

Currently released so far... 6239 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
ASEC
AU
AORC
AF
AM
AFIN
AEMR
AR
ASIG
AMGT
AG
APER
AL
ABLD
ASUP
AA
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AE
AMED
AS
AGMT
APECO
AO
AFFAIRS
AJ
ACOA
AX
AROC
ATFN
ASEAN
AFGHANISTAN
ADCO
AFU
AER
ALOW
AODE
ABUD
ATRN
AID
AC
AVERY
APCS
CASC
CJAN
CVIS
CS
COUNTER
CD
CU
CI
CO
CG
CE
CA
CMGT
CH
CWC
CBW
CKGR
CR
CN
CPAS
CONS
CDG
CLINTON
CT
CJUS
CY
CV
COUNTERTERRORISM
CIA
CACM
CDB
CAN
COE
CM
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CF
CONDOLEEZZA
CARSON
CL
CIS
CODEL
CTM
CB
COM
ECON
EFIN
ETRD
EAIR
EAID
ET
EFIS
ENRG
EPET
ETTC
ER
EG
EINV
EAGR
ELAB
EUN
EWWT
ENGR
EMIN
ECIN
ENIV
ES
EC
ECPS
EIND
EI
EU
ENVI
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ELTN
EZ
EINT
ELN
EUR
EUNCH
EN
EINVECONSENVCSJA
ELECTIONS
EINVEFIN
ENNP
ECUN
EXTERNAL
EK
EFINECONCS
ECINECONCS
ECIP
EINDETRD
EUC
EREL
ENVR
ECA
ENERG
ENGY
ETRO
EFTA
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
ECONEFIN
EINVETC
EINN
ESA
ETC
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ESENV
ETRDECONWTOCS
IR
IZ
IWC
IC
ILC
IO
IAEA
IN
IS
IT
ICRC
INTELSAT
ILO
IBRD
IMF
ICAO
IMO
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
ITRA
ISRAELI
ICJ
IACI
INTERPOL
ID
IV
ICTY
IQ
IPR
INRB
ITPHUM
IIP
IL
IA
INR
ITPGOV
IZPREL
IRC
INRA
INRO
IRAJ
IEFIN
IF
KE
KCRM
KDRG
KIPR
KCOR
KSCA
KBIO
KDEM
KMCA
KMPI
KNNP
KJUS
KOMC
KGHG
KSUM
KSTC
KIRF
KTIP
KWMN
KZ
KG
KTFN
KHLS
KPAO
KFRD
KTIA
KOLY
KCFE
KISL
KFLU
KPKO
KWBG
KTBT
KTDB
KOCI
KUNR
KAWK
KICC
KPAL
KSTH
KN
KS
KGIC
KNPP
KWAC
KMDR
KAWC
KBCT
KIDE
KFLO
KWMNCS
KSEP
KU
KNEI
KVPR
KACT
KRAD
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCIP
KSAF
KV
KSPR
KPRP
KFSC
KCRS
KR
KRFD
KX
KO
KPWR
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KFIN
KGCC
KPIN
KHIV
KPLS
KIRC
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KGIT
KBTS
KPRV
KBTR
KERG
KWMM
KRVC
KNSD
KVIR
KNUP
KTER
KDDG
KHSA
KMRS
KHDP
KTLA
KPAK
KNAR
KREL
KPAI
KTEX
KCOM
KNNPMNUC
KPOA
KLIG
KHUM
KDEV
KNUC
KCFC
KREC
KOMS
KWWMN
MASS
MP
MARR
MOPS
MNUC
MX
MO
MCAP
MY
ML
MU
MIL
MC
MTRE
MA
MD
MTCRE
MEPI
MAR
MRCRE
MR
MV
MPOS
MZ
MEPP
MOPPS
MAPP
MASC
MT
MERCOSUR
MK
MDC
MI
MAPS
MCC
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
MUCN
MTCR
MG
OVIP
OREP
OTRA
OSCE
OECD
OIIP
OEXC
OPCW
OPIC
OPDC
OPRC
ODIP
OVP
OSCI
OAS
OFDP
OTR
OSAC
OIC
OFFICIALS
OIE
PREL
PGOV
PHUM
PTER
PE
PINR
PINS
PARMS
PARM
PHSA
PA
PK
PBTS
PO
PREF
POL
PLN
POLITICS
PROP
PL
PM
PAO
PSI
PG
PEPR
POV
PALESTINIAN
PINT
PSOE
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PBIO
PECON
PAK
POGOV
PINL
PKFK
PMIL
PY
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PRAM
PMAR
PGOVLO
PUNE
PORG
PHUMPREL
PF
POLINT
PHUS
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PNAT
PGOVE
PRGOV
PRL
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
PINF
PEL
SNAR
SO
SENV
SU
SCUL
SOCI
SP
SC
SA
SMIG
SAN
SZ
SW
SN
SY
SR
SL
SEVN
SF
SYR
SI
SG
STEINBERG
SIPRS
SH
SNARCS
SOFA
SANC
SHUM
SK
ST
TERRORISM
TRGY
TZ
TX
TBIO
TSPA
TS
TSPL
TW
TU
TD
TIP
TURKEY
TP
TI
TC
TPHY
TH
TO
TK
TNGD
TINT
TRSY
TR
TFIN
TT
UG
UK
UP
UNGA
UNHRC
UZ
UN
UNAUS
USTR
UNSC
US
UNEP
UY
UNESCO
USUN
UNHCR
UAE
UNMIK
USEU
UV
UNO
UNDP
UNCHS
UNVIE
UNCHC
UE
UNDESCO
USAID
UNDC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09BUENOSAIRES801, ARGENTINA: POWERFUL KIRCHNER ALLY ON
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09BUENOSAIRES801.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09BUENOSAIRES801 | 2009-07-08 20:08 | 2011-02-04 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Buenos Aires |
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #0801/01 1892032
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 082032Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4037
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000801
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2039
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: POWERFUL KIRCHNER ALLY ON
POST-ELECTION, POST-KIRCHNER PANORAMA
REF: BUENOS AIRES 0750
Classified By: CDA Tom Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).
