Proponents of President Barack Obama’s détente with Cuba have argued that it will push other regional leaders to offer more vocal support for democracy and human rights in the region, but Brazil appears to have not followed through.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Obama’s decision to normalize relations and ease some sanctions on Cuba has proved popular with Latin American governments at the Summit of the Americas. Backers of the rapprochement expressed hope that more countries, such as regional power Brazil, would assume tougher stances against violations of human rights:
"Despite really significant remaining differences in the region, by sweeping aside the Cuba problem I think you are going to see more leaders step up to the plate more on human rights and democracy," said Arturo Valenzuela, the State Department’s former top diplomat for the region and a professor at Georgetown University.
He predicted regional powers such as Brazil might reward the American reconciliation with a tougher stand on Venezuela; already few countries at the summit outside of Venezuela’s closest allies joined its railing against the recent American sanctions.
However, Keith Harper, the U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, sharply criticized Brazil in a recent interview with the Brazilian newspaper Internacional. Harper said Brazil abstained to vote on resolutions that allowed U.N. officials to continue documenting human rights abuses in Syria and Iran:
Brazil’s vote at the 28th Session of the Human Rights Council was a disturbing shift from the traditional positions of the country. In previous sessions, Brazil supported several resolutions on specific countries, including Syria and Iran. By not supporting this resolution, Brazil aligned with the position taken by some of the worst violators of human rights in the world, even when the Assad regime continues to drop bombs on its own population.
President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, who has previously declined to condemn rights abuses in Venezuela, has become ensnared in a corruption scandal that has sapped her domestic popularity. She will travel to Washington in June for a state visit.