An Extended Tribute to Fidel
by Stephen Lendman
Below are the articles I wrote daily following his passing, throughout the official nine-day mourning period until he was laid to rest on December 4.
It’s my way to honor his dedication to Cubans and humanity. Fidel was the most extraordinary figure of my lifetime. It’s hard imagining he’s no longer with us. His spirit remain eternal.
Articles began on November 26, continuing daily through December 4. A concluding article, written days before Fidel’s death, asked if Trump intends ending 56 years of illegal embargo.
Fidel Castro Ruz Passes, An Era Ends
by Stephen Lendman
He’s gone. His revolutionary spirit lives. He redoubtably resisted yankee imperialism for half a century, surviving hundreds of US attempts to kill him and the revolution he led.
He withstood the machinations of 11 US administrations, from Dwight Eisenhower to Obama - leading Cuba from January 1959 to his February 2008 retirement for health reasons, passing the baton to brother Raul while remaining intellectually active and influential to the end.
Washington dominated Cuba from the William McKinley era to the Eisenhower administration. Fidel liberated it, transformed it from a mafia-infested brothel to a populist state serving all its people, providing benefits most Americans can’t imagine.
Article 50 of Cuba’s Constitution mandates “the right to health protection and care” for everyone.
By “providing free medical and hospital care by means of the installations of the rural medical service network, polyclinics, hospitals, preventative and specialized treatment centers.”
“(F)ree dental care. Promoting the health publicity campaigns, health education, regular medical examinations, general vaccination and other measures to prevent the outbreak of disease.”
“All the population cooperates in these activities and plans through the social and mass organizations.”
Cuban healthcare is among the world’s best, shaming America’s pay or die system, with double the number of physicians per 1,000 population as its northern neighbor.
Article 51 guarantees free universal education to the highest levels - for children, youths and adults. Cuba’s Constitution states:
“Everybody has a right to education. This right is guaranteed by the extensive and free system of schools, part-time boarding schools, boarding schools and scholarships in all types and at all levels of education, by the free provision of school materials to every child and young person regardless of the economic situation of the family, and by the provision of courses suited to the student’s aptitude, the requirements of society and the needs of economic and social development.”
Castro virtually eliminated illiteracy. Students learn math, reading, the sciences, arts, humanities, social responsibility, civics and participatory citizenship.
They’re taught skills to make them productive citizens - able to contribute to national development.
In one of his “reflections,” Fidel said “(w)e have a powerful…adversary, our closest neighbor: the United States…There is no greater price than capitulating to an enemy…(I)ts relegation to the dustbin of history will not be delayed.”
“Would it not be preferable to struggle to produce food and industrial products; build hospitals and schools for billions of human beings who desperately need them; promote art and culture; struggle against epidemics which lead to the death of half of the sick, health workers and technicians, as can be seen; or finally eliminate illnesses like cancer, Ebola, malaria, dengue, chikungunya, diabetes and others which affect the vital systems of human beings?”
“Just ideas will triumph, or disaster will triumph,” he stressed. Gone at age 90, an earlier article said his intellect remained keen, his judgment sound and passion for keeping Cuba free from US dominance uncompromising to the end.
Last March, he said “(w)e don’t need the empire to give us anything. Our efforts will be legal and peaceful, because our commitment is to peace and fraternity among all human beings who live on this planet” - anathema to America’s ruling class.
On August 13, he began his 10th decade. In an article honoring him on his 90th birthday, I said he represent(ed) redoubtable resistance against imperial repression, exploitation and ruthlessness.
Legendary in his own time, one day he’ll be immortalized more than already. On Friday evening at 10:29 PM Havana time, he drew his last breath. Now he belongs to the ages.
Media Scoundrels on Fidel Castro’s Passing
by Stephen Lendman
They spend over half a century denigrating him - now dancing on his grave to their shame.
NYT: “Mr. Castro brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere…briefly push(ing) the world to the brink of nuclear war” - The Times calling him “a self-obsessed zealot” for good measure, along with other insults.
Neocon Washington Post: “Fidel Castro, Cuban dictator, dies at 90…Under (his leadership), Havana became something of a Marxist Disneyland - a shiny, happy veneer over something much uglier.”
Wall Street Journal: “Castro inspired millions with his promises of justice and progress but presided over an oppressive state.”
Chicago Tribune: “Cuba’s Fidel Castro, who defied US for 50 years, dies at 90” - the Tribune publishing an AP News account of his death, largely denigrating him while calling him “an inspiration and source of support to revolutionaries from Latin America to Africa.”