¶1. (C) Summary: CDA and Buenos Aires Province Vice-Governor
Alberto Balestrini discussed July 7 Argentina's political
panorama following former President Nestor Kirchner (NK) and
his Victory Front (FpV) slate's second-place finish in the
June 28 election in Buenos Aires province. A powerful
insider and Kirchner ally, Balestrini wrote off the first
couple as a political force in the future. He said that the
reduction in the size of the FpV's bloc in the next Congress
will require that the government negotiate and compromise.
Looking to the 2011 presidential race, he said the Peronist
Party (PJ) would meet next month to discuss a strategy and
presidential candidates. Balestrini ruled out a 2011
presidential run by either President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner or NK, and he said he believed the Kirchners realize
their star has faded. He opined that the Peronist nomination
for president would go to either newly- elected Senator
Carlos Reutemann or Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli.
Balestrini said that NK's performance in the election was
even worse than it seemed, arguing that the only reason NK
received the votes he did in the province was because he
hitched his wagon to popular provincial mayors and forced
them to run as candidates. End Summary.
The Elections As Seen By a Peronist Heavyweight
--------------------------------------------- --
¶2. (C) CDA Kelly met July 7 with close Kirchner ally Alberto
Balestrini, Vice Governor of Buenos Aires province. One of
former President Nestor Kirchner's (NK) closest and most
powerful political allies, Balestrini shared his views on the
political panorama following the ruling Victory Front's (FpV)
poor performance in the June 28 midterm elections. (Note:
Per reftel, the FpV won only about 30% of the vote
nationwide. In the race's key electoral district of Buenos
Aires province, the FpV led by NK placed second to Francisco
de Narvaez of the Peronist dissident-Republican Proposal
alliance, "Union-PRO.") Balestrini, who heads the national
Peronist party (PJ) Political Secretariat, was among the
party faithful called on by NK to run as candidates in Buenos
Aires, a list that included Governor Daniel Scioli and the
many popular PJ mayors in the province. Balestrini is a
heavyweight Peronist political baron from the Buenos Aires
suburbs. He was twice mayor in La Matanza, a huge, poor
municipality that has been a Peronist stronghold. Kirchner
reportedly did not concede defeat in the June 28 mid-term
elections until ballots from La Matanza had been counted.
The next day, when Kirchner resigned as head of the Peronist
party on the day after the elections, Balestrini and Scioli
were the only ones at his side.
¶3. (C) The Vice Governor sought to downplay the electoral
results. After evoking the words of PJ founder, former
President Juan Peron: "in elections, the people never make a
mistake," Balestrini asserted that the voters did not give a
mandate to any one political force. He explained that in the
257-member Lower House, the FpV now has 96 national deputy
seats, down from 115, while the Radical-Civic Coalition
alliance has 80 seats and the remaining members represent
other parties, including numerous provincially-based ones.
Balestrini suggested that because of the new congressional
composition, the government will need to negotiate and
compromise to achieve the 129 deputies necessary to convene a
session. He added that the government "will have to resolve"
the situation with the farm sector. To that end, he expected
the Kirchner administration to reduce export taxes on wheat
and corn while maintaining the current (and controversial)
export tax rates on soy and soy products.
