By: KENNETH MAXWELL

Folha de São Paulo - Op-ed section - page A2     

Once upon a time "Finlandization" was a "very bad thing" in the eyes of Cold Warriors like Henry Kissinger. Finland was neutral in the Cold War. What else could it be with the Soviet Union so close. But to be neutral was to be morally deficient in the global struggle between good (freedom) and evil (communism). Of course there was more to it than that. Henry Kissinger had no problem at all making deals with communist tyrants. This was what detente with the Soviet Union as was all about as was Nixon and Kissinger's opening to Mao's China. The real problem with neutrals was their independence from both the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the fact they could not be controlled from Moscow or Washington.

But those were the bad old days. Today, "Finlandization" has taken on a new character. It is very much on display this Christmas in Sao Paulo. Along the Avenida Paulista at many street corners and in most building lobby's are "Finnish" pine trees. They are not the real thing of course. Brazil has many natural forest resources, but the one it does not have are Northern pine forests. These artificial Paulistano pines are a plastic confection imported from China.

The new South-South globalized economy at work with a vengance. Expensive Brazilian reais used to buy cheap Chinese products which imitate pine trees from the Northern Hemisphere. Sao Paulo is not alone. Across Brazil this year shopping centers are spending R$350 million on Christmas promotions, up 15% per cent from last year.

I asked the grandparents of friends this week what they remembered of Brazilian Christmases past: Visits to family and friends. Religious celebrations and observances. presepios to which the family brought gifts, and Brazilian Pinheiros do Paraná in the churches. A quieter world. Better for sure than the truly grotesque decorations in orange and red, yellow and avocado, afixed to the sides of the FIESPE building. They look like many scrambled eggs into which have been stuck M&M's. The poem by the Portuguese João Cabral do Nascimento (1897-1978) attached to FIESP reads "Não ha pinheiros nem ha neve.

Nada de convencional." Very true: We are not in Finland. FIESP did not add the poem's title. It is: Natal Africano.

KENNETH MAXWELL is a weekly op-ed columnist (every Thursday) for Folha de São Paulo, Brazil's leading newspaper.