Chile Prioritises Bolivia Over U.S. Diplomacy

Bachelet To Meet With Bolivian President Morales Before U.S. Delegation
In a move demonstrative of Chile’s desire to improve relationships with its Latin neighbors and most especially with Bolivia, President-elect Michelle Bachelet will meet with her Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales on Friday in the Diplomatic Academy, relegating a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice to Saturday.

According to Bolivia’s Vice President Alvaro García Linera, the two heads of state will discuss “energy integration, transport, and the maritime issue.”

Relations with Bolivia have improved recently, with the country’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Andrés Soliz, offering Tuesday to sell electrical power to northern Chile. It would be a highly beneficial agreement for Chile, which imports two-thirds of its energy, while Bolivia has South America’s second largest supply of natural gas, after Venezuela.

Still, bi-national diplomacy continues to be precarious. Chile’s Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker warned Tuesday that the Andean nation’s offer was not a case of “tit for tat.” He emphasized that although Chile wanted to “advance towards greater integration with Bolivia,” Chile would not exchange one concession for another, referring to the contentious maritime issue.

The resumption of diplomatic normalcy between Chile and Bolivia does appear more likely than it has since 1978, when bilateral relations were downgraded to the consular level. On Saturday, Bolivia’s García Linera opened the door to renewed relations, without making settlement of the maritime issue a pre-condition. (ST, March 7).

For decades, successive Bolivian leaders have campaigned for access to the ocean, but until now Chile has rejected the idea of giving Bolivia access to the sea. Former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa made Bolivia’s claim for sea access a cornerstone of his administration’s policy (ST, Jan. 18).

Bolivia is not the only country intending to address contentious diplomatic issues during Bachelet’s inauguration.

Relations between Argentina and Uruguay have deteriorated recently because of the construction of two paper plants to be built on the Uruguay River, within meters of Argentine territory. Uruguay’s government has given its full support to the foreign-funded plants, while Argentina and environmentalists from both countries oppose the project

Uruguay’s President Tabaré Vázquez has considering seeking OAS-led mediation, while Kirchner has already taken the dispute to the International Court in The Hague.

Both leaders are due to attend the inauguration, an opportunity which Uruguayan Foreign Minister Belela Herrera recognized and cited as a chance for the two heads of state to discuss the issue face to face (ST, March 3).

However, both Vázquez’s press office and Argentine cabinet head Alberto Fernández deny that an official meeting is scheduled between the two leaders, who are both due to arrive on Friday, a day before the inauguration ceremony. Fernández said that on Kirchner’s agenda “there is no provision for a meeting” with Vázquez to deal with the matter in Chile.

There is also the much anticipated personal match-up between Rice and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who have made a habit of vilifying one another in recent months.

Chile’s future Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley, however, refused to comment on the possibility of various contentious meetings. Speaking on Tuesday, he said that “Chile is an openly democratic country where everyone has freedom of expression and, if that is true of any Chilean citizen, imagine what a visitor can do”.

Foxley also gave a positive spin on the presence of so many foreign dignitaries. “It is impressive the amount of international attention that Michelle Bachelet is receiving…many countries believe that we are embarking on a path that others will soon follow: the possibility that women are on the front lines of national development”.