FAREWELL, EL COMANDANTE

There are few political leaders that have managed to become both living legends and the holders of relatively good health to stay in power for decades. Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, a former Chairman of the State Council and First Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba, has managed to do so. Even his ideological enemies, who considered him a dictator, admitted his leadership skills and respected his tough principles.

It is hard to imagine, but Fidel began his fight for freedom of the Cuban people against the regime of Fulgencio Batista in the middle of the last century. This story is known to every schoolchild: unsuccessful offensive of the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba in 1953, two years in prison, the foundation of revolutionary “July 26 Movement” in Mexico, which later became the Rebel Army, landing on the island on the Granma in 1956 and the beginning of the guerrilla war, the establishment of the government in February 1959. Next was the Cuban missile crisis, 638 attempts on Fidel’s life (using the most exotic ways), excommunication from the Church, participation of Cubans in the wars in Africa and Asia, the famous speech at the United Nations, which took 4 hours and 29 minutes, violent political activities, complicated personal life and much, much more. The world has been going through a deep transformation – the states were collapsing and recreated, ideological and economic models have change, but Cuba and Fidel have managed to withstand this maelstrom for a long time. One of the undoubted merits of Castro was that he has managed to turn a small island nation into an independent player on the world stage.

The biography of the legendary Comandante includes many pages. After all, he has lived out such world leaders as Mao Zedong, John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Muammar Gaddafi, and Augusto Pinochet. Castro remained the undisputed leader of the country until 2006, when due to deteriorated health handed over the power to his brother Raul Castro on July 31, 2006. However, Fidel did not go into the shadows, rather continued counseling Raul on managing and inspiring Cuba ideologically. Back in April of 2016, at the closing session of the Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, Castro spoke about such vital issues for the planet, as the danger of arms race, global warming, the risk of food shortages and water due to the destruction of the environment.

It is not difficult to understand why Castro has remained so significant a figure for millions of people. Cuba is considered an example of how a small country can resist the world's strongest power, and Fidel’s revolution was a personification of hopes for social justice. This was a revolution in its classical manifestation – made by people, and not introduced from the outside or from top do masses. This was particularly important for the people of Latin America, where large stratification of society is still a problem, many people live in slums and the drug trade is thriving. In the late 90s, the IMF requirements, whose recommendations on rescuing the economies most hardly hit the poor in several Latin American countries, have exacerbated the situation. Eventually, this situation gave a second breath to the ideas of the Cuban revolution and contributed to the arrival of left-wing forces. Now, however, there is a different picture, when in the wake of the economic downturn and the corruption scandals the rights are regaining the power. That only reconfirms that the revolutions do not change the lives of ordinary people for the better. Therefore, despite his patriotism, honesty and an unwavering belief in the cause of revolution, Castro was unable to turn Cuba into a paradise island. The apologists of Fidel always list the achievements of the Cuban socialism such as universal literacy, good and free medical care, the lowest infant mortality in the world. On the other hand, we can see the ailing economy, poverty, which makes Havana a popular spot for sex tourism, isolation, suppression of freedom of expression, numerous political prisoners. In fact, the reasons that led to the revolution have not disappeared.

Speaking about the economic situation of the Island of Freedom, one cannot ignore the factor of the US trade embargo, which has been in place for more than fifty years. Of course, it has made a significant “contribution” to the current situation, but on the other hand, over these years, it was a perfect pretext for the failure of the Cuban model. Castro had used it to hide skillfully his mistakes and his revolutionary romantic image. The relations between the US and Cuba have deteriorated sharply in the 1960s, when the Castro government expropriated the property of Americans under the pretext that they were responsible for the tyranny of the Batista regime and turned the island into a colony, where casinos and brothels had flourished. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored only last year at the initiative of Barack Obama and the beginning of a process of gradual normalization of relations between Havana and Washington was announced. Meanwhile, although some anti-Cuban sanctions are weakened, they continue to apply. After Castro's death, the leaving President Obama has called him “an unusual person, a person that history will record and judge”. His statement stands in stark contrast to that of President-elect Donald Trump, who called Castro a “brutal dictator”. Even during the election campaign, Trump appeared with harsh criticism of the Cuban authorities, making it clear that if they do not follow necessary changes for America, the Trump administration will revert the convergence process. “Castro’s legacy was one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.” categorically said the new US leader.

It is noteworthy that in the confrontation with its closest neighbor, Havana has always survived at the expense of the USSR. That is why it was particularly difficult for Cuba when the Union collapsed and ceased financial support. Nevertheless, the Russian government had tried to normalize relations with Cuba even after the collapse of the USSR. Moscow had written off a 30-billion-dollar Cuban debt, apparently hoping for the return of the military base in Lourdes. The Russian media had actively discussed the issue for some time, but then the process stalled. So, it is hard to imagine what will happen when Raul Castro leaves the political scene. Although it is unlikely that Cuba remains at the forefront of the recent US-Russian confrontation. The times of the Caribbean crisis have already passed for Havana.

It is most likely that Cuba will liberalize the national economy and implement other reforms. It will cease to be a special romantic “island of freedom” and become quite a common Latin American state. Perhaps those Cubans, who once immigrated to the United States and came to the streets in Miami, FL on November 25 with flags and fireworks under the slogan “Cuba is free!”, will return to the country. The representatives of this multimillion Cuban diaspora have completely different mentality and opportunities than those who remained on the island under the Castro regime. They can open a new page in the history of Cuba. It is still too early to talk about this, but it is clear that in any case, Cuba is on the eve of changes. We hope that these changes will improve the welfare of Cubans. 

Fidel Castro’s assessment of himself can be cited in one short sentence: “I have never seen any contradiction between the ideas I follow, and those that Jesus has followed.” The Master of Cuban revolution could do incongruous things, and the scale of his personality is difficult to excel. But everything comes to an end. The controversial figure of the legendary Fidel Castro is part of the past and it seems this was an end of an entire epoch of the world history.