POLITICS-CUBA: Castro Back Home after Tour of ‘Brother’ Countries

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, May 18 2001 (IPS) - Cuban President Fidel Castro arrived home Friday after visiting several “brother countries” in Africa, Asia and the Middle East – his longest tour in years – in search of political and economic alliances.

Castro had avoided prolonged absences from the country during the economic crisis that lasted throughout the 1990s, but decided to make a nearly two-week trip to pay official visits to Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Syria and Libya, with a brief stop in Portugal.

The priority on the Cuban president’s work agenda was to establish common positions in order to counteract the “hegemonic power” of the United States, Castro’s “enemy number one” since he took power in 1959.

Only an alliance of the South, based on the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77, a coalition of 133 developing countries at the United Nations, can ensure the survival of these countries, the president has stated.

The tour took place just as Cuba launched a political offensive calling on Latin American and Caribbean governments to hold national plebiscites on participating in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a Canada-to-Chile accord that is being negotiated “under the aegis of Washington.”

Syrian parliamentarian Yasser Nehlawi said Wednesday that the visit of Cuba’s “maximum leader” would lead to “close cooperation, which will be concentrated at the level of international forums,” like the UN.

Nehlawi, rapporteur for the National Security Commission of Syria’s parliament, told the press that, in the case of his country, cooperation in confronting US hegemony will also be articulated through relations with China.

The search for international agreements was also evident in Castro’s visit to Qatar, the Gulf nation that has close ties with the United States, but criticises the economic embargo Washington has maintained against the Caribbean island for the last 40 years.

Last month in Geneva, Qatar joined 19 other countries to vote against a condemnation of Cuba at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, despite intense lobbying efforts from the United States, according to officials in Havana. The resolution to censure Cuba for its human rights record was passed, however, with 22 votes in favour.

Castro’s stop in Qatar included a trip to the Ras Laffan region, considered one of the world’s largest producers of natural gas.

The two governments intend to boost cooperative efforts in the areas of health, sports, education, culture, tourism, trade, and in the sharing of experiences, according to the media in the Arab nation.

Meanwhile, Malaysia reportedly granted Cuba loans worth 15 million dollars for palm oil purchases, and Castro is said to have extended an invitation to business leaders from the Asian country to invest in Cuba.

The Cuban president’s visit in Algeria resulted in the signing of a protocol of cooperation in the areas of health and trade, which should boost Cuba’s current exports of vaccines and medical equipment to that country and facilitate technology transfer.

The pharmaceutical industry also plays an important role in the island’s ties with Iran, where Cuba is helping build a plant to produce the Cuban hepatitis B vaccine and other medications.

Iran buys 100,000 tons of Cuban sugar each year, which makes up a large portion of the nearly 20 million dollars in annual bilateral trade.

Beyond consolidating political alliances and promoting economic accords, observers on the island commented that Castro’s tour may also have included intentions to seek alternatives for purchasing petroleum on credit.

Four of the six countries he visited (Algiers, Iran, Libya and Qatar) are members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is responsible for nearly 40 percent of the 77 million barrels of petroleum the world market demands each day.

Cuba and Venezuela (also an OPEC member) last year signed a broad cooperation accord that includes selling 53,000 barrels of crude to the island daily at market prices – under favourable terms of payment.

The Venezuelan quota covers 31 percent of Cuba’s daily demand, which is complemented with local production but still falls short.

Rumours about a petroleum shortage flourished prior to Castro’s return Friday. The words “no more oil” quickly spread Thursday when electrical service was interrupted in several Havana districts.

Workers at the related state-run enterprises consulted by IPS said that the supply of gasoline for vehicles needed for work purposes had been reduced to the minimum in recent days, and in some cases gas pumps had been shut down.

Local economists affirm that socialist-run Cuba is once again facing illiquidity of the state’s coffers, a situation that could be aggravated by the further decline in sugar yields – predicted to barely reach three million tons this year compared to over four million in 2000.

The government’s hopes are centred on the trend of rising sugar prices, nickel production and a boost in revenues from tourism.

In addition to the island’s complicated economic situation, Castro has once again run into the tensions in his government’s relations with the Latin American countries that voted in favour of censuring Cuba at last month’s sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Both Castro and his Foreign Minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, have made strong statements against Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Guatemala for their “anti-Cuba” votes in Geneva, and have referred to these countries as “puppets of the United States.”