VENEZUELA GOLD: Turkey's 'honeymoon' with Latin America may end over Ankara's poor democracy record
Turkey has an increasing impact on Latin American countries economically and culturally as its ties with Western allies and Saudi Arabia have soured, Ozy news site said on Saturday.
But, Ankara has to deal with its poor image of human rights and democracy if it wants the "romance" to continue, the website said.
Latin American markets have started to be influenced by Turkey while the tension with Saudi Arabia over Iran and Qatar and the continuing wars in Syria and Iraq had affected the Turkish trade in the region negatively, the news website said. Trade between Turkey and Latin America nearly tripled between 2006 and 2017, increasing from $3.4 billion to $9.2 billion.
Turkish construction firms won tenders to erect buildings in Venezuela and dredging ports in Ecuador while the reputed Turkish Airlines has begun carrying its passengers to Panama City, Caracas, Havana, Bogotá, Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires — and recently turned its attention to new destinations like Mexico City and Cancun.
Gold trade is yet another trending topic between Turkey and Latin America. "Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and Erdogan are also brokering an opaque gold trade — Erdogan visited Caracas in December. A Turkish company, Sardes, imported $900 million in gold last year from Venezuela. Turkey’s also discussing free-trade agreements with Mexico and Colombia," said the news site.
With full of opportunities, Latin America represents a new market of 600 million people at a time for Turkey, especially it is stuck into an economical bottleneck after Washington-Ankara relations bittered over Iran sanctions and U.S. support on Syrian Kurds, according to Ozy.
Besides trade relations, Turkish soaps, like "One Thousand and One Nights" — based on The Arabian Nights — boom from televisions in Chile and Mexico, according to Ozy. Millions of people across Latin America now demand Turkish soaps as their entertainment.
However, Turkey's disrespect for human rights and its poor democracy make invisible the future of the relationship with its new partner, according to Turkish academic Evren Çelik Wiltse, a political scientist at South Dakota State University.
"Latin American nations are taking baby steps toward making human rights, women’s rights, democracy and respect for minorities’ core values,” the news site quoted Çelik Wiltse as saying. "Turkey, on the other hand, appears to be headed in the opposite direction. Some Turkish bureaucrats and cabinet ministers are known to refuse to shake hands with women on religious grounds," Çelik Wiltse continued. “Culturally, the current Turkish administration and Latin American political culture are rather incompatible. The heavy religious tone of Turks kills many deals before they could start.”
“It’s a honeymoon right now,” the academic said. “But it’s going to wear out … [and] if there’s an end to this relationship, then it’s over democracy and human rights.”
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