Reuters: “A towering figure of the second half of the 20th century, (Castro) built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States…”
Los Angeles Times: “For Cubans in Miami, Castro’s death prompts revelry and reflection.”
CNN: “Crowds flood streets of Miami’s Little Havana to cheer Castro’s death.”
ABC News: “Cuban-Americans Fill the Streets of Miami’s Little Havana to Celebrate Fidel Castro’s Death.”
NBC News: “Castro antagonized 11 United States presidents and cast a uniquely long shadow over American politics.”
CBS News: “Fidel Castro, Cuba’s fiery former leader, dead at 90…Little Havana…cheer(s), danc(es) and wav(es) Cuban flags.”
Miami Herald: “No other individual has ever tormented Washington more or longer.”
BBC: “As communist regimes collapsed across the world, Castro kept the red flag flying on the doorstep of his greatest enemy, the United States.”
London Guardian: “The comandante overthrew Batista, established a communist state and survived countless American assassination attempts…bringing an end to an era for the country, Latin America and world.”
Al Jazeera: “(T)he Cuban revolutionary leader who built a communist state on the doorstep of the US, has died aged 90.”
I was a graduate student when he liberated Cuba from US-supported tyrannical rule. I recall his September 1960 New York visit, heading Cuba’s UN delegation, climaxed by his world body address.
He came as a man of peace, not confrontation, saying Cubans lacked freedom “for quite some time,” adding “(i)t has not been easy for us to come here…to state the problems of Cuba,” and receive hostile treatment in New York, including “notice(s) to all hotels not to rent rooms to us…”
“(A) Negro hotel in Harlem offered to rent us rooms,” despite a State Department official “d(oing) all in his power to prevent our staying” there.
Before liberation, he called Cuba “a colony of the United States,” stealing its land, resources and fundamental freedoms.
“There was no independent republic. There was only a colony where orders were given by the ambassador of the United States,” he explained.
“(W)e are proud to say that today no embassy rules our country. Our country is ruled by its people…tyranny (forced) upon us” ended.
Castro explained deplorable conditions affecting Cubans under the Batista regime - including rampant poverty, mass unemployment, half the population without electricity, living in “huts, shacks and slums, without the slightest sanitary conditions,” illnesses left untreated, 95% of rural children affected by parasites, high infant mortality, “just the opposite of the average life span.”
Constitutionally mandated revolutionary change followed. Yankee imperialism yearns to regain control, a new generation of Cuban leadership hopefully up to the challenge to prevent it.
On November 28 and 29, Cubans nationwide are invited to honor Fidel by signing a “solemn oath of complying with the concept of the revolution.”
A mass gathering is planned in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution where Fidel often addressed huge crowds. On November 30, his ashes will be transported from Havana to Santiago - his revolution beginning with an unsuccessful July 1953 attack on the city’s Moncada army barracks.
His remains will be laid to rest where it all began. Millions worldwide join Cubans in mourning his passing. Rest in peace, Fidel.
World Leaders on Fidel Castro’s Passing
by Stephen Lendman
A time for mourning - for me and millions of others worldwide. Fidel was a revolutionary giant, a redoubtable anti-imperial force, an inspiring role model.
It’s hard accepting his passing. Things won’t be the same without him, even knowing his revolutionary spirit lives on. Obama issued a forked-tongue statement, saying “we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people” - refusing to lift the illegal embargo by executive order, no congressional authorization needed.
The Clintons, along with turncoats Sanders and Stein remain silent as this is written.
Trump tweeted “Fidel Castro is dead!” A shameful statement followed, disgracefully calling
Fidel “a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades” - ending by saying he “hope(s) one day soon seeing a free Cuba.” Outrageous!
Neocon congressional members Mitch McConnel, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Illeana Ros-Lehtcinen, Mario Diaz-Balart, Ed Royce and others denigrated his passing.
Vladimir Putin “offered (his) deepest condolences to (Raul Castro) and the entire Cuban nation over the death of your brother, the leader of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro.”
“The name of this remarkable statesman is rightfully viewed as a symbol of a whole era in modern history. Free and independent Cuba built by him and his fellow revolutionaries has become an influential member of the international community and serves as an inspiring example for many countries and peoples.”
“Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia. He made a tremendous personal contribution to the establishment and progress of Russian-Cuban relations, close strategic partnership in all areas.”
“This strong and wise man always looked into the future with confidence. He embodied the high ideals of a politician, citizen and patriot who wholeheartedly believed in the cause, to which he devoted his life. Russians will always cherish his memory in their hearts.”
“In this mournful hour, I ask you to pass on my words of sympathy and support to all members of your family. I wish you courage and tenacity as you face this irreparable loss.”
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said “(w)ithout exaggeration, a whole era of history is gone with Fidel Castro.”
Former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade, when there was colossal pressure on him and he still took his country out of this blockade to a path of independent development. In the past years, even when Fidel Castro was not formally in power, his role in strengthening the country was huge.”
In a telegram to Raul Castro, Pope Francis said “(u)pon hearing the sad news…I express my sadness to your excellency and all family members of the deceased dignitary, as well as the government and the people in that beloved nation. At the same time, I offer my prayers for his eternal rest…”
China’s President Xi Jinping mourned the loss of a “dear comrade and true friend,” a man who made “immortal contributions to the development of socialism around the world.”
China’s official Xinhua News Agency headlined “Old Soldiers Never Die,” hailing Fidel as a leader who “resisted the American superpower for half a century.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro praised Fidel, saying “(t)o all revolutionaries of the world, we have to continue with his legacy and his flag of independence, of socialism, of homeland.”
“He made history together with the peoples of the world to signal a way of dignity...Great history with the principles of Bolivar and Marti. I just talked with President Raul Castro to send the solidarity and love to the people of Cuba before the passing of Commander Fidel Castro.”
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa called Fidel “a big one. Long live Cuba! Long Live Latin America.”
Bolivian President Evo Morales said “Fidel…devoted his life, his knowledge and his struggle not only to the Cuban people but to all the people of the world.”
UK Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Fidel “will be remembered both as an internationalist and a champion of social justice.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Fidel “one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “offer(ed) condolences to the Cuban government, its people and family members.”
He was bigger than life, a legend in his own time, a monumental liberator, a giant among revolutionary leaders - going gentle into that good night not his style.
Cuba announced nine days of national mourning for their beloved leader now passed.
Fidel in His Own Words
by Stephen Lendman
My thoughts are on one topic above all others today, Fidel Castro’s passing, the end of an era, unknown what may follow but hopeful.
On national television Friday evening, Raul Castro announced his brother’s death, saying:
“With deep pain, I appear to inform our people, the friends of our America and the world that today, November 25, 2016, at 10:29 PM, the commander-in- chief of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz died” at age 90.
As he wished, his remains will be cremated and interred in Santiago, where his liberating revolution began. Beginning November 26, nine days of national mourning will continue through December 4.
According to Granma, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba, “(p)ublic activities and spectacles stand cancelled. The national flag will wave at half-mast in public buildings and military establishments. Radio and television will maintain an informative, patriotic and historical programming.”
On November 15, he was last seen publicly with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at his home in Havana.
His last public appearance was on August 13 during events celebrating his 90th birthday at Havana’s Karl Marx Theater.
In April, at the VII Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, he delivered his last public address, highlighting his revolutionary ideology and spirit. At the time, he said:
“We will all be in for our turn, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain, as proof that on this planet, if we work with fervor and dignity, we can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need, and we must fight without ceasing to obtain them.”
He said “Marxism or scientific socialism is the revolutionary movement of the working class,” calling himself “a Marxist-Leninist…until the end of my life.” Some of his other memorable quotes, include saying:
“Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.”
“We will win this battle for life, and not only for your lives, but also for the lives of all children in the world.”
“Cuba is not opposed to finding a solution to its historical differences with the United States, but no one should expect Cuba to change its position or yield in its principles. Cuba is and will continue to be socialist. Cuba is and will continue to be a friend of the Soviet Union and of all the socialist states.”
“I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy. It is gross. It is alienating...because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition.”
“I am not a communist and neither is the revolutionary movement.”
“A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.”
“There is not Communism or Marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy.”
“I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I’d do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action.”
“North Americans don’t understand...that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity.”
“Someday, the capitalist system will disappear in the United States, because no social class system has been eternal. One day, class societies will disappear.”
“I can assure you that my first and foremost interest is my country.”
“I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate, when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.”
“We will all be in for our turn, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain, as proof that on this planet, if we work with fervor and dignity, we can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need, and we must fight without ceasing to obtain them.”
He breathed his last on Friday evening, November 25. His spirit lives on forever.
Media Scoundrels Denigrate Fidel
by Stephen Lendman
Media scoundrels are masters of fake news, serving as press agents for wealth, power and privilege, including denigrating independent leaders, unwilling to bow to Washington’s will.
Fidel was heroic, a revolutionary giant, beloved by most Cubans, his agenda an antidote to governance of, by and for the privileged few alone, the way things are in America and most other societies.
