Little idealism on post-Castro Cuba

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/2011310132247281427.html



To be sure, Brazil sees Cuba as victimised by economic sanctions, and in private Lula's diplomats urged Washington to end the embargo. Even so though, Brazilian officials seem to hold Cuba in low regard.

Take, for example, a meeting in Brasilia in 2007 during which time international affairs adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia expressed doubt that Cuba could replicate the "China model" predicated on economic opening under centralised political control.

"China is a civilisation, Cuba is not... they do not have the patience, resources or organisation to emulate China's approach," Garcia declared.

....

Chavez's brand of "strident" populism, Garcia remarked, had "less space to grow in Latin America than you may think." Venezuela could be easily brushed aside, Garcia said, "if Cubans perceived other openings - especially if the US lifted sanctions on their economy."

It will be done under the auspices of candidate commissions, with the effective argument that "The Varela Project does not affect candidate commissions," along with other laws that render private funding of an individual candidate illegal (right now there exist no law as such because you cannot just become a candidate without the blessing of the candidate commissions).

Bookmark this page, and wait, could be 10-15 years before it happens though.

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Obviously, the cables can only reveal what diplomats tell the Americans and don't necessarily reflect what's truly on Brazilian officials' minds.

~snip~
My own reading, however, is that Brazil has little in the way of an idealistic agenda in the wider region and operates in accordance with its own cynical and opportunistic goals.

As revealed by WikiLeaks, Brazilian diplomats hold condescending and patronising views of other leftist Latin nations. Like the US, Brazil sees itself as a beacon of progress in a troubled region, ready and willing to offer assistance to backward countries, and Cuba is no exception.

~snip~
To be sure, lifting the sanctions would be a positive step for Cuba, but open markets on their own won't serve as a panacea for the region's ills. Whatever one's personal or political views about Hugo Chavez, the firebrand leader has long understood the need for greater regional integration along progressive lines.

When I was in Caracas a couple of years ago, I ran into a Cuban doctor attending poor residents in a dangerous slum. Many Venezuelan doctors probably wouldn't have been caught dead in the neighbourhood, yet the Cuban medic had come into the country as part of Chavez's Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas program, or ALBA - an agreement which allows for barter and reciprocal exchanges between fellow leftist countries.

The ALBA initiative serves as a necessary antidote to the usual corporate free trade schemes promoted by Washington, and is a big boon for Cuba which has received discounted oil in exchange for sending its doctors abroad to Venezuela.

Yet, Brazil has chosen not to participate in ALBA and shies away from such innovative proposals. That is a shame, since Brazil is by far the most important country in the region from a political and economic perspective, and could play an influential role in pushing forward a leftist agenda.

Perhaps, Brazilian diplomats should spend less time superciliously looking down upon fellow progressive regimes and more time trying to develop an inspiring political message for the future.

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It was good to see an author mention, like Peace Patriot, reading Wikileaks requires some actual thought invested in order to have any grasp of their meaning.