Latin America was left unannounced by the war in Ukraine. Formal reactions range from outspoken condemnation of Colombia, Chile and Guatemala to expressions of solidarity with Putin from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.
Peru, Ecuador, Honduras and Mexico, the current leaders of the rotating UN Security Council presidency, have called for a ceasefire and talks.
Argentine foreign policy expert Juan Gabriel Tocatlian described the region’s response as “dramatic fragmentation”.
“There was no coordination,” Tocatlian, who is vice president of Torcuato Di Tello University in Buenos Aires, said in a televised interview. The Organization of American States (OAS) drafted a joint statement, he noted, adding, however, that many countries such as Uruguay, Jamaica, Argentina and Brazil avoided signing it.
Solidarity with Putin
Brazil’s response was strange: President Zaire Bolsonaro initially declared himself “neutral” but was later curbed by Vice President General Hamilton Murao. Mourao condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for military support in Kyiv. Brazil’s ambassador to the UN, meanwhile, said Russia had “crossed the red line”.
Just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Bolsonaro had traveled to Moscow and expressed explicit solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even Argentine President Alberto Fernandez offered his country as a gateway for Russian investment in Latin America.
By March 3, the diplomatic mess had been resolved. When the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Russia to end its violence against Ukraine and to refrain from any threat of a similar nature to another UN member state, a majority of Latin American countries voted in favor. Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador and Nicaragua abstained. Venezuela criticized the bill, but was not allowed to vote because the country has not paid its debts to the UN.
Old memories come to life again
As we deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, violations of international law may not have been the only thing on the minds of Latin American governments. They also have to deal with public opinion in their own countries. Images of bombed-out homes and fugitive civilians flickering on screens for days have sparked demonstrations of solidarity with Ukraine in Latin America.
At this point, there are no polls yet, but the invasions bring back bad memories in Latin America, including those of the US invasion of Panama. As Mexico’s ambassador to the UN Juan Ramon de la Fuente said: “Mexico has been attacked four times in its history and it knows very well what that means.”
To most people in the region, Russia is a distant, foreign country. Putin’s appeal is limited to a small, albeit very active, group of left-wing intellectuals on social media.
Russia, however, remains a strategically important partner for Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela – Russia is helping these countries circumvent US and European sanctions. Venezuela is almost entirely dependent on Russia for wheat imports.
As a result, the region is wary of sanctions against Russia. NATO partner Colombia is in favor of sanctions, while Mexico and Brazil are against. Brazil has an important reason to reject sanctions – it imports 69% of its fertilizer supply from Russia.
Sanctions remain controversial
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador opposes sanctions policies and has repeatedly condemned the US embargo on Cuba. However, Mexico is under considerable pressure from its free trade partner, the United States, with which it conducts almost 90% of its foreign trade.
The sanctions are a Damocles sword that hangs over another country in the region – El Salvador. The country declared bitcoin the official currency in 2021 and wants to issue government debt securities in this currency.
James Bosworth, author Latin American Risk Report, warned that anyone in the financial sector who continues to use Russian money could be subject to sanctions. “There is a very real risk that Russia will circulate money through these bonds,” he said.
Reactions from Latin America are likely to be disappointing for Putin as the Kremlin has stepped up its involvement in the region in recent years with arms deliveries to Venezuela, the opening of correspondent offices for Russia’s Sputnik news agency and the RT news channel. during the coronavirus pandemic, multimillion-dollar loans to Cuba and military exercises with Venezuela.
This article has been translated from German.
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