Fidel Castro...on the ball?

[mindee]

Ok I might get heat for this question. But its asked in a totally indifferent way. Im genuinely curious.

Do you think Fidel Castro is ACTUALLY fulfilling the dream of what Che was trying to acquire? I myself dont. But thats an uneducated opinion. Do you think Fidel is becoming drunk on power? Please your opinions and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! :)

[resisting arrest with violence]

What can Cuba do now? What can Castro do? Cuba is one of the poorest country in the entire world and it has been the target of more terrorist attacks than the rest of the world combined by the Super power.

http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/1985----.htm

XIX

To Fidel Castro
(by Pablo Neruda, Nobel Laureate, Song of Protest)

Fidel, Fidel, the people are grateful
for words in action and deeds that sing,
that is why I bring from far
a cup of my country’s wine:
it is the blood of a subterranean people
that from the shadows reaches your throat,
they are miners who have lived for centuries
extracting fire from the frozen land.
They go beneath the sea for coal
but on returning they are like ghosts:
they grew accustomed to eternal night,
the working-day light was robbed from them,
nevertheless here is the cup
of so much suffering and distances:
the happiness of imprisoned men
possessed by darkness and illusions
who from the inside of mines perceive
the arrival of spring and its fragrances
because they know that Man is struggling
to reach the amplest clarity.
And Cuba is seen by the Southern miners,
the lonely sons of la pampa,
the shepherds of cold in Patagonia,
the fathers of tin and silver,
the ones who marry cordilleras
extract the copper from Chuquicamata,
men hidden in buses
in populations of pure nostalgia,
women of the fields and workshops,
children who cried away their childhoods:
this is the cup, take it, Fidel.
It is full of so much hope
that upon drinking you will know your victory
is like the aged wine of my country
made not by one man but by many men
and not by one grape but by many plants:
it is not one drop but many rivers:
not one captain but many battles.
And they support you because you represent
the collective honor of our long struggle,
and if Cuba were to fall we would all fall,
and we would come to lift her,
and if she blooms with flowers
she will flourish with our won nectar.
And if they dare touch Cuba’s
forehead, by your hands liberated,
they will find people’s fists,
we will take out our buried weapons:
blood and pride will come to rescue,
to defend our beloved Cuba.

[codyvo]

I think, given the circumstances, he is doing a great job. He knows he still hasn't fully achieved his or Che's dream of the future but he has done so much better than most communist countries. Yes the economy is suffering but it is actually slowly getting better, and yes he hasn't allowed fair elections for president but that is only because the CIA has admitted that they would rig the elections. Recently, he has actually been very active and many think it is because he wants to finish as much as he can before he dies, but he already has one of the furthest left countries in the world.

[Karl Marx's Camel]

Cuba is not a "communist country".

[More Fire for the People]

Cuba is far from fullfilling Che's dreams of a socialist South America, but the South Americans aren't forgetting his dream.

Also, Cuba is moving away from being a transitory state, Castro is becoming too consumed with populism and is starting to listen to the bourgeoisie.

[redstar2000]

Cuba Drifting (http://redstar2000papers.com/theory.php?subaction=showfull&id=1116640062&archive=&cnshow=headlines&start_from=&ucat=&)

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[Super Sheep]

Cuba is facing United State's economic sanctions, and everyone knows what powers the United States weld. I love how the America media loves to say, “Oh look at Cuba, how bad it is, how poor it is” and when the problem is caused by America. It’s like bragging to how your lawn doesn’t have dog shit on it but your neighbor’s does. Thing is, you’re the one that took that shit on the neighbor’s lawn.

Hah, America is so double standard. Like the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US surrounds the Soviet Union with thousands of nuclear weapons. (The United States has around 13:1 ratio of nuclear weapons) Then when the Soviet Union puts 70 nuclear missiles in Cuba, America acts like the Soviet Union is doing something totally wrong and must be stopped.

[Che1990]

Castro doesn't imply 'Che's dreams' anymore because Cuba is no longer communist. I think Castro is doing a fantastic job. The Cuban people love him, their healthcare system is as good as the USA and the UK. The people are happy. It's a great country under his rule. I don't know what will happen when he dies.

[mindee]

Originally posted by [email protected] 9 2005, 03:13 PM
Castro doesn't imply 'Che's dreams' anymore because Cuba is no longer communist. I think Castro is doing a fantastic job. The Cuban people love him, their healthcare system is as good as the USA and the UK. The people are happy. It's a great country under his rule. I don't know what will happen when he dies.
Some friends of mine went there for a holiday and said the ppl lived in poverty. That one women cried when she gave her soap and toothbrushes..and crayons and coloring books for her kids. How is that a wonderful place? This is why I dont think Castro is doing a good job. I thought he would be a bit more sympathetic to his ppl needs.

[Red Youth]

They have the highest literacy rate, good health care, good life expectancy, and are improving. I think Castro is doing a good job, given the difficulties that come with it.

[Karl Marx's Camel]

Cuba is one of the poorest country in the entire world and it has been the target of more terrorist attacks than the rest of the world combined by the Super power.

Cuba is probably the most developed country with the highest living standards, in the third world. It is still a third world country, and Western Europe et al have more power, and people in Western Europe have better living standards, but in the third world, Cuba is better than most.

[Che1990]

Castro is a good leader. And no-one can say he doesn't listen to his people because he does. I know two people who've been there and came back and said the citizens of Cuba love Castro and are extremely proud of him. Yes there is still poverty, but there is poverty everywhere. At least Castro is sorting it out. And it's very hard to run a perfect country when a huge imperialist nation 90miles away is trying there best to get rid of you. At least he's saved the Cuban people from American oppression.