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Kirchner-Lagos meeting in Patagonia; A red “Maradona” Cabernet please?; Destruction of antipersonnel mines; Abattoir tender in doubt; A storm is brewing;

Kirchner-Lagos meeting in Patagonia

Argentine and Chilean presidents Nestor Kirchner and Ricardo Lagos are scheduled to meet in Patagonia at the end of the month according to Punta Arenas and Rio Gallegos press. Even when the official program is still in the making the most certain place is the tourist resort of Calafate in the home province of Santa Cruz where Mr. Kirchner was governor before becoming president. One of the main topics of the meeting will be the development of Patagonia particularly tourism promotion. The summit is programmed to coincide with the meeting of over six hundred Chambers of Commerce from Chile and Argentina and national tourist operators. "The idea is that both president visit the province of Santa Cruz and Magallanes, possibly on the 28th", indicated Jorge Restovic, local representative of the Santiago government in Punta Arenas. After the meeting in Calafate, President Lagos is scheduled to visit Puerto Natales. However weather conditions and the short runway at the local airport could force a last minute cancel. President Kirchner grew up in Rio Gallegos and his mother was born in the southern port of Punta Arenas.

A red "Maradona" Cabernet please?

The former Argentine football star might be blobby, sometimes stoned and habitué of Cuban president Fidel Castro, but he's still good money in the capitalist world. An Argentine winery is preparing to launch several types of numbered bottles branded "Maradona" that already have an exceptionally strong market in Japan and Europe. "We have production problems since Japan is demanding 800,000 bottles per month, and they are even willing to pay 1,000 US dollars per piece for a few bottles with Diego's autograph", indicated Patricio Colman from Alquimia Producciones the Buenos Aires public relations company responsible for the launching. The winery is Raíces de Agrelo located in Mendoza, Argentina's top vine and wine producing area, and the objective is to supply all levels of domestic consumer market and exports. Besides Japan, the company has also received "Maradona" wine orders from Italy where the Argentine ace successfully played for several years in Napoli. "The potential for overseas sales is huge, Diego's name has a magic to itself. We're already talking with buyers in Latinamerica, United States, Russia, England and Spain", said Mr. Colman. The first production line will be a 30,500 numbered bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec, 2002 crop that is expected to reach the market at the equivalent of 8 US dollars.

Destruction of antipersonnel mines

Over 7,000 anti personnel mines planted during the seventies in hot areas of the Chilean and Bolivian border have been destroyed, reported the Chilean Army in Santiago. The explosives were unburied and destroyed by remote control in an unpopulated area known as Tarapacá. Chilean Army sources added that so far in the north of the country almost 90,000 antipersonnel mines have been destroyed. An undisclosed number of similar explosives were also eliminated from areas close to the Argentine border. Under the military regime of General Pinochet over 210,000 antipersonnel mines were placed along the borders of Chile with Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Following the signature of the Ottawa Convention over two years ago, Chilean authorities began the elimination of minefields. During the seventies and early eighties, the internationally isolated military regime of General Pinochet feared its neighbours might press long standing border disputes and planted thousands of anti personnel mines in the "hot areas".

Abattoir tender in doubt

Yet a further notch in the controversial tender process of the government owned Sacor abattoir located in the extreme south of Chile and one of the two licenced plants to export overseas. Punta Arenas mayor Juan Morano described the initiative to have the Sacor abattoir remain in government hands but managed by private entrepreneurs as "interesting and attractive". Magallanes Region farmers and local business organizations have been campaigning against the privatization of the Tierra del Fuego located Sacor abattoir arguing lack of transparency in the tendering conditions plus the risk of the creation of a "quasi monopoly" situation if the two exports licenced plants end in private hands. Mr. Morano revealed he had been in contact with the Cabinet Secretary in Santiago who promised he will look into the issue before any final decisions are taken. Apparently Santiago officials will be requesting further information from the Chilean Government Corporations System that is responsible for selling government property.

A storm is brewing

Chilean vice president and Minister of Interior Jose Miguel Insulza called on the Chilean population to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the September 11th 1973 coup in peace and respectfully. "On that very special day we do not wish to see acts of political violence. The Chilean population wishes to commemorate in peace, with respect and with a spirit of reconciliation", said Mr. Insulza who is acting president since Mr. Ricardo Lagos is currently visiting Brazil. Mr. Insulza recalled that for the coming September 11 the main parks and avenues of downtown Santiago close to Government House will be strictly out of bounds for marches and protests. The decision was taken following the violent incidents during the recent general strike last week when thousands marched in downtown Santiago attacking riot police, damaging public property and setting buses and a few shops on fire. Violence erupted in spite of the government's warnings that strict "terrorist-seditious" legislation inherited from the Pinochet regime would be applied to all those arrested. This year the commemoration could also be a further temptation for disruptive actions given President Ricardo Lagos latest "national reconciliation" proposal that was openly rejected by most human rights organizations and next of kin of disappeared people groups. Chilean human rights organizations insist their marches are always peaceful but they can't always guarantee the non infiltration of more violent and professional provocateurs. The September 1973 events that ended the Marxist oriented experience of elected president Salvador Allende with a bloodbath split Chilean society, a split that remains latent and usually erupts every September 11th.