The idea of criticizing Cuba is anathema to many Brazilians, (including, it appears, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva) so we should not be surprised at Brazil`s announcement that it would abstain in the United Nations vote this week, condemning Cuba for its flagrant disregard of human rights. Attempts by the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, to take advantage of the world spotlight on Iraq to crack down on dissidents and summarily execute by firing squad (“murder” would be a better description) three men accused of hijacking a ferry are, hopefully, the last twitches of a dying regime. However, rather than show a lead and condemn such barbaric behavior, Brazil`s representative at the UN Human Rights Commission was looking elsewhere, perhaps out of the window at the swans gliding across Lake Geneva or scratching his head over a crossword puzzle, while the debate raged on. By its inaction, Brazil has lost a chance to show the world that not only is it ready to stand up for human rights but it has grown up politically.

This debate arises every year and many Latin American countries use it as a way of showing their “independence” from the US, despite the fact that they are economically dependent on the Americans. Brazil has always abstained and even the US`s NAFTA partner, Mexico, has never supported the US position, although this year there were signs this year that the Mexicans might change tack. Argentina has also announced that it would abstain.

The debate always covers the same ground. The Americans call Cuba a Communist dictatorship and the Cubans criticize the Americans` economic blockade and support for Cuban exiles in Miami. Although, as a debate, it is sterile the discussion does serve a useful purpose, as it focuses attention on the fact that Castro runs a dictatorship. There are now signs that even some of Castro`s admirers are becoming frustrated by his arrogance and brutality. The Brazilian press gave great space to the fact that the Portuguese writer, Jose Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and had previously been a Castro fan, had finally turned against him after recent events. Under the heading “Ate aqui cheguei” (roughly translated as That’s It – I Have Had Enough), Saramago wrote: “Cuba won no heroic battle by shooting these men but lost my trust, destroyed my hopes, cheated me of illusions.” The “Estado de S. Paulo”, for example, published his comment prominently.

Another Nobel prizewinner, the Italian dramatist Dario Fo, also condemned the executions, while the reformed Italian Communist Party issued a statement criticizing itself for not paying more attention to the growing repression in Cuba. Most Americans, or Cubans, have probably never heard of either writer but this desertion by intellectuals could be the thin end of the wedge. Castro has always benefited from the toleration of liberal and left-wing intellectuals, artists and opinion makers who still see him as a swashbuckling revolutionary, fighting alongside Che Guevara, to free the downtrodden peasants from the Batista dictatorship.  

US Also Shares Blame

There is much to be criticize in the US approach, and staunch allies like the UK and Canada have always defied Washington. It is true that Cuba has been unfairly singled out by the United States for almost 40 years as punishment for Castro`s duplicity in hiding his Communist credentials when he first assumed power. The US has lacked consistency since it has propped up many other unsavory regimes in Latin America. It has also been choosy in who it picks on. Under Bill Clinton it abandoned its human rights battle against another Communist dictatorship, China, which now has most favored trading nation status. Unfortunately, no American president, whether liberals like Jimmy Carter and Clinton or hawks like Ronald Reagan, has had the courage to grasp this nettle. By doing nothing, the US has let the sore fester and inadvertently strengthened Castro`s position.

However, at the same time, the US has done more for Cuba than the former Soviet Union ever did, by providing a home for hundreds of thousands of Cubans – political refugees and workers just seeking a better life. It is worth asking whether Cuba would be a better place today if Castro had not thrown his shadow across it for 40 years. I have the feeling it would be. Instead of being subsidized by the former Soviet Union for decades and basing its economy on a commodity product like sugar, it would have diversified and exploited its other natural and human resources.     

Cuba Behaves Like an Imperialist Power
Still there are many Latin Americans who have watched with admiration as Castro has thumbed his nose at the Americans for decades. He tried to foment revolts in various countries and sheltered guerrillas and dissidents, including Lula`s right hand man, Jose Dirceu. At the same time, he became arrogant and assumed that the other Latin American countries were in the palm of his hand. The three countries, which supported the latest UN resolution, Peru, Uruguay and Costa Rica, were called "vile lackeys of the Empire” by Cuba. The Cuban ambassador to the UN said they had committed “treason”, apparently forgetting that you can only be treasonable to your own country, not another one. This attitude makes the Cubans sound more imperialistic than the Americans.  

We should be thankful that one high-ranking Brazilian, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights no less, has publicly expressed concern at what he called ”the arrests and ongoing trials of the approximately 80 persons charged with working for a foreign power to undermine the Cuban Government”. Vieira de Mello was appointed to this top post last September after successfully heading a UN administration in East Timor. One might have expected the Brazilian government to take his position into consideration before announcing its decision. Obviously the Itamaraty, which handles foreign relations, feels it is more important to spare the feelings of a Communist dictator than support one of Brazil`s most highly respected sons.

If you visit the site of the Human Rights Commission you will find another Brazilian touch. Right on the front page is a drawing by the Brazilian artist, Octavio Roth, illustrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of person” is written underneath a crude drawing of a figure reaching for the sun. So far he has not added “Except Cubans.”

© John Fitzpatrick 2003