Rousseff won't meet with dissidents in trip to Cuba

Jan 27, 2012, 18:53 GMT

Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff does not plan to meet with dissidents to the Cuban government in her visit in Havana Tuesday, Brazilian media reported Friday citing her advisors.

Rousseff does not plan to include in her agenda the request for a meeting made by representatives of the opposition to Cuban President Raul Castro, Brazilian news agency Estado said.

Award-winning blogger Yoani Sanchez, one of the most outspoken Cuban dissidents, admitted in an interview that Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo published Friday that she has few hopes of meeting with Rousseff next week.

'So far there is no sign whatsoever (of a meeting). I think there will be no room for that,' Sanchez said.

The blogger formally requested from Rousseff support in her efforts to get a permit to leave Cuba, so she can travel to Brazil for the premiere of a documantary film in which Sanchez appears. Days later, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry granted her a visa, in what was widely regarded as a strong political gesture.

However, Brazilian authorities wanted to remain cautious. Observers in the South American country agree that meeting with dissidents would amount to a direct attack on the Cuban government, which Rousseff wants to avoid.

According to Estado, Rousseff will not mention human rights specifically during her trip, but she will praise recent reforms in the communist island and highlight Brazil's disposition to be a partner for Cuba. Experts cited in the report note that this is a 'more efficient' way to support change and modernization in Cuba.

Like her mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before her, Rousseff is also expected to call for an end to the decades-old US embargo on Cuba during her visit.

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