Mandela did not deserve to have a successor like Mbeki

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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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8544

INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE

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RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8862

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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.”

Story

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