Pablo Jofre Leal
Today, in the international concert, the United States and its allies seek to counteract the growing influence of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This, in terms of concretizing a vision and practice of a multilateral policy that breaks with the hegemony that since the end of the socialist camp has had Washington and its allies with a predominance that has meant unipolarity, destabilization, invasions, aggressions and the death of millions of human beings.
This has been the case since the second Gulf War in 1991, which was the first invasion of Iraq. The aggression against Serbia, the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for two decades, then again the war against Iraq in 2003, which meant twenty years of occupation. Syria since 2011. The war against Libya, its fragmentation and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Yemen attacked by a coalition led by Washington and with Saudi Arabia as executor, a war that has been going on for 8 years. Color revolutions in former countries of the socialist camp, coups such as the one in Ukraine in 2014 with the aim of encircling Russia and at the same time increasing the incorporation of European countries to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO.
The work in Latin America, especially of those who wish to break the ties of U.S. supremacy, which finds its roots from the very moment of our formal independence under the Monroe Doctrine, aims to weaken and even eliminate that influence, which is harmful to our peoples, both in their foreign policy, as well as in domestic policy: Interference in the internal affairs of the countries, economic, technological and military dependence and, above all, a policy of pressure, which in the face of independent behavior has as a response sanctions, blockades, embargoes, destabilization actions and even coups d’état if the above is not enough. Since March 2022, with the beginning of the Russian military operation of denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, Washington’s policy of global destruction and the emphasis on defending interests thousands of kilometers away from its borders, with full support to the government of Kiev – as it had been doing since the coup d’état of February 2014 – to the detriment of its international obligations, has negatively influenced the situation of the world, mainly economic, of Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington’s behavior has turned a war, localized in a specific sector, into a global conflict, involving the 30 NATO members and the demand that other governments assume an anti-Russian stance.
The West is trying to impose its anti-Moscow agenda on Latin American countries to join sanction policies and, by extension, on China, Iran and all those who seek a different path from the global dictatorship of the United States.
In 2021 the trade exchange between Russia and Latin American countries reached a figure of more than 20 billion dollars, which in 2022 decreased by 6% as a result of that pressure. In connection with the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, to Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in April last year, the importance acquired by the Latin American market for Russia came to light, and at the same time the realization that most of the countries of the continent have refused to enter into the dynamics of a sanctions policy against the government presided by Vladimir Putin. The governments of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico are well aware of the mutual potentialities in the development of trade with the Russian Federation (1).
An illustrative example of the independent path that Latin American countries are taking is marked by the Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who in a historic agreement with China established bilateral trade in local currencies; the direct use of the Chinese yuan and the Brazilian real, with the exclusion of the dollar as a method of payment. The de-dollarization of this economy between both giants has meant a hard blow, and ultra-right-wing American politicians such as the Republican Marco Rubio, have resented this determination, anticipating the end of American hegemony, and with total nonchalance has said that this development means that in a short time they will not be able to sanction countries (2), thus demonstrating that the American currency is simply an instrument of pressure against nations. From Moscow it has been announced that the idea is to establish a system of payments in the respective national currencies in the American continent as a whole, from Mexico to Argentina, as well as with Asia and Africa. The objective is to de-dollarize and avoid the use of the Euro in commercial operations, but “with a framework where commercial exchange is constant and balanced, which will make it possible to work in the new format of mutual payments” (3).
U.S. pressure continues unabated; it is the blows of a wounded beast in the face of political processes aimed at eliminating the harmful dependence of the U.S. on our continent. There are close economic relations between Russia and Latin America, which must be intensified, but in 2022, under pressure from Joe Biden’s administration, the governments of Latin America had to desist from beneficial common projects in both directions. Washington’s behavior makes concrete that maxim of the dog in the manger that “does not eat and does not permit us to eat”, intensifying the economic crisis that a large part of the American continent is going through. All this is confirmed by a report of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean – ECLAC – which states that the main negative consequences of the conflict in Ukraine for Latin America are the deceleration of economic growth, the weakening of the productive structure, an increase in inflation at galloping rates and a very slow recovery of the labor market. In addition to the financial risks, uncertainty persists regarding the effects – on the world and on the region – that could result from the prolongation of the war in Ukraine and the increase in geo-economic fragmentation on economic growth, raw material prices and world trade (4).
