La embajada de Estados Unidos en México consideró que la cumbre del Grupo Río en 2010, presidida por México y llevada a cabo en Cancún, resultó un rotundo fracaso que tuvieron que admitir hasta funcionarios del PAN, revela un nuevo cable filtrado por WikiLeaks. Se trata del cable 10MEXICO141, clasificado como "confidencial" que el embajador Carlos Pascual envió a diversos despachos del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos el 26 de febrero de 2010, luego de que finalizara la cumbre. El cable lleva como título "La cumbre de Unidad Latinoamericana de México -- ¿Volver al Futuro?"Desde el inicio, la embajada tacha de fracaso a la cumbre. Dice el sumario del cable:"Los ambiciosos planes de México para usar su última Cumbre Presidencial del Grupo Río (Cancún 22-23 Febrero) para crear un nuevo y más operacional foro para cooperación regional, falló dramaticamente. El evento de dos días estuvo dominado por seguimiento de prensa a los teatros de los paises del ALBA y su usual proclividad hacia la retórica del tercer mundo y anti-imperialista. Nada práctico se logró en dos prioridades regionales urgentes - Haití (el Presidente Preval sí fue pero la discusión fue una oscura nota al calce) y Honduras (el Presidente Lobo nisiquiera fue invitado a la conferencia en cumplimiento con Venezuela/ALBA) - y Brasil y los paises del ALBA rebasaron a los mexicanos, dejando los detalles de una nueva organización en manos de una estructura de la Cumbre de América Latina y el Caribe (CALC) que será administrada por Brasil y Venezuela en 2011."El cable continúa despotricando contra Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador y Argentina, pero lueg señala que hasta dentro del PAN consideraron que la cumbre fue un fracaso. Dice el cuarto párrafo del cable:"Hasta los oficiales de Calderón en el PAN rechazaron en privado el evento. El coordinador de relaciones exteriores del PAN, Rodrigo Cortez, caracterizó la reunión como un 'triste espectáculo que hace nada para proyectar los puntos de vista de nuestro partido en prioridades internacionales y la importancia de la relación entre México y Estados Unidos.' Descalificó las imágenes públicas de Calderón 'abrazando y conviviendo' con Chávez, Morales y Castro, y fue pesimista desde el inicio de que cualquier cosa práctica pudiera salir de esta reunión. 'Nisiquiera invitamos a Honduras, dejándolos afuera de la reunión para asegurarnos de que participara el ALBA - una decisión que volteó la reunión de arriba a abajo respecto a nuestra seguridad en concreto y otros intereses."Otro de los fracasos que menciona el cable fue el pleito entre el presidente de Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, y el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.Revela también que el embajador de Colombia en México, Luis Camilo Osorio, consideró a la cumbre del Grupo Río como "la peor expresión de discurso de república bananera", y señaló que Colombia propuso una agenda concreta durante una reciente visita de Calderón a ese país, pero que "los mexicanos no estuvieron interesados, confiados de que tenían todo bajo control." Agregó el embajador colombiano que "Calderón simplemente puso a un montón de los peores tipos juntos en una sala, esperando ser más listo que ellos. En vez de eso, Brasil le ganó completamente y Venezuela le ganó a Brasil."Agrega el cable que no hubo planeación práctica, ni administración de la agenda, ni el trabajo que se necesitaba para obtener un resultado práctico y útil.También cita las críticas a la cumbre que hizo en una columna de opinión de El Universal el ex-ambajador Jorge Montaño--a quien el cable describe como "ligado al PRI"--y por las cuales recibió llamadas telefónicas separadas para regañarlo de Felipe Calderón y de la canciller Patricia Espinosa.Luego de eso, el cable hace una larga descripción de un cartón político que apareció en el diario Reforma en el cual Hugo Chávez hace bailar a Felipe Calderón como si fuera mono cilindrero, y describe que el cartón fue comentado por hombres de negocios al día siguiente como la crítica más dañina contra Calderón.Ironicamente, en otro cable de la embajada de Estados Unidos, con fecha de octubre de 2009, Calderón afirma que México usará al grupo Río para detener a Hugo Chávez, a quien además acusó de haber financiado las campañas electorales del PRD en 2006, aunque sin presentar evidencias que respaldaran la acusación.Pero el cable de febrero muestra que hasta en el PAN se molestaron por los abrazos de Calderón con Hugo Chávez.A continuación el cable completo filtrado por WikiLeaks:VZCZCXRO4692RR RUEHAG RUEHAO RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRODE RUEHME #0141/01 0571923ZNY CCCCC ZZHR 261923Z FEB 10FM AMEMBASSY MEXICOTO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTSRUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0719INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVEEU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVEUN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVERHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DCRHMFISS/CDR