberto 
Lacalle (Uruguay) each gave presentations.  Noted Peruvian author 
Mario Vargas Llosa moderated the panel. The session was the 
highlight of a two-day event that brought together conservative 
thinkers from all over the region, as well as the United States and 
Europe, to discuss contemporary Latin American issues. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Gains Latin America Has Made over the last Decade 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
3.  (U)  Fox began by noting the tremendous strides Latin America 
has made over the last ten years: poverty in Latin America decreased 
ten percentage points, and poverty in Mexico decreased by 30%.  He 
credited the region's success to trade liberalization, noting that 
NAFTA has helped transform Mexico into the seventh largest trading 
economy in the world.  He noted that a study by investment firm 
Goldman Sachs predicted that, by 2040, the U.S. economy would be 
eclipsed by China and India, and that Japan and Mexico would round 
out the top five economies.  He cautioned, however, that the 
prediction could be true for the region as well if Latin America 
gets the fundamentals right by defending liberal democracy and 
establishing "responsible market economies." 
 
4.  (U)  Flores agreed with this assessment, adding that free trade 
agreements, open economies, and regional integration have been a 
catalyst for economic growth.  By following this policy 
prescription, poverty decreased by 20% in Central America in the 
last 10 years, he said.  Hurtado argued that the policies advocated 
by the "Washington Consensus," when applied correctly, were not at 
all bad.  He held up Chile as the model example, and cited other 
regional gains: life expectancy in Latin America has increased to 70 
years, children have improved access to education, social programs 
have increased.  He argued that the region must defend and deepen 
market reforms in order to sustain this "virtuous circle."  Latin 
America still lags behind all other regions in terms of commerce, 
investment, and international influence, he cautioned. 
 
--------------------------- 
Rise of Illiberal Democracy 
--------------------------- 
 
5.  (U)  Despite Latin America's progress in recent years, Flores 
expressed concern over the rise of illiberal democracy.  He warned 
that populist demagogues are destroying liberal democracy with its 
own resources, in Venezuela and elsewhere.  Bolivia, Nicaragua, 
Ecuador, and now even in El Salvador, he said, there are leaders who 
use popular elections to give them the cloak of legitimacy.  Once in 
power, they seek to dismantle democracy by introducing 
constitutional reforms to stay in power, limiting press freedoms, 
silencing the opposition, promoting class divisions, and provoking 
North-South conflict.  To appease the private sector, they simply 
co-opt the business community.  As a result, the private sector 
courts the new leadership in the hopes of preserving and expanding 
business interests.  It is a new version of authoritarianism that 
did not arise from revolution, but rather by popular vote, he 
observed.  As a result, other countries mistakenly view these 
developments as an expression of the popular will.  However, a free 
society cannot elect to become a dictatorship, he argued. 
 
6.  (U)  Flores attributed Chavez's rise and consolidation of power 
to the breakdown and de-legitimization of traditional political 
parties.  For too long, political parties have been the only means 
to access power.  As parties concentrated power, public resources 
became the sole property of political parties.  As corruption took 
hold, disillusioned citizens stopped participating in the parties, 
 
BUENOS AIR 00000500  002 OF 003 
 
 
which further impeded party reform and a revitalization of party 
leadership.  As the public becomes increasingly disenchanted with 
the electoral system, it has resulted in public demonstrations 
demanding that we "get rid of all of them."  The resulting political 
vacuum is then filled by the radical left, he argued. 
 
7.  (U)  Hurtado agreed, adding that the "fastest way to get rid of 
democracy is to destroy political parties."  Countries in the region 
that are doing well have solid political parties.  He stressed that 
political parties must first be rebuilt before countries in the 
region can tackle their remaining challenges.  Both Quiroga and 
Lacalle agreed with this point, and underscored the importance of 
participating in the political process. 
 
8.  (U)  Lacalle called on governments that are elected 
democratically to govern democratically.  He stated that when a 
government loses an election, it should accept the results. 
Peaceful transition of power is the hallmark of a functioning 
democracy.  We must be careful, he warned, not to succumb to the 
tyranny of the masses that overthrows governments by taking to the 
streets to demand that an elected government resigns.  He made a 
case for the elimination of the possibility of reelection, saying 
that in Uruguay, a president has 60 months to get the job done and 
get out. 
 
--------------------- 
Chavez Oil Trumps All 
--------------------- 
 
9.  (U)  Quiroga agreed that Chavez and other populist demagogues 
pose a threat to the region, and expressed frustration over what he 
characterized as "OAS and EU reticence to criticize Chavez."  When 
Chavez closed RCTV and proposed constitutional reforms to allow for 
indefinite reelection, no one at the OAS said a word.  He attributed 
this to Venezuela's vast petroleum reserves.  He argued that even 
the USG is compelled to "put up with Chavez" because of U.S. 
dependence on Venezuelan oil.  Quiroga stated that the only people 
who can stand up to Chavez are the people of Latin America.  He 
stressed that it was not a matter of right versus left, but a matter 
of principle.  He asked, rhetorically, "does Latin America want to 
be ruled by law or by caprice?" 
 
