US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA1522

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY (TEXT - PARA 1) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC, PREL, BR 
SUBJECT: CUBA:  NSC-DIRECTED COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REVIEW 
REGARDING SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT 
 
REF: A. A) BRASILIA 1454 
     B. B) STATE 96300 
     C. C) 2004 BRASILIA 2938 
 
 1.  (U)  Text below is in response to reftel B tasking. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Brazil has close relations with Cuba and through 
engagement hopes to spread democratic values to the island. 
While the GOB is reluctant to criticize publicly the human 
rights policies of the Castro regime, behind the scenes the 
Brazilian government is often critical of both Cuba's lack 
of democratic process and human rights violations.  Much of 
this stems from the fact that senior leaders in the Lula 
Administration and the PT (i.e., the President's party) 
sought refuge in Cuba when confronted with persecution by 
Brazil,s former military government.  Brazil consistently 
abstains on UN resolutions critical of Cuba's policies, and 
this year the Brazilian government voted to abstain on the 
Cuba resolution at the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) 
in Geneva.  Analysts here note, however, that the GOB,s 
abstention reflects more worries that the issue has been 
politicized at the UNCHR than any desire to whitewash the 
abysmal human rights record of the Castro government. 
Brazilian NGOs and particularly Brazilian journalists tend to 
be less reticent than the Brazilian government in publicly 
criticizing Castro and Cuba's treatment of opponents to the 
regime.  In 2004, the Brazilian press attacked the GOB,s 
failure to speak out regarding the harsh sentencing dealt out 
to Cuban human rights activists; at that time, the 
Brazilian Senate passed a public resolution critical of the 
Cuban government's crackdown on the dissidents. 
 
3.  (SBU) With respect to Brazilian investment in Cuba, 
beyond the transactions reported in reftel B, the Brazilian 
petroleum parastatal Petrobras, in conjunction with 
Venezuela's PDVSA and a local Cuban partner,intend to 
construct a USD 20 million lubricant factory in Havana, Cuba. 
  While Petrobras sources note that under "ideal 
circumstances" the contract would be three-way, Cuban foreign 
ownership laws do not allow this as they only permit 
Petrobras and PDVSA to own a total of 49 percent. 
 
DANILOVICH