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May 20, 2013
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 Castro Not Well Enough for Public SpeakingPosted on Jan 16, 2008
Although Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would apparently disagree, 81-year-old Cuban President Fidel Castro says he’s not well enough to appear in public to speak to Cubans during the lead-up to Sunday’s parliamentary elections, but he is still able to express himself through writing.
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By Bangkok Expatriate, January 18, 2008 at 3:45 am Link to this comment
I have mixed feelings about Castro. On one hand his revolution in 1959 was justified. The Batista Regime was a horribly corrupt dictatorship supported by the US Government, US corporate interests and the US Mafia.
Castro wiped the slate clean and established a socialist State, albeit a new socialist dictatorship that excluded open debate on issues of policy. This is something that cannot be ignored or seen as necessarily positive. The benefits for citizens have included free education, free healthcare, and these are certainly noteworthy.
However, for those who have challenged the regime by not towing the party line, their only recourse, if they can afford it, has been to seek asylum outside Cuba.
The key will be how, in a post Fidel era, will Cuba and the Cubans be able to retain some of the positive elements of their current social system, while embracing more democratic values and principles?
Similarly, the Cubans will have to grapple with a tough balancing act—free market economics and privatization without disenfranchizing those who have survived with the aid of the existing social system. One only has to look at the divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” in China and Russia to realize that a transition to a more open society has been costly in human terms, and it has been easier for the new elites to pretend that have-nots simply do not exist.
Report thisBy RAE, January 17, 2008 at 12:35 pm Link to this comment
Castro’s politics and leadership style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you’ve got to hand it to him… HE’S BEEN A SUCCESSFUL LEADER FOR DECADES, and the people he “leads” enjoy a lifestyle that includes perks such as free education and free medical care that rank among the world’s best. The USA doesn’t even come close in this regard.
There are a hell of a lot of countries on this planet that rank below Cuba in almost everything (many of them are now enjoying the aid and presence of US troops)!
The USA’s attitude toward Cuba is clearly a chronic adolescent snit. Grow up, America. Wouldn’t you rather Cuba, just 90 miles away, be an ALLY rather than an enemy?
Report thisBy Jaded Prole, January 17, 2008 at 7:55 am Link to this comment
History will show Fidel Castro to be a brilliant thinker and a great leader. His mind is still sharp and he’s using his time to write. May he live to be 100 and see the success of his example spread.
Report thisBy A Human Being, January 17, 2008 at 6:18 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Castro will go down as one of the most heroic men to have ever lived. If only we could put our selfish aspirations aside for the greater good of us all and take a stand against our own government to fight for our true freedom, then we would really be putting our time to good use. Instead we rather look on a watch as evil runs around unchecked, then we go back to our mind controlled lives waiting for the world to crumble around us. Castro put a stop to it and his people are now better off and way more self sufficient than us priviledged americans. Thats a real man right there.
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