Ks Out of the Running for 2011
------------------------------
¶4. (C) The Vice Governor ruled out the prospect of a 2011
presidential run for either President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner (CFK) or NK. Balestrini explained that, as a "close
friend of CFK," he believes the Kirchners understand their
star has faded. Balestrini said they could not achieve
either the simple majority or the 40% with at least a
ten-point margin over the runner-up that they needed to win
in the first round, and they knew they could not win a
run-off. Balestrini maintained the only reason NK received
the votes he did on June 28 was because of reverse coattails
-- he hitched his wagon to popular mayors by forcing them to
run as candidates for city council seats that they did not
intend to occupy.
¶5. (C) Balestrini identified preparations for the 2011
presidential elections as the Peronist Party's most pressing
priority. He noted that Governor Scioli, the new party
president following NK's resignation, plans to convene a
roundtable next month with 24 party officials, including
governors, deputies, and senators, to define a strategy and
determine a candidate. Responding to the CDA's question on
whether dialogue would also include discussions with
first-place finisher in Buenos Aires province Peronist
dissident De Narvaez, Balestrini said he did not consider De
Narvaez a Peronist but rather one who claims PJ credentials
to increase his electoral appeal. Balestrini maintained,
however, that the slate's second candidate, Felipe Sola, is a
Peronist, who "differs with us on the farm sector." He
grudgingly acknowledged that De Narvaez was likely to
participate actively in these consultations.
¶6. (C) With the Kirchners off the short list of presidential
candidates, he said the likely PJ presidential candidate will
be either Governor Scioli or Santa Fe Senator Carlos
Reutemann. On Scioli, he said the Governor maintains a
positive image despite the challenges he has faced in rising
crime and the economy in governing the country's largest
province. (Note: Scioli's image seems to have taken a
beating with his decision to run as a testimonial candidate
on Nestor Kirchner's slate in Buenos Aires province.
According to a mid-May poll from Management and Fit, Scioli's
positive image stood at 34.2%. This is not, in fact, that
far from Balestrini's own estimate of Scioli's positives,
which he put at 40%.) Balestrini said that Reutemann is a
strong candidate because he won in Santa Fe, the most
important province after Buenos Aires. (Note: Reutemann
narrowly defeated Socialist Ruben Giustiniani, 42.26% to
40.59%; Giustiniani in turn was backed by Socialist party
head and Presidential hopeful Governor Hermes Binner.)
¶7. (C) Balestrini dismissed recent press speculation that
the government was considering moving up the presidential
elections, constitutionally scheduled for the fourth Sunday
in October 2011. He said the PJ would most likely convene a
party primary in March 2011 to elect their presidential
candidate. The PJ was going to need the next year to sort
out its presidential candidate, he continued, and its
ascendant politicians would prevent the Kirchners from
imposing early elections if need be.
Upcoming Florida Vacations
--------------------------
¶8. (C) Balestrini relayed that both he and Governor Scioli
would soon be enjoying respective vacations in Florida. He
said the Governor would be leaving shortly for Florida and
that Balestrini would travel for one week once the Governor
returned home. Looking haggard, Balestrini remarked that the
vacation would be a welcome respite after a year marked by
one challenge after another, from the conflict with the farm
sector to the severe drought, the dengue outbreak, moving up
the midterm elections, and now the swine flu. He said that
Scioli was exhausted and in even greater need of a break than
he was.
Bio Data
--------
¶9. (SBU) Balestrini's political career dates back to the
1960s when, as a law student at the Universidad del Salvador,
he founded a Peronist youth faction. From 1973-1975, he
served as legal advisor to La Matanza municipality. In 1975,
he served a one-year stint as advisor to the PJ bloc in the
Buenos Aires province legislature. From 1987 to 1989, he was
the advisor to the Presidency of the Central Market in Buenos
Aires and from 1989 to 1991 he served as managerial secretary
in the national Lower House. He served as a national deputy
from 1989 to 1995 and as a senator in the Buenos Aires
Province Senate from 1995 to 1999. He was elected Mayor of
La Matanza in 1999, serving in that capacity until 2005, when
he won a national deputy seat and was elected Speaker of the
House. Balestrini has served as vice governor since 2007 and
as head of the PJ political secretariat since May 2008. Born
on March 9, 1947 in Buenos Aires city, Balestrini and his
wife have six children.
Comment
-------
¶10. (C) Balestrini is very close to the Kirchners, and some
say that NK in 2007 picked him to be Scioli's running mate to
keep the ambitious Scioli in line. One measure of NK's trust
in Balestrini is a highly speculative rumor that NK may coax
Scioli into taking the seat he won in Congress, leaving
Balestrini to run the province until 2011, when Scioli could
run for president and NK for governor. This meeting provided
an excellent opportunity to hear the views of a close,
trusted Kirchner ally in the wake of a disappointing
performance for the ruling FpV in the midterms. Balestrini's
downbeat comments on the Kirchners' political future suggests
how steeply their political stars have descended in the ten
days since the election.
KELLY