----------- 
Rule of Law 
----------- 
 
10.  (U)  Hurtado also stressed the importance of the rule of law, 
noting that the separation of powers and maintaining checks and 
balances are key.  Lacalle added that Latin America should replace 
its patronage politics and culture of entitlement with the U.S. 
concept of government accountability to the "taxpayer."  He exhorted 
governments to spend wisely, saying that "governments will be judged 
by how well they spend, rather than by how much they spend." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Need Investment in Physical and Human Infrastructure 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
11.  (U) Fox observed that additional challenges to the region's 
development include lack of investment in physical infrastructure 
and human capital.  He noted the region's growing energy needs, and 
praised Brazil for developing a comprehensive energy policy that 
includes alternative energy.  He noted the positive role 
public/private partnerships can play in infrastructure 
modernization, citing Mexico's experience in securing private 
financing for publicly-administered housing, ports, roads, and 
airports.  Hurtado noted the importance of fine-tuning social policy 
to benefit not only the poor, but also the middle class.  In 
particular, he advocated greater funding to improve the quality of 
public schools, so that more members of the middle class see 
concrete benefits to sending their children to public schools. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Organized Crime as a Threat to Democracy 
---------------------------------------- 
 
12.  (U)  Fox highlighted organized crime and narcotrafficking as a 
serious threat to the region's democracy.  He indicated that 
Mexico's war against organized crime and drug trafficking is 
sincere.  He defended Calderon's decision to use the military, 
instead of the police, to take on drug traffickers, saying that 
Mexico has no other choice.  He noted that other countries have had 
to take similar measures to protect their democracies.  Fox praised 
Uribe for Colombia's March 1 operation against the FARC in Ecuador. 
There is no excuse for guerillas to be in Ecuador, he said, adding 
that there are clear signals that Chavez is involved. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Principle of Non-intervention & Regional Hypocrisy 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
BUENOS AIR 00000500  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
13.  (U)  Commenting on the region's long-standing commitment to the 
principle of non-intervention, Lacalle stated that the region has 
used this principle as an excuse to turn a blind-eye to th 
peccadilloes of their neighbors.  He said it was hypocritical for 
countries to condemn Colombia for its operation against FARC 
terrorists in Ecuador, and not condemn FARC terrorist operations in 
Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.  He added that it was hypocritical 
for countries to condemn U.S. involvement in Iraq and remain silent 
when Castro and Chavez meddle in the internal political processes of 
other countries. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Don't Mix Politics with Economics 
--------------------------------- 
 
14.  (U) Lacalle went on to say that the United States has been a 
leader in promoting shared democratic values.  He advised the 
audience not to confuse the United States with the Department of 
State, arguing that a nation is not the same as its foreign policy. 
He stressed, to great applause, that it is okay to cooperate and 
trade with the United States, and still voice opposition to the war 
in Iraq.  He also cautioned against injecting political ideology 
into Mercosur.  He stated that it is ironic that the grouping was 
moving forward with a Mercosur Parliament when it could not even 
address economic and energy integration. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Latin America can only Look to Itself for Answers 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
15.  (U)  As the panel came to a close, Hurtado noted that Latin 
America has always complained that the region's development lagged 
behind the rest of the world due to unfavorable terms of trade.  Now 
that economic winds favor Latin America, if countries don't take 
advantage of this opportunity by strengthening democracy, opening 
economies, and improving education, the region will have lost 
another opportunity, and Latin America will only have itself to 
blame.  Lacalle concluded the panel by observing that Latin 
Americans have been "prisoners of the past" for too long.  He 
stated, "I do not want to be a son of the past.  I want to be a 
father of the future." 
 
16. (SBU) The conference was noteworthy for presenting contrarian, 
conservative views, in a country that is majority-left.  It took 
place in Rosario, Argentina's second-biggest industrial center and 
the leading port for soy and other agricultural exports, at the 
height of the farmers' strike triggered by the GOA's announcement of 
quasi-confiscatory taxes on grain exports -- hardly the sort of 
measure that would be endorsed by the crowd at this conference. 
Rosario is also run by a Socialist mayor and is in a Socialist-run 
province, but both the governor and mayor attended and supported the 
conference.  Media coverage of the conference focused on some of the 
unfortunate violence it elicited: a bus carrying Vargas Llosa and 
other conference participants was stoned and detained by protesters, 
who then smashed all its windows. 
 
WAYNE