SAO PAULO: In the afterglow of the Cuban revolution, so goes the joke, Che Guevara once asked Fidel Castro: “Do you think the Americans will ever lift their embargo against us?” Staring at somewhere in distance, Castro said: “Forget it, Che. The chances of the sanctions ending are as good as a black man becoming American president or an Argentine going to the Vatican as Pope.”This week, as the US and Cuba sealed a deal that may end the trade boycott of the Communist country, this old joke went viral on social media across Latin America. It would have remained a joke, had the Argentine seer not mandated three top Vatican officials to push for a breakthrough after his meeting with Barack Obama in March.Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, is the first pontiff from the Americas. Since March 2013, the Argentine has hogged headlines for breaking with protocol, shaking up the Vatican bureaucracy, washing the feet of HIV patients, supporting gays and attacking capitalism.Now, he has played a crucial role in efforts to close down one of the last theatres of the Cold War.He may be new to international diplomacy, but Pope Francis is an old Cuban hand. In 1998, after Bergoglio accompanied Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Havana, he wrote a book called Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. In the book, he explained how John Paul sought more space for the church and Castro kept talking about the similarities between Marxism and Christianity. “But they both had to listen to each other,” he wrote, emphasising on the “importance of dialogue”.Coming from South America, the 78-year-old Jesuit has been a witness to dictatorships, their dirty wars against their own people. At the height of the Cold War, almost all South American countries — from Argentina to Brazil to Chile — were in the grip of US-backed army rulers who didn’t even spare the church, especially the leftist priests, for standing up for the people.“It’s his great moral authority because of his work in Argentina that has made the Pope acceptable to both the Americans and Cubans. He is known for negotiating for peace,” says George K Matthew, a former Indian priest who has lived and worked in Sao Paulo for decades. “His experience of fighting for the poor makes him unique. And as a Vatican outsider, he can bring in all the changes he wants.”Home to almost 500 million of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, Latin America has been energised by one of their own holding the church’s top job, which has gone to Europeans for the past 1,200 years. As soon as Bergoglio was elected the new Pope, Argentine president Cristina Kirchner called it a “new start” for the region. In Brazil — the world’s biggest Catholic country — the cardinals saw it as a sign that the “church is truly universal”. And in Venezuela, president Nicolas Maduro declared that “the new hour of South America has arrived”.The timing of Pope Francis’ election has been perfect for the region. For a little over a decade, a social churning has been happening in South America, with its majority of leftist governments spending an unprecedented amount of money on anti-poverty programmes, leading to fast economic growth and social equality. In the past two years, with Pope Francis too constantly talking about combating poverty and inclusive growth, he has become the People’s Pope in this part of the world.“The Pope has shifted focus away from all the scandals that have plagued the church in recent years. He has also proved that he wants a church that is simple and exists for the poor,” says a Brazilian archbishop. “We were a bit lost in recent years. Now, we are returning to our roots, which is to serve the people.”Since assuming office, the Pope has asked the church to stop focusing on divisive issues like homosexuality and abortion and pay more attention to the poor. This has made him really popular in the region, where poverty and income inequality still remain big problems.In a recent survey across 18 countries in Latin America, more than 70per cent people said the Pope would bring positive changes to the Catholic Church, and 68per cent of residents believed he would bring hope to the poor of the world. “During his first visit to Brazil, he told the bishops and cardinals that they were hard on the people and not able to make the revolution of tenderness, compassion, understanding,” says Leonardo Boff, one of the pioneers of Liberation Theology movement in Brazil. “He said the church is not here to condemn anyone, but to accept, forgive, raise hopes and be compassionate toward those who have problems.”Most importantly, the Pope has backed his words with actions. During his visit to Brazil in 2013, the Pope held meetings with Liberation Theologists on preparing a new doctrine for the church. He also met activists from the Movement for Landless People. And now, with this deal on Cuba, the People’s Pope has raised the hopes of the region’s poor to a new level.(The writer is a freelance journalist)