Castro, who led Cuba for nearly 50 years, died Friday. In 2006, he had transferred the presidency to his younger brother, Raul Castro, after a debilitating intestinal ailment. Fidel Castro’s vision and iron rule shaped every aspect of life in Cuba and its relations worldwide. Many, perhaps most, Cubans would say he held power too tightly and too long. He was Latin America’s most prominent 20th century leader, but his legacy remains to be defined.
No one can deny Fidel Castro his place in history. He was, by any measure, the most prominent political figure in Latin America in the 20th century, maybe since Christopher Columbus. The question is whether the narrative will be mostly about bold dreams and progressive change—or about oppression and stagnation in Cuba.
Nadie puede negar Fidel Castro su lugar en la historia. Era la figura política más importante en América Latina tal vez desde Cristóbal Colón en 1492. La pregunta es hasta qué punto su legado será el de unos sueños osados y unas transformaciones progresistas o por el contrario, un relato de opresión y de estancamiento para Cuba.
Ninguém pode negar a Fidel Castro o seu lugar na História. Ele foi a figura política mais proeminente da América Latina talvez desde Cristóvão Colombo, em 1492. A questão é até que ponto sua narrativa será mais sobre sonhos ousados e mudanças progressistas — ou sobre opressão e, no fim, estagnação em Cuba.
A year following the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the relationship between the U.S. and the island nation has dramatically changed. To discuss this and more, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, Michael Shifter spoke with CGTN’s Susan Roberts.
Mr. Trump should be commended for coming down hard on Latin America’s strongmen. But by also resurrecting an impulse for unilateral action and indifference to the region’s needs and concerns, he is making it more difficult to help bring about the democratic change he ostensibly seeks.