USNORTHCOM PETERSON AFB CORHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FLRUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0012C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 000141SIPDISNOFORNDEPARTMENT FOR WHA DAS JACOBSON, MEX LEE AND PPC NSC FOR RESTREPO AND OREILLYAMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFEAMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBECAMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADAAMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKIAMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORFAMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIGEO 12958 DECL: 2020/02/26TAGS PREL, OAS, KSUM, KPIN, CACM, CDB, XM, XR, XS, XL, MXSUBJECT: Mexicos Latin American Unity Summit -- Back to the Future?REF: 10 MEXICO 127; 10 SANTIAGO 51; 10 SANTO DOMINGO 67DERIVED FROM: DSCG 05-1 B, D¶1. (C) Summary: Mexicos ambitious plan to use its final Rio Group Presidency Summit (Cancun 22-23 February) to create a new more operational forum for regional cooperation failed dramatically. The two-day event was dominated by press accounts of ALBA country theatrics and their usual proclivity towards third world, anti-imperialist rhetoric. Nothing practical was achieved on the two pressing regional priorities - Haiti (President Preval did attend but the discussion was an obscured footnote) and Honduras (Pres. Lobo was not even invited in deference to Venezuela/ALBA) - and Brazil and the ALBA countries outmaneuvered the Mexicans, leaving the details of the new organization in the hands of a Latin American and Caribbean Summit (CALC) structure that will be managed by Brazil and Venezuela in 2011. End Summary¶2. (C) Notwithstanding President Calderons best intentions to create a more practical regional forum for regionally dealing with Latin American priorities (ref A), Mexicos Latin American Unity summit in the tourist resort of Cancun (22-23 February) was poorly conceived, inadequately managed, and badly executed. The Cancun Declaration presents a long laundry list of issues without specifying any details on how they will be operationally translated into effective international action. The meeting did not agree on a name for the new organization (see below), on a date for when it will be launched, or on any practical details (secretariat, funding, etc.) that would indicate how the new organization would develop. Worse yet was the press play and unofficial commentary from informed sources, that were downright derisive of the meeting and the contradictory message it sent about Mexicos interests and foreign policy.¶3. (C) Already at the ceremonial opening on Monday (22 February) it was clear that things were not going well. Negotiations on the declaration had ground down on the operational details of the communique and Brazil and the ALBA countries were firmly resisting Mexicos proposal that the new forum be constituted immediately with agreement on institutional details. Brazilian President Lula did not want to see the CALC be subsumed before the end of his Presidency and Venezuelan President Chavez wanted to leave his CALC Summit (Venezuela assumes the CALC Presidency from Brazil in 2011) on schedule, and available for a grand launching of the new forum that, as he said to the press, would commemorate the realization of the Bolivarian themes of Latin American solidarity in the birthplace of the "Great Liberator." Chavez was his usual, over the top self in proclaiming the death of the Organization of American States (OAS), in lending a hand to Argentine President Kirchners protestagainstBritish drilling for oil in the Malvinas, and in almost coming to blows with Colombian President Uribe over the latters protest of Venezuelas economic embargo against Colombia. Bolivian President Morales played the supporting role as Chavez factotum, parroting Chavez speeches and lavishing praise and compliments on Raul Castros Cuba. Ecuadorian President Correa used the meeting to try and divert money laundering allegations leveled against Ecuador, by suggesting the need for a new "more balanced" regional mechanism to address the issue.¶4. (C) Even Calderons own PAN party officials were privately dismissive of the event. PAN international affairs coordinator Rodrigo Cortez characterized the meeting as a "sad spectacle that does nothing to project our partys views on international priorities and the importance of the relationship between Mexico and the United States." He decried the public images of Calderon "hugging and cavorting" with Chavez, Morales and Castro and was pessimistic from the start that anything practical would come from the meeting. "We did not even invite Honduras, leaving them out of the meeting in order to ensure ALBA participation - a decision that turned the meeting upside down with regard to our concrete security and other interests."MEXICO 00000141 002 OF 003¶5. (C) The low point of the meeting was the verbal exchange between Uribe and Chavez at the opening day official lunch. Uribe raised Venezuelas economic embargo on Colombia, terming it