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CUBA
NEWS
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Old friends Lula, Castro work on improving
business ties
HAVANA, 27 (AFP) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva departed Cuba, after visiting with
his old pal Fidel Castro and working to increase
business ties between their two countries.
Lula, Latin America's most influential democratically
elected leftist leader, arrived in Havana for
a 30-hour visit on Friday. The trip also helps
break Castro's increasing diplomatic isolation.
The Brazilian leader is arguably the most important
head of state to visit Cuba since Mexico's President
Vicente Fox in February 2002.
"Everything went very well. It was the best
visit that we've ever had," gushed Castro
as he bade farewell to Lula at the Havana airport.
Castro and Lula's friendship goes back 20 years,
when Lula was a labor union activist during Brazil's
hard-line military dictatorship.
Lula had no remarks on departure, but earlier
thanked Castro for the support he offered so many
years ago.
Castro described the Brazilian leader as "our
brother Lula" as he inaugurated a binational
meeting of business leaders in Havana, while Lula
urged private investors to "not fear becoming
multinational enterprises."
Even thouth Lula is a pro-democracy champion
in Brazil, he declined to accept requests to meet
Cuban dissidents and the families of political
prisoners during his two-day stay.
"I have plenty of problems in Brazil, and
neither I nor any respectable head of state can
come to a country to dictate rules on internal
politics," Lula said in Mexico before flying
to Cuba.
In two lengthly private meetings, the two leaders
focused on economic and commercial issues.
The United States and the European Union have
stepped up criticism of Havana's human rights
record, especially an April crackdown which saw
75 dissidents jailed for up to 28 years.
In return for European criticism, the Cuban authorities
this week refused a visa for the German government's
human rights envoy, Claudia Roth. The German government
called the decision "very disappointing".
Cuba also has refused to allow the top UN human
rights official to visit.
The Brazilian business delegation, numbering
some 50 executives, is interested in several sectors
of Cuba's economy including sugar, fishing, generic
medicines and vaccines, tourism and deep water
oil exploration.
Representatives of Brazil's national oil company,
Petrobras, are examining the restructuring of
Cuban oil refineries including the Cienfuegos
plant in central Cuba, as well as the modernization
of outdated equipment.
Brazilian oil men are also interested in recovering
unproductive offshore oil deposits, according
to a Brazilian source who was optimistic agreements
could be brokered.
Current trade between the two countries is relatively
modest; it totalled some 88 million dollars in
2002.
Brazil sold some 74 million dollars worth of
exports to Cuba last year compared with some 14
million dollars in Cuban sales in the other direction.
Albright Says Bush Should Do More To Bring
Democracy To Cuba
Mon Sep 29, 1:49 PM ET, WPLG Click10.com
When she was secretary of state, Madeleine Albright
was highly critical of Fidel Castro, and she still
is. Albright is in South Florida promoting her
new book, and stopped by Channel 10 to talk with
political reporter Michael Putney.
Putney said she is saying pretty much the same
thing about Castro as she did when secretary of
state -- that he's a tyrant and democracy must
come to Cuba.
In her new book, Albright recalls how she and
President Bill Clinton tried to find ways to promote
democracy in Cuba. But she says those efforts
were short-circuited by the shoot down of the
Brothers to the Rescue planes and the deaths of
four Cuban-Americans from Miami.
She recalls proudly how she went to the United
Nations and condemned, in tough language, the
Cuban pilots who shot down the two unarmed planes.
And now, she says the Bush administration should
do more to help Cuban dissidents like Osvaldo
Paya of the Varela Project. "I think (it
is) a remarkable project because it comes from
inside Cuba and Paya is a truly brave man, whom
I've met, and who is dedicated to making this
work. And the international community is doing
everything that it can to support him,"
The former secretary of state says not much will
change in Cuba as long as Castro is alive, but
the United States and Europe should work together
to create a plan for the day he dies to ensure
a smooth transition to democracy.
You can see the entire interview with Madeline
Albright, which covered a wide range of topics,
Sunday morning on "This Week in South Florida."
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