How will Castro go down in history?

[El Supremo]

Intestinal bleeding could mean something pretty serious. But whatever, how will he be remembered?

[RagingInMiami]

1. Depends

In this country, future generations of kids will learn that he was a tyrant. In Europe, they might have a more romanticized view of him.

In Cuba, he will go down as a great revolutionary.

[Yupster]

2. He turned over power today temporarily

while he was being operated upon.

I wonder what new ideas the temporary leaser has. Could always use new blood you know.

Who's the temporary leader now?

Oh - it's Fidel's brother Rauol. What a surprise.

[RagingInMiami]

8. I don't think he is as sick as they say he is

I think this is a test on his part to see how the Cubans will accept Raul as a leader. Nevertheless, they are blowing the horns down here in Miami like they did after the Heat won the NBA Championship.

[uppityperson]

3. good summation

[tocqueville]

4. romanticized ? probably more accurate you mean

Castro is an asshole in the same category than Chavez and Tito, even if the later wasn't a demagogue. But they are small assholes compared to Pinochet, Salazar, Franco, Ceaucescu, Honecker and Bush. The difference with those small benevolent populist dictators is that the people get it somewhat better than under the other assholes.The US attitude towards Cuba after the end of the cold war is ridiculous. Only motivated by a couple of floridian votes. If Cuba had oil it would be different. Not even Clinton couldn't change that.

[RagingInMiami]

7. Whatever dude

[T Town Jake]

5. Just another murdering dictator, period.

(n/t)

[tocqueville]

9. there is more democracy in Cuba than in Saudi Arabia

but Cuba is "socialist" and has no oil. Only sugar, cigars and beaches.

[aikoaiko]

6. I've only known a few cubans who actually live in cuba

(as opposed to expat Floridian variety) and they were ready for a change in leaders and a move toward capitalism. But they were very clear that it wouldn't be an American type of capitalism -- but rather something different, something better.

[MoseyWalker]

10. I don't know, but

in my mind, he will go down into history as someone who won a bloody revolution, won the trust of his people, had to turn to the Soviet Union for help in importing/exporting goods because of the insane US embargo, lost the trust of some of his people because of the interminable embargo, lost a shitload of crazy people to Miami who vote republican, stood against corporate and imperialistic takeover for decades, and dies as an individual who stood for right, and stood for wrong.

He was human after all.

I may be wrong, but I tend to hate florida and all the political garbage that goes on there. Call me crazy, but..........

Cuba did alright with what it had to deal with, and Castro is/was not any worse than what the US sees in front of its lying eyes.

flame away

[Zomby Woof]

11. Better than Batista

Now there was a ruthless dictator, in the pockets of U.S. corporations, and whose very abuses made conditions ripe for Castro to take over.

[Ready4Change]

12. Depends on if we get our act together or not.

If we keep acting like imperial shits, as we have for the last 6 years, he will be a David who stood against Goliath and survived.

If we start acting decently, he will be seen as a petty tyrant who kept his nation in a backwards state until his dying breath.

[eridani]

13. You left out "dictator with some redeeming features"

I'd put him in the same category as Lee Kwan Yew, Chiang Kai-shek and Tito. All planned and carried out major improvements in the lives of their citizens, but tended to think that this could not be accomplished unless they personally micromanaged every detail of running society. And if you disagreed, you could go to jail. A subtitle to the category might be "people who just can't figure out how to let go." Chavez is elected, and doesn't belong in this category.

Your Papa Docs, Somozas, Saudi royalty, etc. are just rapacious fascist thieves with no other goal than enabling a small elite to live well at everybody else's expense. Naturally those guys never get embargoed.

[ButterflyBlood]

17. You summed it up pretty well

n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I gotta hand it to old Fidel...

He never broke under pressure.

[killbotfactory]

15. A revolutionary who stayed in power too long

Like if Washington had decided not to step down after two terms.

Also a ruthless tyrant who ate the brains of upper-class babies.

[TygrBright]

16. A significantly flawed leader who nonetheless....

...accomplished amazing things for his people in the face of tremendous opposition.

IOW, mixed reviews-- Yes, he's a tyrant; yes, he did cruelly suppress domestic opposition and place unconscionable limits on his peoples' freedom. Yes, he liberated them from appalling economic slavery and political subjection to some of the worst corporate/criminal/political scumsuckers we could throw at them; yes, he did raise their standard of living unbelievably, achieve the closest thing to universal literacy in any New World nation, and assure much higher standards of health care, sanitation, etc., than anyone could have believed was possible prior to his coup.

judiciously,
Bright