Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro (L) attends the opening session of the National Assembly of the People's Power beside his brother, Cuban President Raul Castro, in Havana February 24, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Ismael Francisco/Courtesy of Cubadebate/Handout
The Slow Demise Of The Castros In Cuba -- Jorge Ramos, Fusion
Here in Miami, Fidel Castro is killed by word of mouth several times a year.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I read on Twitter that the former Cuban dictator had died, and that soldiers were patrolling the streets of Havana, trying to keep order. But a few days later, the 87-year-old Castro appeared in a photograph with a daughter of Hugo Chávez, the late former president of Venezuela.
I've lost count of how many times Castro has died and come back to life in recent years. But sooner or later, news of his demise will be true.
It is no secret that major media outlets in the United States have already prepared obituaries and begun planning their coverage of Castro's death. Many of the articles will likely center on the notion that "Castrismo" in Cuba can't survive without Fidel Castro and that democracy just might have a chance to flourish on the island once he is gone. But Castro's demise wouldn't necessarily portend the demise of his ideas. Many people thought that "Chavismo" would die right along with Chávez, but his successor, Nicolas Maduro, has proved that it's possible to maintain an authoritarian ideology even after a leader dies - and even if it leads the country into ruin.
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My Comment: The Castro family will be held accountable (one day) for the harm that they have done to Cuba. Unfortunately .... I doubt that the Castro brothers will be around when that day happens.
4 comments:
I'm not really that versed on Cuba, but I am curious... What harm are they exactly responsible for?
From what I read and saw in a few documentaries, including the Michael Moore one on comparing the healthcare in Cuba to America, I was always given the assumption that the economic embargo's set forth by America against Cuba was actually dong the harm, and the anti-american resentment did didn't help either.
Then again I've never really understood the American resentment, and always viewed it as a sort of anger from a bygone era and outdated by modern standards.
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I took a vacation to Cuba in 1993 .... what a dump (and I am being polite). Two years later .... my parents went there and they loved it .... vowing to go there every year. I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder.
As to their medical facilities .... I know from my own personal experience from living in Communist countries that there (is in everywhere way) a two tier system. For the elite and ruling class .... the best. And for the rest (99%) .... the worst care in the world. In 1997 my parents were on vacation in Cuba and they went with one of their Canadian friends to a hospital because of his appendix. The pictures that my parent's friend showed me of the place made me .... who has seen it all .... shocked on how dirty/filthy and ill-equipped the hospital was. But that is the real care in such places.
As to U.S. - Cuba relations .... they have changed over the years. Today .... I doubt that most Americans really care on what happens in Cuba .... even in the expat community that lives in Florida. But I do know from my visits to Cuba (about 10 over the years) and getting to know a lot of Cubans .... that if given the chance between living in Cuba or starting a new life in America .... most of the Cuban population will leave in an instant to join their 4 million brethren in the U.S. .... and I guess that is the ultimate measurement on how well the Castro family has run Cuba.
At the very least Fidel should be hunted down and made to pay for those 9 hour speeches of his.
In the old Soviet Union .... we all hated the time that we had to waste listening to all of those stupid and mindless speeches .... and we were "forced" to listen to them.
But listening to Fidel from 5 - 9 hours where all he did was lecture everyone .... usually outside in the baking sun .... no wonder 4 million (plus) Cubans risked their lives to flee the country.
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