Your views on Fidel Castro

What do you think of Fidel Castro?


The movie about Fidel Castro can be found on this site:


http://www.rdab.ca/cuba/

 

Castro has caused me great personal pain in my life, and my mothers and sisters.
I think he is a coward.

 

Is hard to analize Castro, I mean there's a lot of things to look at. But my opinion is, that no matter what, anyone that imposes himself among others is someone that lacks my respect. He gives to freedom to the people of Cuba, and it has nothing to do with the communism, its just the fact that he's the leader of a country that doesn't want him.

 

A Tyrant. Cuba will be begin to recover only after he's dead.
Consider Arafat, he wasn't dead a week when the a lot of air time was devoted to resurrecting a possible peace initiative. I don't think the so called Cuban revolution will continue after he's gone, his brother Raul won't be able to hold things together. Perhaps within a year or two a type of pre-1959 diplomatic relations will be established between the U.S. and Cuba.

 

since when does the U.S does something good for a country??

 

What do you mean?

 

Care to elaborate?

Do cowards start revolutions against dictatorships (1953, 1956-1959)? Are cowards willing to sacrifice their own life?

In what way recover?


Also, just a modest suggestion. Could we point out the positive and negative points, instead of calling him "hero", or "tyrant"? I think it would create a much more exciting discussion.

 

My mother fled Cuba in 1957 leaving behind a daughter she thought she would be able to get after she became a US citizen.
Alas my mother died before this could be accomplished, leaving me, a 7 year old, with a sister that I have recieved 1 letter from and have never been able to find.

Castro has not sacrificed his life, last I heard he was still alive.

Cowards do become afraid of not holding on with an iron fist once they have gained it because they know if they let up one little bit, they will lose that hold.
If you are an american with family in Cuba you are only allowed visits with extreme rules attached.
Secondary family, aunts uncles, cousins nieces and nephews are allowed 1 visit in a life time.
I have been trying to find my sister for over 30 years and have hit brick walls everywhere, I have no money to continue any type of search.
I lost my mother and because of some stupid rules and goverment interference I will never meet my sister, if she is even alive.

How much freedom is there in Cuba now???
How many people have died trying to escape???
How many people have no say in how they live??

 

Communism, considering Teepi obviously has alot more knowledge than you on this topic (experience is life's greatest teacher--more than anything you could ever read in a book), I would say you just got hosed :H

 

i know that he set an impossible goal for literacy. but the people tried to meet it even when they couldn't succeed and have the highest literacy of third world countries. i also love any comedy sketches done about him. and he quit smoking cigars to set an example for the youth.and jfk was set to start talks to fix the problem between the U.S and Cuba, but lee havey oswold fucked that up. and he has started releasing political prisoners arrested last year. so he's slowly trying to fix things.

 

Cuba has been among the most literate countries in Latin America since well before the Castro revolution, when it ranked fourth. Since then, Cuba has increased its literacy rate from 76 to 96 percent, which today places it second only to Argentina in Latin America. This improvement is impressive, but not unique, among Latin American countries. Panama -- which ranked just behind Cuba in this indicator during the 1950's -- has matched Cuba's improvement when measured in percentage terms.

Hopefully when Castro's brother Raul takes over things will improve, especially towards the working class....
The revolution was nationalist inspired and Castro adopted the political
ideology of Leninism to suit his needs after his courtship of American
investment had failed. The working class in Cuba need to unite and fight the
ruling class who reap the rewards from their island. Those who see something
inspirational in the way Cuba functions today are those blinkered to the
possibility of the only true socialist society, one where freedom and equality
are central.
I don't get into alot of discussions on this topic as it is rather stressful to me, but Che Guavara and Castro even may have seen the beginning as a way out from under the elitists, the ones who have mostly been exiled to Miami....but things have steadily gotten worse for the working class and the general population.
In the '50s Cuba was booming and virtually nothing on the island has changed since those days...antiquated electrical systems, 1 daily paper now(gov. approved) versus over 100 then, food shortages, the only reason he's eager to even open the gate a tiny bit at this time is because the USSR has pulled their support...

Anyway, thats my take on it...I'm no expert...just someone who has an interest and a few tears,
teepi
My MOM Cuba 1956

 

I read where Cuba was rated as the least racist country in the world, and I know that the healthcare system is good. The music is good.
My brother went all over Cuba for two weeks and said the people are awesome.
Castro must be doing something right.

 

I don't think the communist aspect of Castro is wrong, I find communism to be a great economic system. But what's wrong is the fact that he doesn't let the people of Cuba choose, is up to the people to decide if they want to live in a communist system or other.

To Ole Goat.. what I said about "since when does the US does something good for a country".. I don't think it need any explanation, but...
You talk about the diplomatic relationships and I said that in response, like that is not a reason they should even look at to decide wheter Castro is good or no. I mean let's be real, the United States only has "diplomatic relationships" with countries.. for two reasons, or they have something they want, or they want too use the country in some way.. or they want to have some power over it.

