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RECONCILIATION SLANDERED BY MARCO RUBIO, MANDELA’S LEGACY REMAINS
STRONG 12 YEARS AFTER HIS PASSING: ‘COMPASSION AND FORGIVENESS SET
HIM FREE’
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December 5, 2025
Brasil de Fato
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_ Nelson Mandela’s message of peace, compassion, and forgiveness is
real, and everyone should try to practice it. If we fail, but still
fight against injustice, then we remain balanced. That alone is a form
of personal transformation. _
Palestinos junto a estátua de Nelson Mandela em Ramallah celebram
denúncia de genocídio contra Israel feita pela África do Sul, |
Crédito: Marco Longari/AFP
Despite the contempt and manipulation from Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary
of State under Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela’s legacy of peace and
respect for diversity remains deeply rooted in South Africa. As the
country marks 12 years since his death this Friday (5), BDF spoke with
members of South African civil society attending the first People’s
Brics Summit
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in Rio de Janeiro.
“I think the most important part of legacy is compassion, as well as
reconciliation and forgiveness. That is what set him free. He
understood the need for true liberation of the soul,” said Corlett
Letlojane, executive director of the South Africa Human Rights
Institute.
“The legacy of Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest a human being
can leave behind. He fought for everyone, not only for Black people,
and he taught us to love one another,” said Moses Mokgatlhane, a
cultural representative at the summit. At 28, the music producer was a
teenager when Mandela passed away and just two years old when
“Madiba”, Mandela’s affectionate nickname, completed his
presidential term.
In 1993, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing South
Africa’s transition from a racist apartheid regime
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to an equal democracy from descending into bloodshed, after decades of
oppression imposed by the white minority ruling over the country’s
Black majority. The world’s most famous political prisoner, Mandela
spent 27 years behind bars before being released in 1990 under global
pressure. He then dedicated himself to ensuring a peaceful transition.
Since then, his name has become synonymous with moral greatness,
commitment to popular struggles, and political wisdom. The United
Nations established July 18, his birthday, as Nelson Mandela
International Day in recognition of his contributions to peace and
freedom.
Rubio spreads misinformation
Praising Mandela is easy. Using Mandela’s name to attack the current
government led by his own party, the African National Congress (ANC),
is what analysts describe as “convenient dishonesty,” which is
exactly what Marco Rubio did.
On Wednesday (3), Trump’s top diplomat released a statement invoking
Mandela to criticize President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
Rubio claimed South Africa had entered the post–Cold War era with
“strong institutions, excellent infrastructure, and global
goodwill,” along with valuable natural resources and key
agricultural land.
“And, in Nelson Mandela, South Africa had a leader who understood
that reconciliation and private sector–driven economic growth were
the only path for all citizens to prosper. Unfortunately, Mandela’s
successors have replaced reconciliation with redistributive
policies,” he alleged.
Rubio went further, falsely claiming that South Africa no longer
belongs in the G20
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which will be chaired by the U.S. next year, and repeating a baseless
narrative that the Ramaphosa government is allowing a “genocide”
of white Afrikaners, the same group that enforced apartheid.
“South Africa is being punished for taking Israel to the
International Court of Justice
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and for its anti-American stance,” summarized political analyst
Zakhele Ndlovu, speaking to South African news outlet IOL. In January
2024, Pretoria formally accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza
and urged the UN’s top court to order an end to its attacks, a
stance rooted in South Africans’ lived experience with racial
oppression.
This position earned Ramaphosa hostility in Washington, including
public humiliation during a visit to Trump, but remained faithful to
Mandela’s principles.
“That legacy of peace, prosperity, respect, and nonviolence will
live forever,” said Mokgatlhane.
During the Brics People’s Summit, Corlett Letlojane also spoke to
BDF about Mandela’s life and legacy. Read the interview below:
BDF: WHAT REMAINS MOST IMPORTANT FROM NELSON MANDELA’S LEGACY?
CORLETT LETLOJANE: I believe the most important things are compassion,
reconciliation, and forgiveness. You know, that was something that
freed him. He saw the need for a true liberation of his soul.
Because Nelson Mandela carried the weight of anguish, frustration, and
the suffering he endured, and he needed to rise above that. He
understood that holding onto trauma would be toxic. So he handled it
in a way that brought him peace. He was able to convey that message of
peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness, and move on with his life.
It was not an easy message. Even though he championed it, I think it
played a crucial role, because the violence that many expected never
came. We could have descended into civil war. The worst could have
happened. Just as we now hear harmful claims about “genocide against
white people” in South Africa.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO LIVE THROUGH THAT PERIOD, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT IT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
Perhaps we have seen his message in practice. I believe Nelson Mandela
was truly a gift to the people of South Africa and to the world. He
was able to look his adversaries in the eye and gave us the ability to
truly set the enemy aside. We can overcome the enemy by cultivating
peace, love, and compassion.
That alone is transformative. We saw people who were deeply rooted in
anger and hatred transform, realizing they could not continue living
like that. Nelson Mandela’s message of peace, compassion, and
forgiveness is real, and everyone should try to practice it.
If we fail, but still fight against injustice, then we remain
balanced. That alone is a form of personal transformation.
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT THIS MESSAGE IN THE 1990S?
Yes, the wounds carried by South Africans from apartheid were deep,
and helping communities understand forgiveness and move forward was
one of the most difficult challenges. And the adversary, the enemy,
their descendants, and the apparatus, was still present, and attempts
to restore that system remained strong. So, it was not a simple
process.
There was a constitution, a constitution he left us. Laws, mechanisms,
and committees to help guide the process. Other efforts contributed as
well. It was certainly not easy.
The positive side is that many oversight mechanisms emerged, many
committees were created, and people who had suffered in exile, who had
seen the worst, were returning. South Africa took on a leadership role
internationally, and that gave us courage: it showed that we could
lead the world in this way.
It has been a gradual journey to ensure we are on the right path.
Corlett Letlojane é uma das maiores autoridades em direitos humanos
na África do Sul | Crédito: Priscila Ramos/MS | Crédito: Priscila
Ramos/MS
ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, WHAT DOES MANDELA REPRESENT TO YOU?
For me, Nelson Mandela was an inspiration. As a child, I understood
very little. But by the age of 12, I already knew I needed to be in
the streets. I needed to fight against injustice. I left and lived a
life of sacrifice. I was ready to die, willing to die, because of what
I saw in my country and because of the messages and teachings we
received from Nelson Mandela.
So I knew exactly where I was going and how I would fight. It was not
easy. We lived with great insecurity and no freedom. It was dangerous.
My parents took me to Lesotho so I could continue my studies. They
traveled to that small neighboring country. It was traumatic, and they
were taking risks.
When I returned home, I continued to face injustice, apartheid laws,
arrests, and repression. It was not an easy life.
HOW IS MANDELA’S GOVERNMENT VIEWED BY YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY?
Many young people did not live through that time and feel the
government back then did not do a good enough job, or that
negotiations did not fully resolve issues like land, natural
resources, and economic power, which remain concentrated in the hands
of a few.
These are things they must now address themselves, because our
generation built the foundations, and they can continue this process
with better education. They have access to accurate information, the
internet is available, and they can engage in this process by
observing what happens in their communities, claiming their rights,
and becoming defenders of the future.
_Corlett Letlojane is executive director of the South Africa Human
Rights Institute_
_Edited by: Luís Indriunas_
_Translated by: Giovana Guedes_
* Nelson Mandela
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* South Africa
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* Truth and Reconciliation
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* marco rubio
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* Palestine solidarity
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