Fidel Castro turns 90 - the last major communist figure in the West

[rooster59]

Fidel Castro turns 90 - the last major communist figure in the West

 

 

As Fidel Castro turns 90 it is 10 years since ill health forced him to hand over power to his brother Raul, but he still revered by many in the country where he led the revolution which ended in 1959.

 

The overthrow of the US-friendly and strongly anti-communist regime of President Fulgencio Batista began 47 years of rule by Fidel Castro – a hero for some but considered by others every bit as much a dictator as Batista.

 

During that near half a century Fidel Castro remade his country.

 

And aided by the likes of fellow revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara fermented socialist uprisings around the world.

 

Invasion and missile crisis

 

Cuban exiles in the United States tried – with Washington’s tacit approval – to bring down Fidel Castro in 1961.

 

Trained and financed by the Central Intelligence Agency their failed ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion only served to enhance his reputation.

 

Castro’s Cuba, a communist outpost on America’s doorstep, risked turning the cold war into a full blown conflict.

 

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev persuaded a reluctant Castro to allow medium range nuclear missiles to be set up in his country, less than 150 kilometres from the US coast.

 

President John F Kennedy responded with a naval blockade of Cuba

 

Moscow agreed to withdraw the missiles, extracting at the same time a promise from Kennedy not to invade Cuba.

 

Soviet support and exodus

 

For three decades Castro stayed close to the Soviet Union as Moscow helped the Caribbean country build up a huge army of more than 200,000, deployed in the cause of communism in places like Angola.

 

All trade being banned with its near neighbour the United States,“the Soviets propped up Castro’s government economically”:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba%E2%80%93Soviet_Union_relations.

 

But by the end of the 1980s under Mikhail Gorbachev”:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev Russia was heading towards market reforms whereas Castro remained a hard-line communist and relations deteriorated.

 

As Moscow stopped giving Cuba extremely favourable trade terms the subsequent economic crisis saw widespread shortages.

 

And in the summer of 1994 30,000 Cubans fled the country taking to anything that would float to try to reach the United States.

 

Religion and health

 

Castro has always had an ambivalent relationship with religion.

 

In the 1990s he loosened restrictions and allowed Pope John Paul II to visit the island in 1998.

 

The pope criticised the US trade embargo but also called on Castro to institute more freedoms for his people.

 

As Castro grew older there was increasing speculation about his health and continued leadership.

 

In 2001, two hours into one of his legendarily long speeches, he appeared to pass out.

 

In 2006 after having surgery for intestinal bleeding he handed over power to his brother Raul.

 

Since then Fidel Castro has seldom been seen in public though he has met with high profile visitors to Cuba – Pope Francis”:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis last year and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill in February.

 

But he did appear in April 2016 at the Cuban Communist Party Congress.

 

There he said: “Soon, I will be turning 90 years old. I never imagined it and it has not been the fruit of any labour. It was purely a whim by destiny. Soon I will be like everybody else, everybody will get their turn but the ideas of Cuba’s Communism will remain.”

 

The last major communist figure in the Western world used that speech – perhaps his last – to defend his ideology giving succor to those in power who are resisting Havana’s normalisation of relations with the long-time enemy the United States.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-08-13

[OMGImInPattaya]

Viva Fidel!

 

Outlived by decades all the right-wing cooks in America who tried to kill you and the Revolution ?

[williamgeorgeallen]

like him or loathe him he will go down as one of the great leaders along with saddam hussaein and  Gaddafi  all of whom were vilified by the west.

[maximillian]

Without the trade embargo Cuba would be a prospering country.  If there was a trade embargo only between US and Cuba it would have been fine with me, but the US didn't allow any other country in the West to trade with Cuba.

 

Overthrowing the US backed Batista regime was a great achivement for Cuban people.

 

Please, before commenting on Fidel Castro in a negative way, better make youself familiar with Cuba's history.

[Norvid]

The last communist dog who used Canadian therapies in one of his 60 or so house locations. Also another friend of mine from Mexico used to treat him. He had all organised for that, but the hospitals for populations looked like slaughterhouses. Physical rehabilitation facilities out of order. That was in Havana 3 hospitals I visited. Of course he had access to a different one. Only for apparatchicks like in Soviet's world. 

[GOLDBUGGY]

On 13/8/2559 at 10:46 AM, maximillian said:

Without the trade embargo Cuba would be a prospering country.  If there was a trade embargo only between US and Cuba it would have been fine with me, but the US didn't allow any other country in the West to trade with Cuba.

 

Overthrowing the US backed Batista regime was a great achivement for Cuban people.

 

Please, before commenting on Fidel Castro in a negative way, better make youself familiar with Cuba's history.

Just out of curiosity but what does Cuba have to make it such a prosperous country besides Cuban Cigars? The States put an embargo on Cuba but not all countries. In fact Canada is Cuba's biggest buyer of Cuban Exports and ahead of Venezuela even. 

 

So besides tobacco, sugar, fruit, rice, and other farm products, what does Cuba have for sale to make it so prosperous? Keep in mind that Cuba Imports a lot of food. They have no oil as most of it comes from Venezuela at a reduced price in exchange for medical aid and they do also export some medical products to them to.

 

They have some minerals but not much and not things like Gold, which selling is a great way to get foreign currency. In fact you could call Cuba a Banana Republic if they had Bananas and they were a Republic instead on Communism. If Russia didn't provide Financial Aid to Cuba for so many years, and Venezuela, Cuba would have been a financial sunken ship many years ago. 

 

One area that really could have taken off and done well due to it's physical location and climate, was Tourism. But of course with tension between the USA and Americans not allowed to go their, and due to the unstable financial climate their also, where no money was invested for this or for the infrastructure needed, Tourism didn't take off. But I expect this to change in the future. 

[stevenl]

10 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

<snip>

 

One area that really could have taken off and done well due to it's physical location and climate, was Tourism. But of course with tension between the USA and Americans not allowed to go their, and due to the unstable financial climate their also, where no money was invested for this or for the infrastructure needed, Tourism didn't take off. But I expect this to change in the future. 

I was there 30 odd years ago as a tourist and traveled all over the country. Lovely country with lovely people, I really enjoyed it there.

[GOLDBUGGY]

On 13/8/2559 at 10:46 AM, maximillian said:

Without the trade embargo Cuba would be a prospering country.  If there was a trade embargo only between US and Cuba it would have been fine with me, but the US didn't allow any other country in the West to trade with Cuba.

 

Overthrowing the US backed Batista regime was a great achivement for Cuban people.

 

Please, before commenting on Fidel Castro in a negative way, better make youself familiar with Cuba's history.

A Great Achievement for the Cuban People?

 

Seems to me that the people had to choose between the Devil they knew to a Devil they didn't know. 

 

Keep in mind that the crowds all cheered when Muammar Gaddafi took power in Libya around 10 years after this time to. Also the same for Idi Amin Dada in Uganda to. This list goes on and on.

 

I am actually very surprised that Castro saw his 90th birthday and that a CIA Sniper didn't get him first and long ago. Castro must have lived a very sheltered life.