 

Well living in Dominican Republic, I've met lots of Cubans that come here. Most of them talk really good about their country. The education, the healthcare.. but I think what surrounds them is a nostalgic feeling. And the tought of why did you ever leave if it was so great, always crosses my mind.. but I do not dare to ask, I know that it will cause hurt.
One thing I do admire about Castro is that he has not been like many others, that just do and follow the US orders. The fact that he's the president of a small country has not affected the fact that he has held his position troughout the years, and I do admire that because he's willing to do what he thinks best for his country and not letting others decide that for him.. but again if what you think is best is not what your people think, then everything is just wrong.
I mean let's say they make some elections.. castro wouldn't win, that's clear.

 

Uh. Fulgencio Batistawas the leader in Cuba in 1957, NOT Castro.

I said "willing to sacrifice his life". Do you not consider a man, fighting against a very powerful dictatorship, a brave man, or at least "not a coward"?

Is freedom possible to measure?

It is illegal to move from Cuba.

 

MMMMM...illegal to move frm cuba....sounds cowardly to me to have to have such a hold on people...

I probably know better than anyone on this thread that Batista was the leader at that time...but all knew the revolution was coming..if my mom had not got out at that time she would never had been able to as she did with my father.
I was refering to her trying to get my sister out AFTER Castro came into ower.

Castro is a Dictator....refer to your above statement about it being "illegal" to move from Cuba.
I think Hitler was a coward also...anyone who cannot come into his own glory by what he stands for without violence is a coward.
If Bush held a gun to your head and made you vote for him..he would have your vote.
If you voted for him by your own mind..he would still have your vote,... which way is gained by a coward???
Basic freedoms are possible to measure, ask anyone who doesn't have them...

 

In 1958, I believe, 23,6 percent of the Cuban population was illiterate. In 1961, I believe, that went down to 3,9 percent, due to the focus on literacy, especially among the rural popualation.

Why do you think so? Raúl Castro was a communist before the revolution, and still is. He is most likely more radical then Castro will ever be.

What? The ruling class in Cuba is the proletariat.

The vast, vast majority of Cubans are working class, with a few exceptions.


I support the Cuban leadership because he ended racism in Cuba. Blacks and whites were seperated, and white and black people had seperate toilets, beaches, etc.

I admire the Cuban leadership because they distributed the land. The poor peasents got seven times wealthier, while the rich who ruled the country lost their huge powers over the poor.




I admire the Cuban leadership because they have always represented the poor in the world.

Because they have waged war against the racist South Africa.

Because they have stood up against US imperialism and other imperialist states.

Illiteracy is eradicated. Education and healthcare is completely free. You can educate yourself to be a doctor for free.

Other achievements?


Cubans are the best in the world in their mother language and mathematics.

The country also ranks first worldwide with the highest number of teachers per capita and the lowest number of students per classroom.

Today, the country has 30 university graduates, intellectuals and professional artists for every one there was before the Revolution.


Life expectancy has increased by 15 years.

 

I am not going to go back and forth on this subject anymore...it does me no good to argue about this here, it only hurts me.


Below I am posting some things about the conditions in Cuba and why people choose to leave. At great peril to themselves..

Also there is an excellent book about Castro...rather impartially written, by Leycester Coltman called "The real Fidel Castro"..


CUBA: EXODUS, LIVING CONDITIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS



An Informative Summary prepared by Professor Juan Clark, Ph.D. Miami Dade Community College THE CUBAN EXODUS

On February 24, 1996, two unarmed U.S. civilian planes, flying over international waters, were shot down by Cuban MiG-29 fighter planes. This completely unjustified attack resulted in the murder of four young Cuban Americans: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario De la Peña and Pablo Morales. The attack was an outright violation of international aviation law, and it would have been such a violation even if the planes had actually entered Cuba, as the Castro government falsely claimed. The downed planes belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian organization dedicated to rescuing rafters fleeing Cuba.
[size=-1]Armando Alejandre, Carlos Costa, Mario De la Peña and Pablo Morales[/size]

From 1959 through 1993, some 25,000 Cubans managed to escape from the island, mostly by sea in small boats and fragile rafts. Others fled by way of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo, which is encircled ‹on the Cuban side‹ by barbed-wired fences and heavily mined fields, much like those between the former East and West Germany. (See diagram on page 2) It is estimated that only one of every three or four Cubans who have attempted to escape has been successful. Thousands have died in the attempt or have been captured and imprisoned. Group of rafters rescued in the Florida Straits. Much like former East Germany, Guantanamo Naval Base contains a system of fences and minefields that surround the Cuban side in order to impede escape through this route.


On July 13, 1994, 41 persons, including 12 children, perished when the Castro regime sank the tugboat 13 de Marzo, on which 70 people were trying to flee. In August of 1994, an unprecedented event took place on the shores of northern Cuba. Over 35,000 Cubans launched makeshift boats and rafts into the Florida Straits after Fidel Castro tacitly gave his consent to their departure.

In the face of this extraordinary spectacle of massive numbers of people fleeing their own country at such risk, we must ask who these people are and why they are willing to risk their lives this way. For the most part, they are young and of humble origin, precisely those whom the revolution has claimed as its main beneficiaries and supporters. According to various studies, what motivates them is their complete rejection of a totalitarian system that stifles them and deprives them of any semblance of freedom. They have the perception that any opposition is useless. That is why many rafters have said, "I would rather die in the ocean than have to go on living in Cuba."

