Regardless of how long he lives, Fidel Castro has an influential role in shaping the political discourse in Cuba. Fidel skillfully mixed Marxism and nationalism and made a revolution that changed the history not only of Cuba but also of the whole Western hemisphere. He was the most popular leader in a generation of Cubans, a political giant who reached world dimensions during the Cold War. As professor Jorge Dominguez from Harvard University said, If there have been competitive elections in the early 1960’s, Castro could have won them all. He didn't have the chance. In the most difficult moments of the Cold War, the United States, as the hegemonic power in the Americas, didn't have tolerance for a nationalist leader who aspired to an independent neutralist course not to mention a socialist one, no matter how popular Castro was among his people.
(Btw, that's the same Professor Dominguez that traveled to Syria amidst the current genocide to speak at a Harvard Arab Alumni Association event hosted by Mrs. Assad).
In sum, Castro hasn't held elections in five-decades -- not because the people might freely vote against him -- but because the U.S. hasn't allowed him.
Wonder how the other 34 out of 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere have managed to pull it off.
And here we thought Castro was a brutal totalitarian dictator responsible for more deaths and imprisonments than any other tyrant in the modern history of the Americas.
But apparently you had to have worked for Castro to truly appreciate his "greatness."
Now seriously, below is a picture of the Memorial Cubano, which is erected annually in South Florida to honor the thousands of innocent victims of Castro's brutal dictatorship.
That is Fidel's shameful legacy (and an island in absolute ruins).
