Trevor Loudon
New Zeal
12/24/2010
…The reality is that communists have always used “free market” policies when it suits them to build their economic base, secure foreign funding, or for strategic disinformation purposes.
The key element here is while country X may operate some semblance of a market economy, Marxist-Leninists continue to control all key levers of power and foreign policy is completely tilted towards helping the international communist movement in its long term strategic plans.
China, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Mozambique, Laos and Angola, are obvious examples. To those, I would add Venezuela, Cuba (just starting), South Africa, Russia, and several of the Central Asian republics and most certainly Brazil.
Former president Brazilian President Luis Jose Inazio Lula Da Silva, or “Lula” is a committed Marxist revolutionary, as his hand picked successor, former underground terrorist leader Dilma Rousseff.
Luis Fleischman is one the few commentators to “get” the point. Writing for the Center for Security Policy, Fleischman’s new column A closer look at Brazil’s foreign policy exposes the folly of U.S. policy vis a vis communist led Brazil.
Latin America is increasingly turning into a geo-political and international challenge. On the one hand, Venezuela, under the leadership of Hugo Chavez, continues to support the Colombian narco-guerilla group known as the FARC. The FARC protects the activities of drug cartels, and cooperates with terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. On the other hand, a number of Southern Cone countries led by Brazil (and supported by Argentina and Uruguay) did not go as far as Venezuela but have conducted a foreign policy which is detrimental not only to the United States but to the free world, in general.
Brazil under the government of Jose Inazio Lula Da Silva took advantage of the country’s economic growth (which was the cumulative result of years of economic and developmental polices that began before Da Silva took office) to flex its muscles in the regional and international arena.
President Lula Da Silva surprised the world, when despite having a left-wing background plus having been a co-founder along with Fidel Castro of the anti-American Foro de Sao Paulo, appointed conservative figures to his cabinet. That move was aimed at maintaining the continuity of Brazil’s economic development which was pretty much based on the strong role and cooperation of the business community. The fact that Lula did not go left on domestic and economic polices led many people in the region and in Washington to believe that Brazil’s stand in the international arena would be similar…
…Castaneda pointed out Brazil’s foreign policy under Lula is closer to that of authoritarian China (with which Lula has astronomically increased commercial and political relations) than it is to the West.
Lula’s logic is of a political not economic nature. Like his fellows on the radical left, he dreams of a world with little American influence and claims a leadership role without offering any ideas that contribute to world peace: such as stability, human rights, opposition to international terrorism and nuclear proliferation ,or, any moral problems that have traditionally been the West’s preoccupation. Lula’s Brazil represents another version of Third World obsessed and outdated anti-colonialism. Under, a veil of sophistication (made possible due to comparisons with the ruthless and thuggish Hugo Chavez) Lula’s Brazil has become a negative force in the region (attracting Argentina and Uruguay, countries now run by two leaders who share Lula’s triumphalist attitude).
Brazil is largely seen by Western countries as an emerging economic power but not necessarily a reliable political player. Under the new Brazilian president, Dilma Rouseff, no change should be expected except for the worse since Ms. Rouseff is a former guerilla and as such is likely to strengthen the policies of her predecessor…
Read the complete article at New Zeal.
Update: On a lighter note, also from New Zeal:
