Brazil's Rousseff focuses on economy in Cuba visit

[Judi Lynn]

Brazil's Rousseff focuses on economy in Cuba visit
January 31, 2012
Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff began a tour of Cuba on Monday in a visit emphasizing trade and economic cooperation.

Rousseff was greeted at Havana's international airport in the afternoon by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. She waved to reporters but did not make any public statements before leaving by car.

Her office said the trip would seek to bolster trade between the two nations, which rose 31 percent from 2010 to hit a record $642 million last year.

Rousseff planned to meet with President Raul Castro on Tuesday in the capital and also tour the nearby port of Mariel, which is being expanded with the goal of turning the facility into a base for industry and oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

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[Peace Patriot]

1. Trade with CUBA?! My God, the sky will soon be falling!

I really love Dilma Rousseff. She seems to be an even tougher advocate for social justice and Latin American independence than her mentor, Lula da Silva (who was no slacker). Perhaps it was the torture she suffered at the hands of U.S.-backed fascists when she was young. That would tend to focus the mind.

[Judi Lynn]

3. She's incredibly strong. How many people can last through the torture she survived

during Brazil's dark time at the hands of the right-wing military dictatorship?

I will never forget this photo a DU'er posted here showing Dilma Rousseff sitting alone before a Brazilian court after having endured horrendous pain trapped in the "Pau de Arara," or "Parrot's Perch," a torture mechanism used in Brazil in the early days centuries ago to torture slaves.

[center]

The consciences of the judges apparently won't
let them hold their heads up in her presence.



"Pau de Arara" monument to remind Brazilians
of the triumph over the fascist military dictatorship.[/center]

[pampango]

2. Great. "(T)rade and economic cooperation" are good things for Brazil and Cuba. n/t