Re: [Marxism] Brazil's Lula meets Fidel Castro, offers credit

[dave.walters@xxxxxxxxxxx]

First, I think that the parameters here that people lose site of is that no one 
is calling these deals necessarily bad 
and that all of us on this list realize that Cuba is probably doing what's good 
for Cuba.

I would disagree with Joaquin's earlier statement that this helps the situation 
because a 
semi-colonial country Brazil, by pushing from the "left" is somehow helping LA 
integration. 
Talk about "projection". There is no one HAPPIER than US imperialism and it's 
oil companies 
about the development of Petrobras new Tupi field. It seems that all the oil 
industry 
magazines are ecstatic as they will certainly get a bigger cut of this than 
they could 
negotiate with PDVSA. Why? Because Petrobras IS like the old PDVSA and is a 
state-
capitalist firm with emphasis on "capitalist".

What this new discovery does will be interesting. One thing is that it will 
give Lula leverage 
AGAINST Chavez's genuine radical-democratic agenda for Latin American. That is 
instead 
of enhancing some sort of anti-imperialist block, it will enhance Brazil's role 
as a foil against 
the Bolivarian revolution.  Lula's "vision", such as he has one, is to make 
Latin American safe 
for Brazilian investment. This is contrary to Chavez's view which is a people's 
economy against 
imperialism. My view is that while Brazilian capitalism's wish is to become 
imperialist it does 
play both sides of the knife edge with regards to anti-imperialism...it wants 
to be imperialist but 
has to blunt the nose of US imperialism to do it. Joaquin has argued this is 
good thing and 
should be supported by the left. I beg to dissent on this political conclusion. 
Even this wannabe
imperialism will *always* side with US imperialism against the threat of 
workers mobilization and the
kind of movements that brought Morales and Chavez to power. But back to oil...

The other effect will be to increase the mix of gasoline in the fuel mix of 
transportation energy. 
Originally the ethanol based fuel that most Brazilians used was 100% ethanol. 
Now they started 
to mix it with gasoline and, increased the tax on ethanol so, I'm told, its now 
more expensive than 
gasoline. I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm not a fan of ethanol for 
obvious reasons, but the 
increase in gasoline usage now reflects Petrobras and the PT Gov'ts desire to 
increase gasoline consumption.
I would like to see an analysis of why they are doing this, especially as 
exporting oil is far more lucrative than
selling it as fuel in Brazil. Maybe others know the political-economy of this 
move?

How much the Brazilian people will benefit from this oil discovery remains to 
be seen. Petrobras 
is tool of Brazilian capitalism and as such it's interests as a corporation run 
contrary to that of the 
Brazilian and international working class (see: Bolivia). It is, in  way, the 
opposite of way PDVSA is now.

US oil companies are gleeful about Brazil. The hotel rooms around Petrobras 
headquarters 
are already filling up with US/British/French/Canadian oil companies who know 
they will be 
cashing in big time with their partner, Petrobras. What is not known to most 
lefties in the US is that 
oil companies represent the OTHER big lobby group for improved relations with 
Cuba. (the other 
one being US agriculture). British, Norwegian, French, etc oil companies have 
signed lucrative 
deals with the gov't in Cuba to bring in the increasingly vast oil supplies 
that lie off of Cuba's 
western tip. US companies can't go near this of course. So, while hoping for 
'change' in the 
Cuban gov't in a post-Fidel era, they are also cozying up to Cuban officials in 
Latin America and 
Europe, hoping to be there like their European and Brazilian counterparts. 

David

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