unhelpful and inconsistent with the regions economic interest and at odds with Venezuelas strong criticism of the U.S. Embargo on Cuba. Colombias Ambassador in Mexico, Luis Camilo Osorio, told the polmincouns that, contrary to press accounts, Uribe raised the issue in a non-confrontational way. According to Osorio and press accounts, Chavez reacted emotionally accusing Colombia of having sent assassination squads to kill him and ended a verbal and physical tirade with "You can go to hell; I am leaving (the lunch)." Uribe responded, "Dont be a coward and leave just to insult me from a distance." Verbal and body language continued to escalate, until Raul Castro stepped in to urge civilized discussion. Outside of the dining room, Venezuelan security officials were scuffling with Mexican securityguardsin an attempt to assist their President.¶6. (C) Osorio was very critical of the Summit, terming it the worst expression of Banana Republic discourse that blames all of the regions problems on others without any practical solutions of their own. Osorio said the Colombians had proposed working jointly on a concrete agenda during Calderons recent visit to Colombia. The Mexicans, he said, were not interested, confident that they had everything under control. Osorio opined that "Calderon had simply put a bunch of the worst types together in a room, expecting to outsmart them. Instead, Brazil outplayed him completely, and Venezuela outplayed Brazil." There was no practical planning, there was no management of the agenda, and there was none of the legwork that would have been needed to yield a practical and useful outcome.¶7. (C) Brazilian DCM Antonio Francisco Da Costa E Silva Neto conveyed his countrys view that Brazil had done a better job of managing the summit than the Mexican hosts. Brazil was able to ensure that the new Rio Group would emerge, not from the Summit, but from ongoing discussions in the Rio Group and the CALC, where Brazil could exert its influence. The CALC survived and Brazil would be managing that process as part of the troika when it turned over the presidency to Venezuela.¶8. (C) We heard similar themes from ex-Ambassador Jorge Montano, a PRI-connected, former respected senior Mexican diplomat. He echoed Cortez criticism, channeling it into an elegant but critical op-ed in Mexico daily Universal (Feb 26). Montanos piece, entitled "With or Without the OAS," reviewed briefly the history of Latin American regional forums, also criticizing U.S. lack of attention to the region (e.g. Summit of Americas) but noting the practical achievements realized in the OAS. He called the Summit unnecessary and inconsistent with Mexicos interests and called for immediate damage control. Montano told us that he received separate calls from Calderon and from Foreign Secretary Espinoza, irate over his criticism.¶9. (C) The media coverage did not in any way suggest a practical forum and there was a good supply of criticism, in addition to Montanos piece, which was respectful in its choice of words. The most damning criticism was a political cartoon in the leading daily Reforma (Feb 24) which depicted a large Chavez gorilla, with a small Castro perched on his back playing an accordion labeled "CanCubaZuela Group" with a small image of Calderon dancing to the music and waving marimbas. Osorio told us at a same day Central Bank event with leading Mexican businessmen that there were abundant references to the cartoon and its apt characterization of the Summits result.Comment------------------¶10. (C) In the end Mexico was limited to agreement on a new forum but without any specific commitments on institutional details. The Cancun declaration is a bulging rhetorical exerciseMEXICO 00000141 003 OF 003that reflects the lack of agreement with its general and non-specific language. The press play leaned towards the critical side and even those who recognized Calderons well-mentioned effort focused more attention on the paltry results. Even on the issues that Mexico argued to us before the summit were reasons for bolstering the Rio Group -- success on Colombia-Venezuela-Ecuador problem - the Summit result was directly contrary to hopes for a new more operational mechanism in the region.¶11. (C) We have not had yet received the official GOM post-Summit read-out from our SRE and Presidency sources - they have been busy finishing the Declaration and doing follow up work with the Latin American Missions. We will be shortly following up with their analysis and comments on the way ahead, and their plans for deepening trade and investment through a new arrangement with Brazil, announced at the end of the Summit. Whatever their read out, this is not playing here as a "diplomatic success," except in some very general sense of raising the need for more effective regional action. Unfortunately, the Cancun Latin American Unity Summit was not an example of a new and bold step into the future but rather a reminder of Mexicos at times conflicting message on how it sees the future of the region and Mexicos role as one of its leaders. PASCUAL