American emphasis
Russia’s policy of rapprochement with Latin America brings to light analyses of little importance, which reflect the profound ignorance regarding the foreign policies of the Russian Federation with conclusions that are frankly unacceptable from the point of view of a professional in the international field, as is the case of Chilean lawyer, Ms. Carolina Valdivia Torres, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, who in a column written for La Tercera , opines that “Russia is far from being an economic power and does not seem to be a military power either”. (5) To Ms. Valdivia’s knowledge, Russia’s GDP, equivalent to 1.78 trillion dollars, occupies 11th place among the largest economies in the world, yet has the capacity to resist the policy of maximum pressure from the West, the suspension of imports and even the destruction of gas pipelines (Nord Stream) to prevent its international trade with partners forced to follow in Washington’s footsteps.
A humble word of advice: Mrs. Valdivia should, as a minimum requirement, take into account what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself points out that despite a year of conflict, Russia has improved its economic indicators or the World Bank data, which indicate that Russia returned to the top 10 economies globally at the end of 2022 for the first time in eight years, according to the data of this international institution and national statistical services. In 2022 the Russian federation produced goods and services worth $2.3 trillion, which placed it eighth in the world on this indicator. The last time Russia was among the top 10 economies was in 2014, when it ranked ninth with $2.05 trillion. In 2021, the country was eleventh on the list (6). On the military level Russia is the second world military power in all areas to be considered: nuclear weapons, conventional, number of aircraft, armored vehicles, tanks, missile system, in the aerospace field. Perhaps Ms. Valdivia would have preferred a military operation in Ukraine of unstoppable military force “in shape” according to her impression and thus demonstrate its effectiveness. Ms. Valdivia’s analysis is totally lacking in depth as it does not take into account that Russia is not confronting Ukraine, but NATO as a whole, with Kiev serving as its spearhead.
The sum of the analysis of the Chilean Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs refers that Putin’s government “seeks above all to promote political alliances favorable to Moscow”. Has anyone reading this article ever thought that the foreign policy of a country, whatever it may be, seeks to promote relations with enemies or rather with those who serve the interests of those enemies, instead of those allied or more favorable to establishing political, military, economic and other cooperation agreements? The Russian ambassador to Chile, Serguei N. Koshkin, told a media outlet that “it would be strange if Russia did not give priority to those countries, which according to the author herself, carry out policies favorable to Moscow, and vote in such a way in international organizations. It sounds strange that Ms. Carolina Valdivia accuses Russia of supporting those countries. Following the logic of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Russia should develop relations with the countries that proclaim themselves to be against it in international organizations (7).
Let us recall that Latin America openly rejected Washington’s call to supply arms to Ukraine as it implies affecting its relations not only with Russia, but also with China. Not even the Ibero-American Summit last March managed to unify an anti-Russian position, unlike a Europe that marches like a sheep to the slaughter by the hand of its American shepherd.
Undoubtedly, the Russian Federation should and is within its legitimate right to broaden its range of relations. It marks its presence in Latin America as an objective of its Foreign Ministry is one of those evidences and becomes an important fact in the framework of a European crisis, the impulse of a hybrid war against Moscow promoted by Washington and to which the European countries have irresponsibly joined, which today in their societies are paying for that decision in aspects of their daily life: high cost of living, purchase of gas and oil four times the price they once paid to Russia and above all the symbolic element of having become the backyard of the United States, replacing in that unseemly category a Latin America that has taught Europe what dignity and sovereignty are.
References
1 – At the beginning of Lavrov’s Latin American tour, the Russian Foreign Ministry published last Sunday a communiqué assuring that “Latin America is a friendly region […] with which Russia intends to maintain a dynamic dialogue and develop a constructive cooperation that is not subject to any external dictates” https://www.hispantv.com/noticias/rusia/564220/visita-lavrov-latam-eeuu
2 – Sputnik. 03 April 2023. “Marco Rubio complains of the imminent collapse of Western hegemony.” Brazil, which is the largest state in the western hemisphere south of us, signed a trade agreement with China whereby they decided to trade in national currencies. Bypassing the dollar. These countries are creating a parallel economy completely independent of the United States. In just five years we won’t be able to dictate anything to anyone with sanctions, by then there will be so many countries trading with their money instead of the dollar that we simply won’t be able to sanction them all.” https://sputniknews.lat/20230403/marco-rubio-se-queja-del-inminente-colapso-de-la-hegemonia-occidental-1137664587.html
4 – ECLAC Report. 20 April 2023. Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 1.2% in 2023 in a context of growing uncertainties. https://www.cepal.org/es/comunicados/economias-america-latina-caribe-creceran-12-2023-un-contexto-crecientes-incertidumbres
7 – Article by Russian Ambassador to Chile Sergei N. Koshkin “Russian foreign policy in Latin America. 24 April 2023. https://www.elciudadano.com/columnas/la-politica-exterior-de-rusia-en-latinoamerica/04/24/
Translation by Internationalist 360°
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 