Fidel Castro

While I typically write about the daily goings of my life in my blog (when I actually do blog), some news was brought to my attention today that, as an avid scholar of history, I feel is necessary for me to mention. Fidel Castro, the leader/dictator of Cuba, is stepping down from power. He has been in charge of Cuba since he, along with his brother Raul and his friend Che Guevara took control in 1959. At 82 years old, he has been ailing in health in the past few years, and has not been seen in public since undergoing intestinal surgery two years ago. Since then he has made proclamations through the radio, newspaper, and has even called Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader of Venezuela.

In his letter to the Granma, Cuba’s national paper, he says “I will not aspire to, nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief,” Castro wrote. “I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas. … Perhaps my voice will be heard.”, and that “it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer.” (1)

There is an article at CNN which describes the reaction of the people. Its interesting to read that the people in Cuba really didn’t care either way; they expect that Raul, who has been running the country since Castro stepped aside, will be the new president of the country. Castro has called for presidential elections, but has openly declared that Raul will be his successor. Perhaps it is because they fear what might happen if they celebrate their great leader’s resigning, or perhaps its because they feel that the next leader will continue on the same path that Cuba has followed since the 60s; either way they seem indifferent to it all.

The rest of the world, however, is another story. When news of this dropped, leaders and politicians throughout the US were quick to comment. President Bush stated that “”The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy and eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections,”, and that “The United States will help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” (2) He, along with several other big wigs in Washington, feel that this is just the push they need to “liberate” Cuba of socialism and bring them to the loving embrace of democracy. The immigrants in Cuba, who escaped Castro’s regime by fleeing to the U.S., also take the news as good, but are realistic in the thoughts that change will not come overnight.

In another important topic, the embargo of Cuba by the United States will not be lifted anytime soon, despite politicians being hopeful for the future. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has already stated that the embargo will continue and that ending it may not happen in the foreseeable future. (3) Given that this is election season, it took only a few minutes for Presidential hopefuls to jump on the bandwagon and pronounce their happiness at the situation. Barack Obama (D), praised the decision, hailing it as the “mark the end of a dark era in Cuba’s history.”, while Hillary Clinton (D), had this to say:

“I think this provides a great opportunity for the people of Cuba. I am hoping that the new leadership will take steps to move Cuba toward democracy, release political prisoners, lift a lot of the oppressive burdens that have prevented the Cuban people from really having the kind of future they deserve to have,” (4)

Republican Presidential Hopefuls John McCain (R) and Mike Huckabee (R) also made similar comments. One can easily argue that this change in Cuba has come at a great time for the presidential hopefuls, as they all seek to not only become president, but to be the president that did what no other before them could: break the embargo and help transition Cuba into a democratic island.

For anyone interested, there was an interesting package that was created back in 2006, which is entitled the “Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba”. In summary, this package details that, should Castro become incapacitated or dead, the United States would “develop a concise but flexible strategic plan that will help the Cuban people move rapidly toward free and fair democratic elections.” (5). The catch is that for Cuba to receive such aid, it needed to have a government that is open to the transition from socialism to a free-market, capitalist driven society and embrace democracy. Should this be the case, government aid, financial aid, and humanitarian missions would be given to Cuba to help ease the transition.

I have long since had a fascination with not only Cuba, but all of Latin America. It was my topic of study as a history major at the University of Iowa, and I was blessed to have several wonderful professors who had a wealth of knowledge in the subject. Whether you like the man or hate him, Fidel Castro is easily one of the most important people in the past hundred years of history. He took control of a small island by waging a guerrilla war against Fulgencio Batista in 1958, and successfully took power in 1959. After the United States ended diplomatic ties with the country in 1961, he declared Cuba to be a socialist state, and since then has been a thorn in the side of the United States for decades. (6)

Cuba lies only 90 miles off of the coast of Florida, and has been a bastion of Socialism since 1961, causing much frustration to the United States. Castro has humiliated the United States in the past: the Bay of Pigs invasion in April of 1961 horribly backfired and cost the United States a lot of face, Castro openly supported several socialist movements in Latin America, installed Nuclear Weapons on the island for a short period in 1962, and became allies with the United States biggest rival, the Soviet Union. Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, he stayed his course, recruiting a new ally in Hugo Chavez in the new century.

He highlighted his reasoning for staying in power for so long in his resignation letter. As a revolutionary he claimed that “Power never interested me”, but in his speech he cites the United States as the sole reason why he stayed in power, because the United States “had done everything possible to get rid of me.” (7) While it is far too early to see how this announcement will play out, I do believe that it will be a very interesting one to watch, and could be one of the big stories of the year, despite it only being February.

Anyone interested in reading up on Castro can read a quick timeline of his life at the following website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5598311 (8)
Short of buying a book on Castro, its a good summary of his life.

Sources:
(1) CNN News, “Cuba Quiet after Castro Announces Resignation”, http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/02/19/castro/index.html

(2) CNN News, “Cuba Quiet after Castro Announces Resignation”, http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/02/19/castro/index.html

(3) CNN News, “Castro’s Resignation Won’t Change U.S. Policy, official says”, http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/19/us.castro/index.html?iref=topnews

(4) CNN News, “Presidential Hopefuls Call for Democracy for Cuba”, http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/19/castro.candidates/index.html

(5) Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, http://www.cafc.gov/

(6) The Associated Press, “A Profile of Cuba’s Fidel Castro”, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieihFyYXgXh6-PUMoDJOqIfIfEwwD8UTJTTO0

(7) The Associated Press, “A Profile of Cuba’s Fidel Castro”, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieihFyYXgXh6-PUMoDJOqIfIfEwwD8UTJTTO0

(8) National Public Radio, “Fidel Castro: From Rebel to El Presidente”, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5598311