When he ended tyrannical Batista rule, Cuba was “a country where there was (mass) unemployment, (mass impoverishment), (mass) illiteracy, (deplorable repression and human misery), and where one had to beg to get into a hospital,” he said in a September 1961 UN General Assembly address.
Thousands of children died for lack of vital medicines and treatment. “Yankee monopolies” and rich Cubans owned the land, preventing agrarian reform he instituted.
Cuba was a mafia-infested brothel, exploited for profit, resisters imprisoned or otherwise eliminated. Castro changed things, providing vital social services, including healthcare, education and employment, considered fundamental human rights. Imagine how much more was possible had illegal embargo not been imposed for 56 years.
The New York Times turned truth on its head, saying he ruled by “repression and fear that kept him and his totalitarian government in power for so long.” What rubbish, typical Times misreporting.
Neocon Washington Post editors deplorably called Cuba under Castro “a decrepit museum piece of Soviet-style totalitarianism.” Disgraceful!
Wall Street Journal editors said his leadership was “murderous and tragic,” ludicrously describing pre-Castro Cuba as “relatively prosperous (with) a vibrant civic life,” making Batista-style tyranny sound like paradise.
Visiting Cuba at age 81, the late Gore Vidal said it was “so rare to see a contented people…no sullenness…We’ve seen the bad side of Cuba because we’re fed nothing else by the media.”
Fidel Castro “has been generally benign. The bloodcurdling stories we’ve been told by our government (and media are) not…true at all.”
Addressing a University of Havana audience, he said “(i)t gives me pleasure to be in a place full of hope.” In America, “people do not have the basic understanding of what they have lost. There has been a (duopoly power) coup and the republic has died.”
Castro cared about the welfare of all Cubans. He deplored wars and other forms of imperial adventurism. He once said “(t)hey talk about the failure of socialism, but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?
Where is it successful in North America except for the privileged few?
Cubans Mourn Fidel’s Passing
by Stephen Lendman
Frail and weakened by earlier serious illness nearly taking his life, Fidel’s passing didn’t surprise.
Yet his larger than life persona, extraordinary revolutionary spirit and redoubtable anti-imperial resolve for so long made losing him hard to imagine he’s gone.
Around midnight on Friday, Raul Castro announced it on national television. Granma, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba, published his statement, saying:
“Dear people of Cuba:
With deep pain I appear to inform our people, the friends of our America and the world, that today November 25, 2016, at 10.29 p.m., the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died.
In compliance with the expressed will of Comrade Fidel, his remains will be cremated.
In the early hours of Saturday 26, the Organizing Committee of the funeral will provide our people with detailed information on the organization of the posthumous tribute that will be taxed to the founder of the Cuban Revolution.
Hasta la victoria siempre (Ever onward to victory)!”
The Havana Times said he “left his mark on the history of Cuba and the world…(H)e stood with the poor (and) deserves respect” from allies and enemies alike. A new era begins with his passing, hopefully continuing and building on the best of what he accomplished and stood for.
Little Havana Miami Cubans shamefully celebrated his passing, symbolically dancing on his grave - despicable revelry at a time millions worldwide mourn the death of Cuba’s liberator.
They took to the streets, waving Cuban flags, banging pots and pans, setting off fireworks, some popping champagne, others carrying shovels for a symbolic burial.
Police closed off streets. Helicopters hovered overhead. All night Friday into pre-dawn Saturday morning, Miami television networks broadcast live, joining the macabre festive mood.
Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado disgracefully said “(a)s the world celebrated when Hitler died, today Cubans are celebrating the death of Fidel Castro, and it will go on for hours and for days.” Crowds chanted “Fidel, tyrant, bring your brother.”
In Havana and across Cuba, millions mourn his passing. All day Saturday, Cuban media aired his speeches, likely continuing through the weekend with much more to come on his life and achievements for nine official days of mourning from November 26 through December 4.
When Raul announced his death, sadness replaced music in Havana. Streets emptied. Earlier reports of Fidel’s death were false. Now it’s true.
One Havana resident likely spoke for others, saying “(l)osing Fidel is like losing a father.” Others said he’ll never be forgotten. “Of course I’m crying,” a mourner said. “We Cubans are Fidelista.”
During his last public appearance in April, he said “(s)oon I will end up like everyone does.” On November 25, his end time came.
His redoubtable spirit remains eternal. Cuba won’t be the same without him.
A Final Comment
In a letter of condolence to Cuban leader Raul Castro, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said “(t)he name Fidel Castro will live forever in the minds of generations and remain an inspiration for all the peoples who aspire to achieve real independence and liberation from the yoke of colonialism and hegemony.”
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