Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
Although no defeat is forever, when it happens, it forces us to reflect on its causes and consequences. The left in Latin America is going through dark times. Country after country is witnessing a rejection of left-wing administrations. Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras. The picture is clear. Cuba and Colombia are next in line for the guillotine. Guatemala has just expelled Cuban doctors from its country. Mexico and Brazil practice a form of leftism whose priority is to maintain good relations with Washington.
The lure of this process of weakening the Latin American left, after more than 20 years of boom and governmental strength, is what is happening around the harassment and eventual overthrow of the Cuban regime. The most important sign that raises the specter of the collapse of the Cuban Revolution is the lack of global solidarity with the island, especially from Latin America. Few countries, and even fewer governments, are expressing solidarity with Cuba beyond mere statements. Russia and China give their full support to Cuba, while doing nothing to translate that verbal solidarity into concrete action.
The clearest indicator that the United States will have ample room to promote regime change in Cuba is precisely due to the international isolation of the island’s government. It will ultimately fall because it has insisted on keeping the dictatorship afloat through repression, a lack of democratic spaces, a growing number of political prisoners, and an economic model that enriches the 1% of the ruling nomenclature. Ultimately, the Cuban regime defeated itself by losing its consensus abroad and with dwindling support at home. The same thing happened to the Venezuelan dictatorship, incidentally.
The only Latin American country that actively does anything in solidarity with Cuba is Mexico. Mexico used to send oil to Cuba until Washington banned it. It now sends medicine and food without knowing their final destination, as that depends on the Cuban government’s use of the Mexican donations. For now, national groups supporting cancer patients are protesting because the federal government is sending oncology products to Cuba that are lacking in Mexico.
But Mexico’s own solidarity is merely lip service. Gone are the days when contingents of thousands of students, peasants, workers, and intellectuals mobilized in support of the Cuban revolution. The Morena party, a historic ally of the Communist Party of Cuba, denounces the siege of Cuba and condemns the new imperialism. But it is either unable or unwilling to mobilize its militants in support of Venezuela and Cuba.
The Mexico City Department of Public Safety reported the following events today, Sunday, February 15:
11 a.m. Association of Cuban Residents in Mexico’ José Martí’ A.C. In the capital’s main square. Fundraising campaign in solidarity with Cuba and in opposition to the U.S. blockade. Attendance: 50 people.”
Another event: “11 a.m. Jardín Hidalgo, Coyoacán. Coyoacán Popular Assembly Against Imperialism. An event in solidarity with Venezuela and Cuba. Attendance: 100 people. “
Finally:” 12 noon. Cuban Embassy. Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba and the Communist Party of Mexico. Rally for Cuba and its Revolution. Attendance: 40 people
These three events sum up a reality that the left must face. The credibility and legitimacy of the regimes that the left has traditionally supported in Latin America, especially Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, have evaporated under the weight of the dictatorial practices of their respective governments.
To break out of its international isolation and re-enter the governing ranks in the region, the Latin American left will have to learn to respect democratic norms such as the alternation of power, the rights to freedom of expression and the press, accept free elections, and reject alliances with drug traffickers.
The lesson is clearly aimed at Mexico. Claudia Sheinbaum remains determined to impose an autocratic system with control over judges, Congress, and elections, stifling freedom of expression and the press and allying herself with organized crime. The time for such authoritarian practices is running out, while Mexico is becoming more exposed to international isolation. Learn the lesson from Cuba. The final fall can be as cruel as it is unexpected.
@rpascoep
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