By Sam Dillon
The New York Times, December
8
In the 1960s, Mexico stood alone among Latin American countries, defying Washington's entreaties to break relations with Communist Cuba.
In the first two decades of Castro's revolution, Mexico was the only major Latin country whose guerrillas he refused to train. Castro even held his tongue in recent years, as Mexico has mostly abandoned its "anti-Yankee" foreign policy in favor of closer economic integration with the United States.
But last week, Castro suddenly abandoned his discretion.
Addressing an economic conference in Havana, he derided contemporary Mexican policies, criticizing the North American Free Trade Agreement, accusing the Mexican government of turning its back on the third world and of letting American culture overwhelm Mexican traditions.
"When they ask Mexican children," Castro said, "'Who is the father of your country?' it's possible that many don't know."
"But they sure know Mickey Mouse," he added, to the nervous titters of diplomats and economists.
Foreign Minister Rosario Green, who recently made a cordial visit to Havana, called in the Cuban ambassador, Curbelo Padron, to express "deep puzzlement" over the outburst and called the Mexican envoy in Cuba back here for consultations.
A congressman from President Ernesto Zedillo's governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, Francisco Javier Santillan Oceguera, called Castro's remarks an intervention in Mexico's internal affairs.
The president of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Congress, Julio Faesler, urged Castro to "keep in mind that we Mexicans feel sorry about the lack of success he's had with his own economic development."
Some analysts suggested that Castro had aimed his remarks at former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who engineered the Nafta accord. But there was little evidence of that, because Salinas visited Havana recently and seems to enjoy excellent relations with Castro.
Other experts suggested that Castro, sensing the PRI's potential defeat in presidential elections in 2000, was currying favor with opposition parties.
Edelmiro Castellanos, a Cuban journalist here, saw a wider motive: that Castro was seeking to rebuild bridges to leftists all over Latin America, many of whom have grown disenchanted with him. "His image with the left is in tatters," Castellanos said.
A Brazilian Socialist, Luiz Inacio da Silva, whose movement has included some of Castro's most enthusiastic supporters, criticized Castro this fall because the Cuban has forged cozy relations with the Brazilian government, which da Silva views as conservative.
Castro's backing among prominent Mexican intellectuals has cooled in recent years. A political scientist, Sergio Aguayo, has traced Mexican leftists' irritation back to 1988 when Castro was one of the few world leaders who supported PRI claims that Salinas had legitimately won presidential elections.
When Castro attended Salinas' inauguration, Aguayo and other intellectuals were invited to meet him at dinner. Castro launched into a long monologue about the time that he spent in Mexico in 1956, preparing his insurgency.
"It was an offensive situation," Aguayo said.
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company