Uruguay’s Mujica Criticizes Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua
By Francisco Acevedo
HAVANA TIMES – Of course, it didn’t appear on Cuba’s National Television News, but on social media, the recent words of former Uruguayan President Jose (Pepe) Mujica gained traction. He expressed a harsh stance on the regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
“That doesn’t work,” he said first about Cuba, distinguishing it somewhat from the other two by noting that in Cuba, the dictatorship of the proletariat and a single-party system (the Communist Party) were implemented, which requires a different standard of evaluation.
Despite this distinction, Mujica’s harsh words make it clear that, in his view, the Cuban model is ineffective. He confessed that he does not agree with that system “as a method.” “But China does the same, Vietnam the same, and we say nothing. We’re hypocrites; we negotiate with them, and everything is fine,” he added.
In August of last year, it was reported that Mujica and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva planned to visit Cuba before the end of 2023 to “convince” the island’s regime to promote greater openness in its economy and international relations.
For Mujica, the matter was more delicate, as Uruguay’s presidency is currently held by Luis Lacalle Pou, one of the Latin American leaders most critical of Havana.
I recall Lacalle Pou’s sharp exchange during the 2021 Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), where, in front of Miguel Diaz-Canel, he recited a verse from the song Patria y Vida —the anthem of the July 11th widespread protests that year.
According to former US President Barack Obama, in a 2017 interview in Spain, Mujica, considered one of the most popular leaders in Latin America, mediated negotiations for the release of US contractor Alan Gross and the subsequent thaw in US-Cuba relations. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Mujica was seen as a potential mediator once again.
However, the joint trip by Mujica and Lula —who share a past deeply rooted in leftist union and guerrilla movements— never materialized. Both endured imprisonment in the 1980s (Lula was detained for a month in 1980 for inciting workers to strike, while Mujica spent 12 years in a cell from 1973 to 1985 during Uruguay’s military dictatorship).
While Lula did visit Cuba in 2023 to participate in the Group of 77 Summit in September and met with Miguel Diaz-Canel, but the matter was handled discreetly.
In a recent interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Mujica criticized the governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua, accusing them of “playing at democracy” without respecting its fundamental principles.
Mujica said his greatest frustration comes when these governments hold elections and then manipulate or falsify the results. “It infuriates me when they play at democracy, hold elections, and then, depending on the outcome, they manipulate or commit fraud. That makes no sense,” he said.
Mujica also sought to exclude the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez from this criticism, acknowledging his ties with Chavez but emphasizing the difference between Chavez and his hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro: “Chavez lost an election and accepted it,” he said, without elaborating, but later implying the difference involved in the manipulated elections under Maduro.
In 2019, Mujica, now 91, said Maduro had “destroyed Chavez’s legacy,” describing him as a dictator. Earlier in October 2023, in an interview with the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador, Mujica criticized both Venezuela and Nicaragua, stating: “They’re indefensible as they stand today. On the one hand, they play at democracy, but they lack the courage to say, ‘We stand for the dictatorship of the proletariat.’”
“At the end of the day, that’s what Cubans decided. It may be a disaster, but it’s a political decision they made long ago. These others play at democracy, but when the results don’t go their way… well, it’s a joke,” commented the former president of Uruguay (2010–2015).
Recovering from esophageal cancer and living a peaceful life on his modest farm, Mujica occasionally emerges to the public spotlight through interviews. While he often speaks about his country, he also addresses regional issues, as in this case.
Mujica’s recent remarks were not well received in Havana, where the Cuban state media entirely ignored them. However, they reflect the disappointment of someone who once believed in the ideals of the Cuban Revolution and witnessed their betrayal.
While Mujica remains a communist, he recognizes that the model has failed in practice. He also values democracy, two elements he believes are incompatible, as history has shown from the Soviet Union to Eastern Europe, and now in three Latin American nations, as well as China and Vietnam, all criticized for their human rights and democracy records.
Unlike the Asian countries with market-oriented economies, Cuba clings to its failed socialist system, which has left the country in ruins, deeply indebted, and reliant on others for basics like maintaining electricity for its population.
It would have been beneficial for Mujica to speak with Diaz-Canel, communist to communist, but there’s nothing Mujica could tell Diaz-Canel that he doesn’t already know. Diaz-Canel simply refuses to acknowledge certain truths and continues doing whatever it takes to stay in power.
Meanwhile, the Cuban people endure blackouts… until their patience runs out.