US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA1185

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001185 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR IIP/G/WHA AND IIP/T/ES, 
FOR WHA/PDA, WHA/USOAS, AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, PREL, KPAO, PGOV, KDEM, HO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON OAS, JUNE 02, 2005 
 
 
1. On 6/02, the San Pedro Sula-based liberal daily "Tiempo" 
carried an op-ed by Pedro A. Brizuela entitled "Where the 
OAS is heading."  "In the OAS Secretary General election we 
have witnessed events that haven't happened in the past. For 
the first time Latin America made a proposition to the U.S. 
for a peaceful change in inter-American relationships. It is 
true that there is no existing document but the message 
relies on the facts. The recent events indicate that the OAS 
is heading southward." 
 
"South America is changing the region's politic view towards 
Latin America's dignity and democracy. We have been living 
until now in a false system; the so-called democracy is 
artificial. We are now harvesting this human misery where 
the government has become a cave of Ali Baba and its 40 
officials." 
 
"The North American government has become the `big loser' by 
failing to place one of its unconditional candidates as 
Secretary General. But is the OAS a different institution? 
 
SIPDIS 
We all have witnessed that the OAS has been a docile 
instrument of the unconditional power of the U.S. to impose 
its authority to Latin America." 
 
"There will be two very difficult aspects to change in the 
OAS: its mercenary conduct and bad reputation. The first 
aspect will be determined by the resistance of Latin 
American societies and Uncle Sam's pressure to impose its 
will on the region. The bad reputation will depend on the 
corrections of past mistakes. But what seems clearer each 
time is the changes in social policies. The OAS always blew 
north now the winds go south." 
 
Palmer