The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

OPINION | The democratic defense of Latin America | CNN

2021-05-07T21:25:28.114Z


I have no doubt: for a little over 62 years, democracy has been threatened. | Opinion | CNN


Editor's Note:

Carlos Alberto Montaner is a writer, journalist, and CNN contributor.

His columns are published in dozens of newspapers in Spain, the United States and Latin America.

Montaner is also vice president of the Liberal International.

The following text was read during the forum "The democratic defense of Latin America", organized by the Interamerican Institute for Democracy, on May 5, 2021. The opinions expressed here are exclusively his.

(CNN Spanish) -

The objective of this forum is designated by its name: The democratic defense of Latin America.

We have less than seven minutes or 800 words to broach the subject.

Obviously, the most important question is: is Latin American democracy threatened?

And, if it is, what can be done to defend it?

I have no doubt: for a little over 62 years, democracy has been threatened.

Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, on January 1, 1959.

  • ANALYSIS |

    What you need to know about the political drama that makes you fear for democracy in El Salvador

Until then, the democracy of nations was affected locally by military broadsides that used to use nationalist pretexts.

It is true that Peronism had a certain urgency to act outside its borders, as was seen in 1948 –during the founding of the OAS– in Bogotá, but they were minor efforts.

It was Fidel Castro who came to power ready to subvert the international order.

As Commander Edén Pastora once told me in Madrid: "Fidel Castro's mentality was that of a nest of machine guns on the move."

Why Fidel Castro?

Because, for him, the goal was to "make revolution" constantly, to subvert order incessantly.

You do not have to look for the fifth foot of the cat.

It was like this since he was 18 years old, when he officially took off his middle name, Hipólito, and replaced it with Alejandro.

In school, Castro had learned that from a poor and dusty corner of the Greek world, such as the Macedonia of his time, Alexander the Great had undertaken the conquest of Persia and the world, and decided that Cuba was his Macedonia.

This is how Claudia Furiati explains it in her book "Fidel Castro: history will absolve me."

The conquering frenzy began in 1959. The first Cuban expedition was launched in April against Panama.

The second went to Nicaragua.

The third, to the Dominican Republic.

The fourth, against Haiti.

All in 1959.

From these failures, Havana tried to conquer countries much larger and more populated than the small island of Cuba.

According to the Argentine historian Juan Bautista (“Tata”) Yofre, Fidel did not even take into account the democratic character of Argentina during the government of Arturo Illía, or the case of Peru, then led by Fernando Belaúnde Terry, which denies the idea that Cuba was fighting against the military coup.

He fought to expand communist dictatorships and for his personal glory.

The apotheosis of that decade was the invasion of Venezuela by Machurucuto, the guerrilla of "Che" Guevara in Bolivia and the meeting of the Tricontinental forged in Havana, in August 1967. On that occasion, Cuba offered arms to 500 Colombian guerrillas.

Later, in 1981, the constitutional president of Colombia, Julio César Turbay Ayala, was forced to sever diplomatic ties with Havana due to Cuba's complicity with the guerrillas.

That happened in the last century.

Fidel died in 2016 and his brother Raúl has just retired, but nothing has changed in that regard.

Cuba continues to support the Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro, the Bolivia of Evo Morales, the Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega and the Colombian Gustavo Petro.

"Huevero dog, even if they burn his snout" say the peasants of Cuba.

And so it is.

But what can you do about this nest of machine guns on the move?

First, not to believe anything to that regime.

Obama was completely wrong in thinking that "engagement" was better than "containment."

  • The Communist Party of Cuba elects Miguel Díaz-Canel as its first secretary instead of Raúl Castro

Fortunately, Anthony Blinken, Joe Biden's Secretary of State has already warned that they expect Cuba to respect the human rights of Cubans before taking any step.

That's fine.

As it is correct to depend on the advice of Bob Menéndez, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, a great expert on the Cuban issue.

Second, Cuba must be given an ultimatum.

Either he stops supporting Maduro's narco-regime in Venezuela or he must face the consequences.

Third, this means that the "Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance" could be resorted to, as Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1965 before invading the Dominican Republic, although it is doubtful that Latin American countries today mostly support that instrument of the Cold War.

The communist regime is at its worst.

Very few people support him.

It has the logical rejection of the entire population, especially young people.

Perhaps the credible threat of invasion is enough to twist the insecure arm of Miguel Díaz-Canel.

It should not be forgotten that Ike Eisenhower ruled for eight years threatening the Soviets with a withering response if they threatened the United States.

He never clarified what a "withering response" was.

It is uncomfortable to think that force could be used, but perhaps there is no other choice.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-05-07

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-15T05:16:26.530Z
News/Politics 2024-03-08T11:18:06.490Z
News/Politics 2024-02-21T05:05:38.247Z
News/Politics 2024-02-27T05:16:22.312Z
News/Politics 2024-02-07T05:26:20.319Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.