US embassy cable - 04BUENOSAIRES2900

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 002900 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, 
NSC FOR TOM SHANNON AND MIKE DEMPSEY 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, AR 
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH TUCUMAN PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR AND 
LEADING JOURNALISTS 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary: On September 28-29, Pasoffs and Poloff 
met with Tucuman Governor Jose Jorge Alperovich and leading 
journalists in the province.  The meeting with the Governor 
was positive and covered key issues facing the province, such 
as economic reform, relations with the national government, 
and economic development.  The journalists Emboffs that met 
with provided a wealth of information about Tucuman politics 
and said they looked forward to future contacts with the 
Embassy.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Governor Alperovich was candid during his 
September 29 meeting with Emboffs, encouraging them to ask 
any type of question.  He covered issues ranging from 
economic reform, relations with the GOA, and the state of the 
economy in Tucuman.  The Governor stated that he thought the 
Fiscal Responsibility Law recently passed by the National 
Congress would have no trouble passing in Tucuman, although 
he felt the law would have little practical effect in the 
province, as Tucuman already had a strict financial 
responsibility law.  (Note: The Tucuman legislature passed 
the Fiscal Responsibility Law on October 1, becoming the 
second province in the country to approve the new law.)  He 
thought co-participation reform was not necessary and said it 
is not a priority for his administration.  He said he did not 
want to fight with Buenos Aires over an extra percentage 
point or two of co-participation funds, and would rather 
focus on more important issues for the province.  He 
described his relations with the national government as being 
good and that he was satisfied with the resources he received 
from the GOA.  He said that financial mismanagement by 
previous governors, and not a lack of funds from Buenos 
Aires, were the source of past funding problems for Tucuman. 
He admitted that although the province had many resources, 
especially in the agricultural sector, poverty was still a 
problem in Tucuman.  He emphasized however, that the province 
has enjoyed a much lower rate of unemployment over the past 
three years compared with the rest of the country.  The 
Governor also highlighted his efforts to bring in outside 
investment from the United States, China, and Chile, the 
development of a new railroad service, and the booming 
construction industry in the province.  Governor Alperovich 
closed the meeting by mentioning he planned to travel to 
Washington, DC this December. 
 
3.  (SBU)  BIO NOTE: Jose Alperovich was elected governor in 
October 2003, having served as a Peronist Party (PJ) Senator 
in the National Congress.  He originally was a member of the 
Radical Civil Union Party (UCR).  A son of Jewish, Lithuanian 
immigrants, Alperovich faced legal hurtles in his bid for 
governor, as the Tucuman Constitution required that all 
governors be Catholic.  A legal ruling in the province 
allowing non-Catholics to become governor cleared the way for 
his election.  Leading journalists described the governor's 
relationship with the Kirchner government as good on 
administrative matters, but much cooler on a personal level. 
Alperovich is tied to the Duhalde camp within the PJ, having 
a personal connection to Duhalde through his father and the 
father of Duhalde's former Central Bank head, Mario Blejer. 
Journalist German Valdez also reported that Kirchner was 
unhappy with the governor because he was met by 
protesters/piqueteros on his first trip to Tucuman as 
President in July that blocked his motorcade coming from the 
airport .  Valdez said Kirchner was also unhappy with the 
fact the province had two senators and three deputies from 
the family of ex-military governor and dirty war criminal, 
Antonio Bussi, as Kirchner was attempting to assert his 
authority over the military on a national level. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Emboffs met with leading journalists from the 
province, including Maximo Garcia Hamilton and Ricardo Le 
Fort from El Siglo, Carlos Abrehu and Jose Pochat from La 
Gaceta, and German Valdez from MC Radio & TV.  All of the 
journalists were pleased to meet with US Embassy officials 
and told Emboffs that they were looking forward to future 
close cooperation with Pasoffs.  La Gaceta is the oldest 
daily newspaper in the province, with the largest readership. 
 El Siglo formed as an offshoot of La Gaceta 14 years ago due 
to a conflict within the family that owns La Gaceta.  German 
Valdez is the leading radio and television journalist in 
Tucuman, who has been a good contact for many years for the 
Embassy. 
 
 
GUTIERREZ