Cuba's surrogates

[Zorro]

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Today, Fidel Castro will fire another round in his battle with the United States that began 47 years ago when the Kennedy administration imposed an economic embargo on Cuba. Castro may be on his deathbed, but he has surrogates.

In this case, it will be Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. When Lula arrives at the White House today, he is expected to tell President Obama that the U.S. embargo of Cuba is anachronistic, vindictive and counterproductive, and to suggest a change of course.

Lula will not be speaking formally for all of Latin America, but he is undoubtedly its de facto negotiator, a leader whose role reflects Brazil's outsized influence in the region.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has asked him to beg Obama to restore trade preferences that granted duty-free access to Bolivian textiles. Venezuela's combative anti-American president, Hugo Chavez, also has sought Lula's help, reportedly to reduce the "noise" level in the relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela. (Ironically, Chavez seems unaware that he remains the undisputed biggest noise polluter in the hemisphere.)

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More at: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-munoz14-2009mar14,0,926861.story