22 - 28 February 2001
Issue No.522
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 22 - 28 February 2001 Issue No.522 |
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Licking Uncle Sam's boots
An unexpected, rapidly escalating crisis erupted between Argentina and Cuba when Fidel Castro described Argentina as a "yankee boot-licker", a new height of rhetorical bravado from a man not exactly known for diplomatic niceties. Castro was referring to the fact that Argentina's supposedly left-leaning government voted last year in support of a United Nations resolution, proposed by the United States, which condemned Cuba's human rights record.
That vote rankled for a number of reasons. Argentina is not just any country in the minds of Cubans; it is the homeland of Ernesto Che Guevara, a popular leader of the Cuban revolution and, to many, its most illustrious representative abroad. Furthermore, the resolution was approved only by the thinnest of margins, increasing the importance of Argentina's vote. To make matters worse, this year there were rumours that Argentina would not only vote in support of a similar UN resolution, but would in fact sponsor it, thereby providing "cover" for several countries eager not to be seen as US lackeys to vote for it.
Many observers speculate that Castro's intention was not to prevent an anti-Cuban vote by Argentina, but to make it difficult for the latter to sponsor the resolution. He has probably succeeded, as the diplomatic fuss makes it nearly impossible for Argentina to act as a sponsor.
Prior to the "boot-licking" speech, there were signs that Argentina's Foreign Ministe Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini was in favour of obliging the US. Warm ties with the US government are especially important to the Argentine government right now, some observers have suggested, as International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance to Argentina requires US support. Also, incoming American President George W Bush is an unknown quantity whose friendship has to be eagerly sought. What better way to curry favour with him than to make appropriately anti-Castro noises, especially considering that Bush owes his victory, tenuous as it was, to the state of Florida, hotbed of anti-Castro Cubans?
Such an analysis is almost certainly unfair to Giavarini, who is hardly as Machiavellian as all that. He is, however, believed to be more right-oriented than other members of the government, so it is possible that he contemplated sponsoring the anti-Cuba resolution on principle alone. Either way, Castro's harsh attacks have short-circuited any such plans.
Castro's victory has cost him dearly: Reaction across the Argentine political spectrum was largely negative. More importantly, Argentine political figures who had begun lobbying against an anti-Cuban vote this year complained that Castro had greatly weakened their position. Thus Castro may have averted an Argentine-sponsored resolution, but not necessarily an Argentine vote against Cuba on the issue of human rights.
The point is a sore one for many Argentineans, for whom Castro has become the emblem of an age. So great was his prestige at one point that late president of Argentina Juan Peron, at a time when he was veering noticeably to the right, found it desirable to make a point of being friendly to Cuba's high-profile leader. Nor did the right-wing junta which terrorised Argentina from 1976 to 1983 shrink from seeking -- and obtaining -- Cuba's support over the Malvinas-Falklands issue. The Argentine left is still inclined to defend Castro in public, even though it has ceased to be fashionable to do so elsewhere.
Argentina's left was calling for a genuine debate on the matter, suggesting that, while ties with the US may be a priority, support for US views on Latin American issues should not be automatic. The leftists may not have lost the battle entirely, although they certainly succeeded in irritating President Fernando de la Rua, who, weary of their criticism, reminded them that he was responsible for foreign policy decisions.
The only remaining uncertainty is whether Argentina will, in fact, vote to condemn Cuba or will abstain. Further deterioration in relations is not likely. While Giavarini recalled Argentina's ambassador in Havana in protest, he expressed no desire to sever ties. For his part, Castro refrained from recalling his ambassador in Buenos Aires.
Indeed, Cuba went on to vote in support of an Argentine candidate as head of the UN Human Rights Committee. Although this was probably an endorsement of the candidate himself rather than of the Argentine government, it went a long way towards restoring a measure of goodwill between the two countries.
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