Since 1959, over one million Cubans have gone into exile legally. These refugees have come from all areas of the island and represent all races and socioeconomic groups. It has been a very painful exodus, tragically dividing most Cuban families. Those who have sought to go into exile have first suffered discrimination and persecution at home. They have been sent to forced labor camps and despoiled of all their property. Those who have remained behind are now encouraged to ask for dollars from their relatives abroad to buy in Cuba vital goods not available otherwise. LIVING CONDITIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Castro seized power on January 1, 1959, with the enthusiastic support of the majority of the Cuban people, who believed in his promise to restore the democratic process which had been interrupted by Fulgencio Batista's coup d'etat of March 10, 1952. In 1958, Cuba's most serious problems were political, the constitutional process having been violated and the endemic corruption in government aggravated. But economically and socially, Cuba fared rather well. Its standard of living ranked among the highest in Latin America.
Institution of a Totalitarian Regime

After over 37 years, it is evident that, in the guise of social reform, Castro's true purpose has always been to enjoy unlimited power. To seize power he deceptively held out the hope that democracy would be restored. Once securely in power, however, he declared himself a Marxist-Leninist, thus assuring the military and economic aid needed from the Soviet Union to keep himself in power.


Nevertheless, Castro faced strong opposition from within his own ranks. To consolidate his power he executed thousands who defied him, even though they had actively participated in the effort to overthrow Batista.

Taking advantage of his own charisma and of the people's trust in him, Castro managed to impose a totalitarian system in scarcely three years. He used deceit and implacable repression. He eliminated all potential political rivals. He seized control of the labor unions and the student and professional organizations. He took over the media and gradually confiscated all private enterprise, as well as all private education and the excellent HMO-type health care system. Even the smallest businesses were eliminated as private enterprise became a crime.

All religious institutions also suffered a harsh blow. Not only did Castro severely limit their activities, but in 1961 he confiscated their excellent educational system without compensation. In that same year hundreds of member of the clergy, including a bishop were expelled.

Castro has imprisoned hundreds of thousands. Cuba has had the largest number of political prisoners, serving the longest and cruelest sentences, ever recorded in this hemisphere. At one point 100,000 men and women from all walks of life were in prison for political reasons. Many were serving sentences of 10, 20 or 30 years. Most served their full sentences, like Huber Matos, former revolutionary commander who served 20 years, and Mario Chanes de Armas, who served 30 years. Both men had fought side by side with Castro. Many political prisoners have had to serve additional years after completing their original sentences.

The treatment political prisoners have received under Castro is much more severe than that imposed under Batista's dictatorship. Castro himself was condemned to 15 years for his attack on the Moncada military barracks on July 26, 1953, which resulted in the deaths of over 100 men. After 22 months of a rather comfortable imprisonment he was released under a general amnesty. But Castro has never offered a general political amnesty during his almost 40 year rule. Violations of human rights have been extensive and extremely serious in Castro's Cuba, particularly in the case of detainees and political prisoners. Many have been assassinated, while thousands have been beaten, tortured physically and mentally, forced into hard labor, and locked into isolation cells (tapiadas) with steel planks for doors for extended periods of time. They have been deprived of family visits for years and their families have been constantly harassed. Detainees have been subjected to electroshock and suffer from lack of adequate nutrition and medical care. They are often humiliated, and they have endured physical and psychological torture in cells known as gavetas (drawers) where they are packed so closely they have to remain standing. In the more recent version of the gavetas the prisoner is locked into a cell resembling a coffin.

If you would like to read more......
http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/juanclark.cuba/clark97.humrtscond.html

Thank you for your interest...
But I am now done with this,
teepi

 

He is actually a monster, disguised as a human, with one mission: To take over the world. Right?

I'm not going to bother to comment the rest of the propaganda.

Sure, just post some dozen pages of propaganda and then just leave the debate.




By the way, why do you blame Castro for your mother fleeing, when Fulgencio Batista ruled the country?

 

Never did i blame Castro for my mother fleeing..go back and read my first post, Castro's goverment made it impossible for my mother to get my sister here to the states after my mother became a US citizen....In 1959.

My father was stationed in Guantanimo Bay in 1956 when he met her, he married her and was able to get her out, she did not want to be in Cuba for numerous reasons.
She had a daughter by her first husband who was involved in the goverment. Thus this made it harder for my mother to get Edna out

I never said he was trying to "take over the world"...where did you read that in my posts???.

Also I said this is a painful subject for me, I am getting on in life and have been very sad that I have lost this part of my heritage, for you to chasticize me for not wanting to go on with it is absurd.

I posted what i did so others could read the other side of what you are saying and hopefully make up their own minds...to deny these atrocities is in itself ignorance.

You asked what I thought of Castro and I said what I thought, last time I looked around I was in a free country, I can also choose when to stop talking about something...

I have only posted the things I have to back up what I have said......

Now may I have your permission to leave the "discussion"?????

Never knew this was a "debate"...you asked what we "thought"..

teepi