His first visit was to Cuba, which hosted the Fourteenth Non-Aligned Movement Summit (September 11-16, 2006). Although he could not meet with Fidel, the ailing patriarch of the fight against "American imperialism," he was given a very warm welcome in Havana.
The Iranian leader began his Latin America tour by visiting Venezuela, where he met with Hugo Chavez, the energetic leader of Latin American radicals. Their friendship has not been darkened by the fact that Ahmadinejad is an Islamic fundamentalist and Chavez wanted to become a Catholic priest, or their movement in very different directions.
Ahmadinejad's ultimate goal is the global triumph of Islam, while the dream Chavez proclaimed in Caracas is socialism. Nevertheless, they have been bonded by their hatred of Washington.
Ahmadinejad and Chavez met to discuss protocol and practical issues. Americans are widely using the anti-Iranian spirit rather than the dispassionate letter of the UN Security Council resolution on Iran. In fact, this is why the White House supported that toothless resolution. Acting in the spirit of that document, Washington has frozen the assets of the Iranian state bank, Sepah, in the United States and in Britain, where the bank has a branch. This has complicated Tehran's operations.
Oil is the only effective weapon of Iran and Venezuela, but oil prices are falling, which has hit not only these two countries. Chavez has long been advocating the idea, supported by Iran, of setting up an international fund of assistance to the poor countries that opt for a direct confrontation with the U.S. But this "front of Caracas and Tehran" will need lots of money.
As of now, the two countries have only agreed to act jointly in the OPEC and outside it, trying to convince other oil-producing countries to reduce output in order to raise prices and therefore deliver one more blow to "American imperialism."
This goal is not as utopian as it may seem, because plummeting oil prices are hitting at all oil producers irrespective of their attitude to Washington's policy.
Part of the money from the anti-American fund would be used to support the poorest Latin American countries. This is why Ahmadinejad went from Venezuela to Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega, a long-time fighter against the U.S., has recently assumed power. Ortega acted more flexibly and pragmatically during the election campaign, but he is still choosing friends of definite political leanings.
Ahmadinejad said in Managua: "We are not alone today. Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela and other revolutionary countries have joined forces and will fight the [American] threat together. Global imperialism doesn't want to fight poverty, and therefore we must help ourselves." Logically, the Iranian leader called for "Death to imperialism."
Ortega and Ahmadinejad have agreed on several issues, notably to open diplomatic missions (closed after a crisis in bilateral relations in the 1990s) and to implement several projects in Nicaragua. They will build housing for the poor and an automobile manufacturing plant that will produce mostly buses for the country's state transport.
At the same time, Ahmadinejad, despite his proclaimed concern for the poor, has refused to honor Ortega's request to write off Nicaragua's $152 million debt.
The only explanation for this can be that Tehran wants to hold the end of the rope tied to his new friend's foot, and be able to pull it in case of need. This is probably why Ortega's anti-American rhetoric was more restrained. He only said that Ahmadinejad and he had formed "a collusion against poverty and unemployment."
To smooth things over, he granted a medal of "Augusto Sandino, the general of the free," to the Iranian leader and complimented Iran on being "a moral power." It is difficult to say how sincere Ortega was. After all, he has much more political experience than Chavez or Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian president will end his Latin American tour in Ecuador, where he will attend the inauguration of Rafael Correa and meet his favorite Cubans, Chavez, Ortega, and other potential members of the "U.S. fan club."
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.
