MONTEVIDEO.- Uruguay has always had a very valuable asset at the regional level: an intelligent foreign policy that, with pragmatism and a sense of national interest, knew how to adapt to the inevitable ups and downs of global geopolitics. Unfortunately, this is something that the various governments of the Wide front They didn’t appreciate it and didn’t know how to take care of it. Something that is perceived more expressively today than ever before.
Today, this global geopolitics is undergoing radical change. The rise of ChinaThe crisis of European welfare states, the rebirth of Russian imperialism and the factor of Islamic fundamentalism have undermined the consensus and institutions that emerged after the fall of the EU Berlin wall They made us dream of a more peaceful, democratic and orderly world. The arrival of Donald Trump The seizure of power in the most powerful country in the world was the final blow to this global organization, and today we are in the midst of a realignment process. A bit like what happens when there is an earthquake and tremors continue to occur in the following days, marking the deposition of tectonic layers.
It must be made very clear that, contrary to what the grieving widows of the social democratic order after the implosion of communism claim daily, Trump is an earthquake, not the earthquake.
In this sense, an element of the times in which we live that is as alarming as it is unavoidable is the loss of value of multilateral institutions and certain norms for the benefit of a Realpolitikwhere strength is once again the central factor. Let’s see… it never stopped, the war showed that Iraq or, to preserve the differences, the Venezuelan process. But there was a somewhat hypocritical narrative that gave the impression that everything happened according to certain formal rules. But explain to the Venezuelan opposition, which has been betrayed in several electoral processes due to the passivity of the centers of power, that the global institutions have functioned perfectly in recent years.
Venezuela is precisely a topic that reveals many of the challenges facing the world today, especially a small country like Uruguay.
Nobody escapes this Ripe He is a dictator who has stolen several elections and who only stays in power by force of arms. This has demonstratively allied itself with countries like… Iran, Russia either China. And it has enabled drug trafficking to mitigate the devastating impact of “21st century socialism” on the economy and the treasury.
The problem is that he now coincides chronologically with a president like Trump, who has no patience for either institutional formalisms or the interference of distant powers on his own continent.
Once again, the great challenge for Uruguay is not to impose a different form of global relations, far from its capabilities, but to understand how we can best survive in this new world so that we perform better and have an influence greater than our specific economic, political and military weight, as is our tradition.
And here we see the deficit of a foreign policy amateurideological, and this is driven more by political alliances than by serving national interests.
For example, since taking office, this Chancellor has put the country at the service of regional interests Brazil. And either for this reason or because of ideological complexes, he has positioned himself in the opposite direction to the United States. A tragic mistake.
Brazil and in particular Lula da Silvarepresents everything Donald Trump loves to hate. For his “progressive” speech, for his flirtation with the BRICS, for his ambition to be a continental subpower.
In addition, Lula was a key figure in Maduro’s stay in power in Venezuela. Beyond some superficial criticism, it was useful for his election fraud, he always defended it ideologically and believed he could deal with it to his liking. And now he makes a face of displeasure about the American military deployment in the Caribbeanas if Brazil did not have a rich history of using violence to advance its interests in small countries on the continent.
Uruguay must realize that this path is ruinous.
You must proceed with intelligence, subtlety and discretion. And when in doubt, always go for the strongest current, because trying to swim against it is a sure recipe for drowning.
Unfortunately, we don’t see any of this, neither in the Santos Palace nor in the Executive Tower.
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