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| Latin America | |
| Argentines Cheer Fidel Castro’s Speech | |
| 2003-05-27 | |
| BUENOS AIRES - To the cheers of thousands of screaming Argentines, Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America in a speech Monday. He criticized the US? How unlikely! Castro, who attended Sunday's inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner, was on his first trip to this economically troubled South American country since 1995. Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Castro drew shouts of ``Ole! Ole! Ole!'' and ``Fidel! Fidel!'' as he spoke for more than two and a half hours outdoors on a crisp winter night. Hey! A short speech for Fidel! Castro began by paying homage to Argentina-born revolutionary Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara, who served as one of his top advisers during the 1959 revolution. ``He was a wonderful human being, extremely intelligent and cultured, and who had an enormous sense of solidarity,'' he said. "Which is why I sent him to Bolivia, to make sure he'd be killed and not be a threat to me!" Castro then compared his country's achievements in health care and education to levels attained by the United States in the same field. "We're just as good as the evil US, as long as you don't count availability of drugs, technology, life-saving therapies, vaccines, medical education and results!" But his criticism of the U.S-led war in Iraq drew the loudest applause. ``We send our "And the message is, 'Please send money.' Oh, not that message." The speech was organized by a student group and originally planned to be held in an auditorium at the University of Buenos Aires Law School, but was moved outdoors after thousands He also promised to finish his term, but I'm not taking bets. Earlier Monday, the Cuban leader met with Kirchner for almost an hour. Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa later said Castro had asked the new president to strengthen the countries' ties by appointing a new ambassador to Cuba What did the Argies get for that, I wonder?
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 Spot on, jlc. Argentina is a classic case of a nation in long-term decline. Few realize it now, but 100 years ago, many believed that Argentina was on the verge of great power status. It was easily the most advanced nation in Latin America, with by far the highest literacy rate, greatest degree of industrialization, and highest standard of living. Argentine nationalists still dream of this, but decades of chaos and mismanagement have frozen the country in the early 20th century; a sometimes quaint, sometimes sad, throwback to the mindset and culture of a much earlier age. Brazil, on the other hand, has progressed dramatically in the last half century. Argentines have difficulty accepting this, since, as JLC mentioned, they are far more "European" than the Brazilians. This kind of environment, an aggrieved sense of lost status and racial superiority, is an ideal breeding ground for fascism, something for which Argentina has been notorious for the past 70 years. The new alliance of extreme left and extreme right, always evident in Peronism, would be perfect for a resurgence of this. |
| Posted by: Piltdown 2003-05-27 14:17:20 |
| #7 When I visited Argentina, noticed that whenever I walked around downtown Buenos Aires, the streets were choked by thousands of expensively dressed and coiffed businessmen lazily strolling about. It didn't matter what time it was, the suits were promenading. Meanwhile, the slums on the city outskirts were seething. The criollo businessmen were getting paid well for doing nothing while the mestizo masses sat without any meaningful work. This dynamic has persisted for as long as Argentina has existed. Real good beef, though. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2003-05-27 12:44:49 |
| #6 Argentina is truly a pathetic nation. Do not even try and compare Argentines to Brazilians: different language, different people, different mind-set. The comment about the Argies main exposts being beef and grain, is spot on. Brazil, on the other hand, is the fourth largest manufacturer of airplains, and in August this year will have its third attempt at lifting a sattelite into orbit on a domesticly built booster (if successful, it will put this nation into a select group of countries with that capability). Yes, president Lula is a leftist, but he follows a long period of not very successfull center to center-right admin. This see-saw of politics is the natural order of a democracy, including the US. And in the 6 months Lula has been pres, the economy has done pretty good (not that I would credit him for it). Argentina, on the other hand, is a basket case. For a people who consider themselves superior to other Latin Amerincans because they are more "European", they have shown themselves to be consistently failure-prone. I read last year (during the middle of the Argie financial crisis), that the Argie standard of living had dropped to the level of Jamaica's. Hard to think that at the turn of the century it was one of the richest nations on earth. What a come-down! All this in not too surprising, however, when you consider the bull-headed assininity of the typical Argentine mentality. That thousands of them would show up to cheer with gusto a failed communist tyrant, is proof positive of this. |
| Posted by: jlc 2003-05-27 12:14:24 |
| #5 Did you know that in Cuba you get 'FREE' health care. Dr on every corner. "Aspirin, we got aspirin, Take two. And schooling, Si, take your chalk and board, grab a crate box and have a seat." Warm chicken broth tonight! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-05-27 11:09:10 |
| #4 Only two and a half hours for his speech? That's why they cheered. He usually runs five or more. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-27 09:13:13 |
| #3 Chile is the only latin american nation on a sound financial footing. Most of the rest seem to be drifting leftward, with financial ruin looming inevitably for them. Their foolishness will reap its own reward, but they will blame the US. A financially suicided latin america will be a fertile breeding ground for terrorists, financed by the drug trade. |
| Posted by: RB 2003-05-27 08:40:00 |
| #2 Ah the great trans-national sport of Latin America. Bashing the hated "Yankee" imperialists. If we were really imerialistic would we of stopped at the Rio Grande and the US Canadian borders. The masses in Argentina are still looking for Juan Peron to tell them that they are a great nation instead of a third world nation with faded glories. If they truely want to be a modern nation maybe they should learn to export something besides wheat and beef. The same major exports that they had 100 years ago. Kind of like sugar and Cuba |
| Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire 2003-05-27 05:21:30 |
| #1 Center left? Man, the leftists are making a resurgance in Latin America. Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, etc. Of course the non-leftists had a brief moment in the early 90's but they really made a hash of things down there. I don't think Kirchner is as worrisome as Chavez though. |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-05-27 02:50:40 |