(My new American Thinker post)
Officially, Miguel Diaz-Canel is the president of Cuba. Sorry, but I can't call a man elected in a communist election "el presidente ." He is a fraud and more like a dictator. Nevertheless, he was in Mexico and was treated like a hero by the Mexican president. This is the story:
In the latest chapter in Mexico’s love-fest with Cuba, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel will be awarded Mexico’s highest medal when he visits the southern Mexico city of Campeche on Saturday.
The Friday edition of the Mexican government's official gazette said Díaz-Canel will be awarded the “Order of the Aztec Eagle,” presumably with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador placing it around his neck during the Cuban leader's visit.
The award -- the country's highest honor for foreigners and decided mainly by the president -- has previously been given to leaders ranging from Fidel Castro to the Shah of Iran.
The award notification said the Cuban leader “has promoted cooperation between the two nations on health issues.”
López Obrador praised Cuba on Friday for sending doctors to Mexico, some of whom serve in dangerous or remote areas. But those doctors, and the salaries they are paid, have raised controversy in Mexico. Some said the jobs should go to Mexican doctors, while other suspected that much of their salaries would go to the Cuban government.
Sorry, but this sick -- the ugly side of Lopez-Obrador, as my Mexican friend say.
First, these doctors are not people in an honest employer/employee contract. They are a source of foreign exchange for Cuba. Mexico will pay dollars and the doctors will get paid in worthless Cuban pesos.
Second, Cubans in the island need opportunities and having "el presidente" fly home with a medal around his neck is "un zero a la izquierda" as my outspoken late mother would say. It means a zero to the left of the number or worth nothing.
Third, Mexicans are critical of this embrace of a dictator, as reported in the Yucatan Times. The opposition is livid for the treatment of a leader who offers nothing to Mexico. Instead, Mexico has had to write off Cuban loans.
Fourth, a lot of my Mexican friends tell me that the Mexican love fest with Cuba is more about keeping the Left happy than support for Cuba. Maybe so, but other Mexican presidents have avoided the hugging and the medals.
Finally, what is the Biden administration saying about this? Probably nothing, but what's new?
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.