Fidel Castro

[Imperial Power]

This man is so confident in his system and the love his people have for him. Why after all these years has he opposed free elections?

[peaccenicked]

good question!
But would you think that if a capitalist party stood,
that the CIA would not pour millions of dollars into it.
I personally think he should have 'free' elections but
should not 'free' election mean equal funding for all parties.
This would have to be guaranteed by the constitution and all irregularities investigated fairly.

[Imperial Power]

Yes give the parties equal money to campaign with. In the past you will remember the only party recognized was the communist party though.

[Greadius]

Who is going to 'give' either party equal amounts of money?
Of course, I thought Cuba was communist, so what good would money do anyway? :biggrin:

The transition from a one-party dictatorship to mutli-party free & fair elections isn't that simple. Even in the first few elections in East Germany after reunification the people were nervous not to vote against the Communist party. Cuba has been claiming free and fair elections to their people for decades, so the assocation Cubans make with that is NOT the same that those of us who are actually privy to them think of.

It'll be a slow, painful, but hopefully peaceful process after Castro's death.

(Edited by Greadius at 6:48 am on May 13, 2002)

[Dan Majerle]

IP how do you define a dictatorship. Surely it's not the duration one ones stay in power. I like to think of it more so dependent on ones actions. Castro is a humanitarian. His revolution is the most democratic and just in the world.

[Imperial Power]

I define a dictatorship as a system where one person or a small group has ultimate control over the country. In any free democratic society you will see term limits. Even if the people loved him so much why doesn't he let them vote for him in a free election. If he won it would spit in the capitalist worlds face. But obviously he knows free elections would remove him from office and likely the communist party as a whole.

[yuriandropov]

i'll leave J.Stalin with the honor of telling you why cuba doesn't hold elections:

"the people who cast votes don't decide elections, the people who count votes do"

"if the opposition disarms, well and good, if they refuse to disarm, we will disarm them ourselves"

"ideas are more important than guns, and you wouldn't let your enemies have guns would you?"

the whole idea of marxism is that anyone opposed to the communist party is the enemy of the people. castro isn't entirely a dictator. he is a populist dictator, he does listen to the people when making descisions.

[PunkRawker677]

Regardless of anything, there should be free, and FAIR, elections in Cuba. Dictators are under no circumstances better than a Democracy. Castro's has done some good for Cuba, but he is still a dictator. If the people voted him in every four or five years, for the length of his life, than i could understand. Of course the process of implementing free elections in Cuba wont be easy, but it is necessary. The U.S. would most definitly pour endless amounts of money into a Cuban based Capitalist party, and they would inevitably have the upper hand. So, once again, Cuba needs FREE AND FAIR elections!!!!

[yuriandropov]

cuba needs for america to lift trade embargos. thats what cuba needs. even if there was an 'election' castro would easily win. but as you say, a US backed regime could challenge becaue of the money factor. BTW don't think CIA don't rig elections. anyone remember uraguay in 71'. the CIA helped the brazilian military dictatorship rig the election in favour of a centerist. nixon knew about it too.

[El Che]

Castros regime has no legitimacy and we should all distance our selves from it. Cuba needs democracy as much as it needs Socialism, just like the rest of the world. We must have both, or we will have none.

[yuriandropov]

yes democracy is needed. but not bouguais democracy. first democratic centralism is needed, this can then be replaced by a workers democracy. implemented perhaps over 100 years.

[Guest1]

Cuba has been the biggest disappointment to me. Even bigger than the USSR. Can you honestly tell me that, considering all the business interests and the bourgeoisie left just after Castro came to power, and considering Che's popularity, that Cuba NEEDED to have a dictatorship??? He could have called for free and fair elections and I guarantee you he would have won. It was the best chance we ever had to have REAL socialism. REAL equality. REAL democracy. But then again, he fought for freedom, and settled for power. Castro is a traitor.

[El Che]

"But then again, he fought for freedom, and settled for power. Castro is a traitor."

I second that. Well said comrade.

[concerned]

Just what evidence do you people have that the CIA would try to manipulate elections in Cuba?

I think most Cubans, even communists, want him out of there, he's been there WAYYY to long. The CIA doesn't really have to bother, he wouldn't get reeelected. And if there were any manipulation of any kind, I would watch for Castro, not the CIA, he would be the one that needed to manipulate elections if he wanted to stay in power. Right now he is trying to do everything he can to block "proyecto Varela" in cuba, which calls for a referendum and free elections. He already had some of his people burn some of the signatures recollected.

And I know about the Uruguay '71 thing, but those were other times, it was the 70s, the US was still at cold war with the Soviet Union, both the US and the Soviet Union were prepared to do what it takes to not lose any of it's satellite nations. Now, quite frankly, I don't think the US cares that much.

[ID2002]

When I travelled to Cuba, I was surprised how many people would like Governmental changes. Everyone agrees that Fidel Castro did wonderful thing to improve life after a corrupt Government ruled...they want to remain strongly socialist, but they would like to have more choices as to who there leader should be. The Cuban people would also like to see the US adopted a new policy towards Cuba...one that would let goods go back and forth between the two countries.
Cubans in general are not so happy having a dicatorship, but they all support Fidel in some form or another...they just wish that there was a little more "freedom".

[Capitalist]

Imperial Power, I disagree with you finally!

Fidel Castro is NOT a DICTATOR.

Fidel Castro is a Tyrant!

Dictators are supported by the masses.

Tyrants are feared by their masses.

[SU37]

Fidel rules!!!!!!!