Fidel Castro may retire

[jayjay]

@Lemur866

The trouble is, as long as Castro’s alive, any potential liberalizer has to fear Castro rising from his deathbed screaming “Heretic! Burn the witch!”. No one will try to seize overt power or undertake serious reforms while Castro is still alive, because it can all be undone with one denunciation by The Leader, even if The Leader is mostly dead.

He’s only mostly dead!

Now I’m picturing Miracle Max yelling to him as Che and Raul drag him off, “Have fun storming the cane fields!”

[BrainGlutton]

@Lemur866

The trouble is, as long as Castro’s alive, any potential liberalizer has to fear Castro rising from his deathbed screaming “Heretic! Burn the witch!”. No one will try to seize overt power or undertake serious reforms while Castro is still alive, because it can all be undone with one denunciation by The Leader, even if The Leader is mostly dead.

And even after that . . .

Whether Fidel will live long enough to see the end of the US embargo, and the recognition from his arch-enemy to the north that would come with normalized bilateral relations, remains to be seen. But he retreats from the political scene confident that his ideas and actions have left a legendary mark on his country, the Third World and US relations with both. “Our enemies should not delude themselves,” Castro states in “After Fidel: What?” the appropriately titled last chapter of his recently published memoir, Fidel Castro: My Life. “I die tomorrow and my influence may actually increase. I said once that the day I really die, nobody’s going to believe it. I may be carried around like El Cid–even after he was dead his men carried him around on his horse, winning battles.”

[Lemur866]

Yes, but after The Leader is dead, his legacy will be carried on by lesser men, mere mortals. Who won’t be adverse to using The Leader’s legacy for their own purposes.

Castro’s not going to see normalized US-Cuba relations in his lifetime because, get this, Castro doesn’t want normalized US-Cuba relations. He likes the status quo. It remains to be seen whether his successors prefer the status quo. It’s often been said that an average middle class American lives better than a king in Medieval Europe. Cuba is a poor country, there simply isn’t that much wealth for the oligarchs to steal. Of course, the ability to have a person who displeases you taken out and shot is something that no amount of money can replace.

As for the “legendary mark on his country” crack, surely you see the equivocation in that statement. You know who else left a legendary mark on his country, right?

[BrainGlutton]

@BrainGlutton

According to this article, there are some signs Raul might liberalize things, especially in the economy.

Of course, the same article says Raul has a reputation as (1) an executioner and (2) a practical joker. Combine that with (3) absolute power, and pop some corn!

[Frostillicus]

David Letterman had the funniest take on this issue, claiming that Fidel was going to turn power over to either his brother Raul, or his idiot son Fidel W. Castro.

[BrainGlutton]

They’re saying on All Things Considered right now, the National Assembly has chosen Raul Castro for president – and for VP, an old Communist warhorse who fought in the Revolution. What happened to all that talk about the next generation?

[jayjay]

@BrainGlutton

They’re saying on All Things Considered right now, the National Assembly has chosen Raul Castro for president – and for VP, an old Communist warhorse who fought in the Revolution. What happened to all that talk about the next generation?

Remember the succession of semi-embalmed corpses the USSR went through before they put in Gorbachev? The next generation will be in power once the old one all dies off.

[lalenin]

I’m not sure if Raul has just staged a coup or if he’s merely Fidel’s puppet right now. My friends in Cuba seem to think Raul took the opportunity of Fidel’s illness to make himself the new number one in Cuba, which sounds like a coup, but he is not yet sure of popular support which is why he said the following during his acceptance speech:

“Por tanto, seguro de expresar el sentir de nuestro pueblo, solicito a esta Asamblea, como órgano supremo del poder del Estado, que las decisiones de especial trascendencia para el futuro de la nación, sobre todo las vinculadas con la defensa, la política exterior y el desarrollo socioeconómico del país, me permita continuar consultándolas al líder de la Revolución, el compañero Fidel Castro Ruz.”

translated:

“Consequently, I am sure I echo the feelings of our people when I ask this Assembly, as the supreme body of State power, that for all decisions of special transcendency for the future of the nation, specially those related to defense, exterior relations, and economic development, I be allowed to continue consulting with the Revolution’s leader, comrade Fidel Castro Ruz.”