"Fidel's Out to Fire up Latin American Debtors," BusinessWeek, July 15, 1985.

Main Point

Fidel Castro has invited trade union leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean to Havana to discuss the region's huge foreign debt crisis, in hopes of gathering political momentum to Latin American debtors' pleas for more favorable terms and economic assistance. But some union leaders sense that Castro is more inclined to manipulate, than assist, the union workers to act against government economic programs.

Summary

"The official purpose of the meeting is to create more pressure against the economic austerity programs that are being enforced in many of the major debtor countries." But others see Castro's initiative as a way to drive a wedge between labor unions and governments in many of the largest debtor nations. The passive responses by workers of Latin America to austerity programs imposed by the IMF differ from the more militant vision of Castro. Should he succeed in changing the their response, then governments of the debtor nations will have great difficulty adhering to harsh economic programs and repayment of foreign debt.

Two of Brazil's largest unions and the Confederation of Mexican Workers have given a positive response to such a meeting but others are wary. Latin American governments too sense a "hypocrisy in Castro's move. They note that while the Cuban leader wants other countries to repudiate their loans, he is busy negotiating Cuba's third debt rescheduling."

Mark Cardenas