He pounded the table and said: “Damn it, Fidel! What are you going to do about this lousy; piece-of-shit island of yours?” Castro’s jaw dropped.

Prior to that, of course, I had seen only the public Fidel, the man who gives dull, repetitive and uninspiring six-hour speeches. This widely held image of him is a shame, however, because in private I was always surprised by how polite, curious, good-humored and soft-spoken he could be.

One time in Brasilia, Castro and I spent almost five hours together over lunch. He peppered me with extraordinarily complex questions about our oil policy, and asked why our interest rates were so high.

Small talk

Then he started asking me about my daily routine. “How do you start your day, Fernando Henrique?”

I told him I began each morning with a swim: “There is a pool here. Then, I go up to my office and I usually spend the rest of the day working and meeting with people.” Castro took a long drag on his ubiquitous cigar and slowly shook his head.

The differences in democracy and dictatorship

“When I first became president of Cuba, I was doing as you do now. I received many, many people.

There had been a time when Cuba was an inspiration to a generation of aspiring leftists, including myself as a young man.

I nearly worked myself to death. But now,” he said with a smile, “I don’t bother with such things.

I stay at home, reading. To cultivate my mind. When I need to speak to someone, I just call them on the phone. And the country works!”

I laughed. “Well, Fidel, how long have you been in government? Forty years now? I’m here for four at a time. So if I suddenly decided to just stay at home and read, my government probably would collapse the next day!”

The legacy of Castro

Castro thought this was very funny. Whether Cuba was really “working” by that point, as he asserted, was an entirely different matter. There had been a time when Cuba was an inspiration to a generation of aspiring leftists, including myself as a young man.

Castro had shown that it was possible for a Latin American country to liberate itself from an oppressive dictatorship. The problem was that he had replaced one authoritarian regime with another.

Island paradise?

I visited Cuba once during the 1980s to attend a meeting of a committee charged with granting a cultural

The years seem to have passed Castro by. He still believes he is living in 1985, and that is the way he runs Cuba. Deep down, Castro may realize that the world is different now, but for political reasons he can’t admit it, not even in private.

award. This was well before the Soviet Union cut off foreign aid, but the island was already in obvious economic trouble by that point.

Havana seemed like it was on the verge of simply falling down. Old buildings had rotted, the paint was peeling everywhere and floors were bowing. I was a senator by then, but I managed to move about the island anonymously and quite freely.

I visited a Catholic church that was open, but it was eerily empty. I was, of course, impressed by the advances in health care and education in Cuba compared to other Latin American countries. But the country had an equally obvious aura of unhappiness and lack of freedom.

The real Cuba

Censorship had reached a comic level. Every day that I picked up a newspaper, a new version of the same story appeared on the front page, about a cow that was capable of producing an enormous amount of milk.

I remember thinking how odd it was to see a country in the tropics, full of warm and spontaneous people, but living a life as gray and threadbare as I remembered it being in Warsaw Pact Romania and East Germany.

The good ole days

Since then, nothing much has changed. The years seem to have passed Castro by. He still believes he is living in 1985, and that is the way he runs Cuba. Deep down, Castro may realize that the world is different now,

I kept silent and watched as Castro sunk further and further into his chair. The whole time, he did not say a word.

but for political reasons he can’t admit it, not even in private.

When the subject of Cuba comes up, he becomes very quiet, very protective. He never allows open debate of his policies. A spectacular example of this was at an Ibero-American summit that I attended in 1999 in Havana.

These are meetings of the heads of state and officials from Latin American countries plus Spain and Portugal. Generally, nothing much of consequence happens during the conference itself.

Away from the press

Things can get very interesting, however, at lunch, when the heads of state are left alone. There are no aides, no press — just about a dozen of us, usually, seated at a table.

On this particular afternoon, good red wine was served. I will always remember the brand, Vega Sicilia, from the famous Unico vintage. The conversation was civil at first, covering everything from trade policy to everybody’s favorite beverage.

Dimplomatic slip

But then things got a bit heated, perhaps because of the wine, perhaps because of the complicated

No country in Latin America wants to follow Cuba’s path anymore. That truth was especially evident at that lunch in Havana, but it has been crystal-clear for about two decades now.

political divisions that have always marked Latin America.

One of the leaders present rose to his feet. Protocol dictates that I cannot tell who it was, but I can say that he was a leader from an influential country. He pounded the table and said, “Damn it, Fidel! What are you going to do about this lousy, piece-of-shit island of yours?” Castro’s jaw dropped.

“We’re sick of apologizing for you all the time, Fidel,” the leader continued. “It’s getting embarrassing. We’re the only friends you have left! What are you going to do?” Castro kept his head bowed and said nothing.

The Castro Americans don't know

Six or seven other heads of state out of the dozen present then took turns making similarly heated challenges. It was all done with relatively good humor, but the underlying message was very serious. This went on and on for at least twenty minutes.

I kept silent and watched as Castro sunk further and further into his chair. The whole time, he did not say a word.

Laugh it off

When the others finally finished, Castro stretched,

The widely held image of Castro is a shame, however, because in private I was always surprised by how polite, curious, good-humored, and soft-spoken he could be.

moved his fork around on his plate a bit, and smirked like an adolescent. “Well, you know,” he said softly, “all of you have much more power than I do.

I hardly know what is going on in Cuba anymore. You guys know how it is. Ours is a collective government. I’m the last one to find out about anything.” He sighed, and then smiled ironically. “Poor me.”

We all laughed, and the conversation turned to other matters. But no one believed Castro’s grandstanding that night, nor any other, for that matter.

A waste of resources

The incident perfectly illustrates why I do not support the long-standing U.S. regional policy toward Cuba. Washington wastes a tremendous amount of energy trying to get other Latin American countries to oppose Castro.

One of the instruments is an annual resolution presented before the United Nations condemning Cuba’s human rights record. Under my presidency, Brazil abstained from these votes. We also declined numerous requests to serve as a go-between for Washington and Havana.

Focus on the issues

Quite often, the United States expends so much political capital on this issue that it overwhelms all other U.S. interests in the region — drugs, property rights — and other much more important issues take a back seat to Cuba.

Havana seemed like it was on the verge of simply falling down. Old buildings had rotted, the paint was peeling everywhere and floors were bowing.

Washington has chosen to pander to a small but influential group of Cuban exiles in Miami rather than show true leadership in the region. Many opportunities have been squandered.

No country in Latin America wants to follow Cuba’s path anymore. That truth was especially evident at that lunch in Havana, but it has been crystal-clear for about two decades now.

There is no real risk of another Cuba. Even the recent leftward shift in Latin America politics does not mean that everybody wants to be like Castro. The region has moved on from such Cold War-style thinking, even if the United States has not.