“Brazil makes efforts for Mariel to be a great commercial, economic, political and strategic success for Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America”

Interview of Cesario Melantonio Neto, Brazilian Ambassador in Cuba

by Hedelberto López

Source: Rebelión

The Brazilian ambassador to Cuba, Cesario Melantonio Neto, recently arrived in the Caribbean Island had the privilege of being accompanied by the Presidents of both nations, Dilma Rousseff and Raúl Castro in the inauguration of the Special Zone of Development of Mariel on January 28, 2014.

This time also, Havana was hosting the 2nd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with a delegation participating members of the South American giant.

Just three months after that event I talked with the diplomat to learn about factors of bilateral relations, Latin American integration and the economic situation of Brazil among other important subjects. 

--- How would you define the relations between Cuba and Brazil? What are the main lines of exchange and to what sum? 

--- Relations between Brazil and Cuba are very good and important and improving and growing constantly. The commercial exchange of last year reached almost 700 million dollars. About 600 million dollars in Brazilian exports and about 90 million dollars in Cuban imports; but the interest of Brazil are to reduce the surplus in our favor that is very large. We are going to make an effort to identify sectors of the Cuban economy that can be produced for the large Brazilian market. 

One of the areas we view with much interest is biotechnology and pharmaceutical products. In any case Cuban exports last year, 90%, were medicines. Collaboration between Brazilian and Cuban laboratories is very important.

--- Can tell us of the agreement for Cuban doctors in your country. How has been their integration and what is the opinion of the population and Brazilian authorities? 

-- With the arrival last month, March, we completed almost 12 000 doctors, the number the Brazilian government had asked Cuba and up to now the integration has been very good because these physicians, in addition to quality, have experience gained in other countries and as Latin Americans the cultural adaptation, mental and professional is not so difficult. 

Also we know that some Brazilian municipalities where they have been placed never had a doctor, nor paramedic nor nurse. This is the first opportunity in their life, for these poor people, to count on attention, made available by the Brazilian State with the help of Cuban doctors. Like the three year contract, at the end of this time it will be one of the factors of approximation between these two countries because this is a program that has an essence much more important than the relations between governments. It is a relation between peoples. As explained by president Dilma Rousseff 33 million Brazilians in just four months have been attended by these [physicians and by the end of the year they will be 50 million

You can imagine how many Brazilians in two or three years will be attended by Cuban doctors. It will be one of the largest factors of approximation between our two peoples.

The opinion of the population is very good because Brazil has 202 million inhabitants, in spite of the efforts of the government of presidents Luis Ignacio (Lula) da Silva and Dilma Rouseff we have 22 million, more or less 10% of the population below the line of poverty. They are persons who survive with only 60 dollars a month that is not enough to pay the rent, electricity, water or even the minimum amount of food for their family and much less medical attention. All, about 50 million need help from the State to have at least some medical attention because they cannot pay private attention.

In this very important social context the Cuban doctors have arrived. Of the 6 000 municipalities 800 have no medical attention for poor persons. 

--- Referring to the Special Zone of Economic Development of Brazil in which Brazil has a broad collaboration How re the Works progressing? How many Brazilian companies have announced their participation? 

--- As you know President Dilma Rousseff was in Cuba in January to inaugurate the first part and many Brazilian companies expressed their interest and includes Odebrecht, the most important that has been working in several sectors in Cuba. They worked in Mariel as suppliers and subcontractors. The total number of Brazilian companies that supplied work in Mariel reaches close to 400. In the follow up of this Brazilian effort for Mariel to be a great commercial, economic, political and strategic success for Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America. In March we organized a visit of more than 30 directors of small and medium size companies who visited the Special Zone of Development. They met with the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, and other Brazilian business persons have been in Cuba for several years and offered their experience. We are doing work of commercial promotion and in the recent Fair of Construction that was based in Pabexpo eight Brazilian companies participated. In Mariel there will also be a sector on tourism and in the first week of may 80 directors of the Brazilian sector will arrive in Cuba to participate in the Fair that will be in Havana, to increase the flow of visitors from our country and convince business persons to invest in the Island. There are many possibilities in maintaining, administrating and building new hotels. These days I spoke to the new Brazilian minister of tourism and am preparing his visit to Cuba. 

--- What do you think are the main achievements of Latin American integration and its challenges?

--- For me the best boost has been the CELAC Summit since we had a preview in Havana with the participation of more than 30 Heads of State and Government under the direction of Cuba and its president, Raúl Castro. CELAC was a project that had a process since it began several years ago and delayed a little to be institutionalized. In my opinion the Cuban presidency moved forward largely and was consolidated. Today it is a more detailed project of functioning and now with the direction of Costa Rica, CELAC should continue in this direction. 

--- How do you evaluate the march of the economy of Brazil, in the general sense, when some companies and even financial agencies try to minimize it. What is the Gross Domestic Product of insertion within BRICS?

--- This is a good question in the current context of presidential elections this October. I think that the foreign view and even within the country on the economy are very different. As said in Portuguese, you are taking up to much ink on a foreign focus.

Brazil is not a country depended on exports as so many others that even do it with 50%. We do it very little because we have a large internal market that is growing constantly.

Our Gross Domestic Product depends only on 15% of exports and 85% on the internal market. That is why that the international crisis, such as that of 2008 has little effect on our market.

There is the security of a national project that for years has given more importance to integration of more consumers of the population to avoid foreign dependence. The Integration with BRICs is very relevant in the current context of development in which political and commercial nations group in situations of economic crisis such as in the Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States. Brazil is very interested in strengthening this group and the next summit will be in our country immediately after the World Cup of Football. For me it is like CELAC and although BRICS has had bit more of time in existence we must institutionalize it even more.

It is possible that in the next meeting the first step will be taken create a Bank of the group to help the development of those nations. 

Translation by Network in Defense of Humanity

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