Boris Nemtsov Murder: Why We Prefer America to Russia (Sol, Portugal)

If We Surrener to Xenophobia, the Terrorists will Win (Sol, Portugal)
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Boris Nemtsov Murder: Why We Prefer America to Russia (Sol, Portugal)

"Portugal benefits from being allied with the United States and not Russia. How come? … Here in Portugal, only those older than 50 recall when people weren't allowed to vote or freely express political opinions. They are privileged storytellers since they can tell the young what it's like to live in today's Russia. What we take for granted here can be a death sentence elsewhere. We're not interested in allies like that, and fortunately we don't need them."

By Eduardo Ferreira

Translated By Ricardo Farinha

March 5, 2015

Portugal - Sol - Original Article (Portuguese)

The murder near the Kremlin of Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister of Russia and opponent of Vladimir Putin, has brutally highlighted what we already knew: Russia is no democracy. The killing of political opponents is nothing new in the era of Putin - he just hadn't done away with anyone as prominent before.

I seize on this sad event to try and explain a strategic fact: Portugal benefits from being allied with the United States and not Russia. How come? First of all for reasons of geography: It benefits us to ally ourselves with the greatest maritime power (the United States) which has the means to oversee the Atlantic and the Pacific, as we have important interests overseas, whether in the Atlantic (emphasis on Brazil and Angola), but also in the Indian Ocean, which washes the shores of Mozambique, and in the Pacific, where Macao and East Timor are located.

Choosing from among the greatest maritime power (the U.S.) and the greatest continental power (which is Russia, because it controls a good chunk of Eurasia), it always behooves us to choose the former.

Beyond geography, though, there is another set of reasons to prefer an ally like the United States. That is to say, we are part of a bloc of democratic countries with the separation of powers, freedom of opinion, elections at regular intervals, non-arbitrary justice and the rule of law.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

According to some authors, the existence of strong judicial and democratic institutions boosts economic growth. Although this point is debatable, it's good to be on the side of the greatest respect for human dignity.

Here in Portugal, only those older than 50 recall when people weren't allowed to vote or freely express political opinions. They are privileged storytellers since they can tell the young what it's like to live in today's Russia. What we take for granted here can be a death sentence elsewhere. We're not interested in allies like that, and fortunately we don’t need them.

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