01/03/2023
Balance of a decade of “geopolitics Francisco”.- Óscar Garrido Guijarro
March 13, 2023 marks a decade since the arrival of Pope Francis in Rome. This is a good moment to wonder about the successes and failures of the geopolitical vision of the first Latin American pope. Throughout these ten years of Francis’ pontificate, the Vatican has conducted itself in the wake of a renewed Ostpolitik adapted to the new world power, China, and also to the Latin American communist regimes, to Russia and to Islam: a position that entails making red lines more flexible and renouncing to put non-negotiable principles on the negotiating table first. This attitude is well summed up in an expression frequently used by the Pope: “Build bridges, instead of erecting walls.”
Throughout this document the agreements with Beijing are analyzed to repair the rupture in China between the patriotic Church and the clandestine one; the good harmony with the Cuban regime and the mediating role of Francisco between the island and the United States; the pope’s efforts not to break bridges with Venezuela and Nicaragua; the balance of the Vatican to position itself as a possible mediator between Russia and Ukraine; Francis’ historic approach to the main figures of the Islamic hierarchy and the defense of the fight against climate change and the dialogue with the 2030 Agenda.
Document prepared by Oscar Garrido Guijarro. Analyst of the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies. Doctor in Peace and International Security. @oscarcarrido