RIP Fidel Castro.

[Tropezienne]

A complex figure. A remarkable world changing figure, the last of a kind. I have mixed emotions about the big man. As a teenager he was a secret hero of mine. He did some very good things for the people of Cuba. No question that Cuba moved forward after the revolution he led.

On the other hand, Cuba's Labour unions lost the right to strike. The Catholic Church was harassed. Neighbourhood "revolutionary defence committees" kept an eye on everyone and his jails were filled with his opponents and even members of his own party that he suspected of disloyalty.

I actually thought he'd died a few years ago.

unhelpful

I am wondering whether he felt he had lived his life well?

What a life.
What a change in the world he has witnessed and shaped.

Not many of us will be able to say that when we die.
V complex figure.

What a life
What a change in the world he has witnessed and shaped

Agreed. A complex man. You cannot ignore the repression of human rights but equally you cannot ignore that Cuba more than survived the American economic embargo and provided a standard of living for its ordinary people probably far better than other Latin American countries.

Was Cuba's healthcare really that wonderful? I mean for Cubans - visitors to Cuba who pay with hard currencies could access better treatment.
Have a look at the website therealcuba.com.

He may have started out with the right intentions but power and control lead him in another direction and the people of Cuba have suffered terribly

I am not surprised to see many people celebrating in Florida (and no doubt other areas where there are many Cubans)

And those in Cuba who are brave enough to speak out and not hold him up as a hero of the people I hope they are free enough now to be able to be able to express that without being punished

Yes and how great can a 1 party state with a tightly controlled media be?

That said, it is a better state than many in the vicinity. Would it have been a far better state and would Castro's tight grip have been loosened if the vindictive U.S embargo hadn't been in place for so long?

He ran a totalitarian state with no permitted political opposition, no real elections, no free press, and no proper judicial process. For fifty years. Would anyone here actually be happy to live under that sort of rule? Would you give all that up for a better standard of living than your neighbours?

How is it a better state than some of the countries in the area

Many have problems with poverty, corruption, the illegal drugs industry and crime that desperately need to be tackled in some areas as it has a terrible hold on some communities (not unlike a communist regime) but the up side is people have the right to freedom and freedom is a fundamental right

we can not blame America for the abuse of authority the government has placed on the people, its a communist country freedom doesn't exist under communism

the story of Cuba has certainly been romanticised as the country that stood up to the USA but what a price the people have had to pay

But the likes of Jeremy Corbyn will overlook that because he stuck it to the Americans

Castro = left wing dictator = good
Saddam Hussein = right wing dictator = bad????

The man was a cold blooded killer who tore his country and its families apart. The good things that happened could've still happened without that. There's a massive Cuban presence in Miami, the fact there are street parties this weekend speaks volumes.

Batista wasn't s good man either, just to be clear.

Cuba has better healthcare and schools than other Caribbean countries but that's about it, I agree. Heroes are for children and I'm not lording the man, far from it.

He was a brutal dictator but perhaps not the very worse. That's about all I can say about him. Heard the idiot Livingstone gushing about him this morning on Radio 4