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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." 
Story