LATIN LEFTY MELTDOWN: The Castro Brothers Aren’t Feeling The Bern:
A huge U.S. delegation of officials, led by President Barack Obama, visited Cuba for the first presidential visit since the Coolidge years. The Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor and slew of less exalted officials were all in the entourage—an eyebrow-raising focus on Cuba, especially for an administration that says the U.S. should be pivoting away from Europe and the Middle East because they don’t matter so much anymore.
To some, this trip looks like a victory lap for a resurgent American Left. The Sandernistas (led by the Senator from Vermont himself) certainly think so. And some horrified conservatives noted the photo of Obama and his team with a giant image of Che in the background, forgetting past appearances where American presidents have appeared before or even under images of communist leaders like Mao, Ho and even Lenin himself. But if Che loomed in the background in Havana, Obama’s visit is more about the liquidation of Latin socialism than its triumph. With socialist parties in Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela all struggling to defend their poor economic records and corrupt politicians in the face of centrist opponents, Latin America isn’t feeling the Bern these days.
Even if this visit is overkill—and is more fanboy gushing than actual diplomacy—the United States actually does have some business to transact with Havana, if Raul is in the mood. Venezuela is a failing state, and Cuba could play a major role in preventing massive suffering in a neighboring Latin American country. It is as clear even to top Cuban communists as it is to Americans to the right of Sean Penn that the Chavez “revolution” was both a massive misadventure and the definitive failure of left-wing ideology in Latin America. If Venezuela, with some of the world’s largest oil reserves, managed to melt down after just a few years of Chavismo, its unlikely, to say the least, that poor Danny Ortega is going to make a go of Nicaragua, or that Haiti can pull itself up by its bootstraps by following the leftie playbook.
The Cubans understand what is happening in Venezuela very well. Not only do they have close intelligence links with Caracas, it was the realization that Venezuela could no longer prop up Cuba that led the Castro brothers to accept the opening with the U.S. in the first place.
As nobody knows better than the Castro brothers, Cuban socialism has never worked without a sugar daddy.
From college students to countries, it’s always the same with socialism.