South Africa’s first black President Nelson Mandela did not deserve to have a successor like Thabo Mbeki, a Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo said in2008 soon after Mbeki was pushed out of government.
The paper said South Africa itself did not deserve to run the risk of having another autocrat replacing Mbeki.
The paper castigated Mbeki for his views on HIV /AIDS and his foreign policy especially on Zimbabwe.
“Mbeki’s foreign policy was also execrable. His administration was the major supporter of the longest lasting African dictatorship, that of Robert Mugabe in neighbouring Zimbabwe,” the paper said.
At the time, and even today, Mugabe is not the longest serving African leader.
Two leaders have been in office longer than him: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola have been in power since 1979.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08SAOPAULO503, SOUTH AFRICA
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSO #0503 2681035
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241035Z SEP 08 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8544
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 9676
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8862
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 3177
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000503
SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD XM XR BR
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA
Mbeki leaves the scene
Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (09/24) says:
“Mandela’s successors do not maintain the pattern he established.
… Mbeki’s obsession with racial issues is inseparable from what he
has done worst, maybe, for South Africa: the refusal to give the
population free access to retroviral drugs under the allegation that
HIV does not cause AIDS; to say the contrary meant fomenting
prejudice against blacks. … Considering the nonsense that Zuma has
been saying about prevention of the syndrome, he does not seem to be
more informed than his rival. Mbeki’s foreign policy was also
execrable. His administration was the major supporter of the longest
lasting African dictatorship, that of Robert Mugabe in neighboring
Zimbabwe. At the end of the day, Mbeki ended up mediating an
agreement of power division between Mugabe and the opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai. In addition to that, in partnership with China,
South Africa helped to veto the debate about violations of human
rights in Myanmar. In short, Nelson Mandela did not deserve to have
a successor like Mbeki. Neither does his country deserve to run the
risk of having another autocrat replacing him.”
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