Castro dies at 90

Regardless of how one chooses to reflect on the life of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, the late revolutionist and dictator will long be remembered for his steadfastness and tenacity — a relentless and controversial leader who stood uncompromisingly behind his ideologies over a near 50-reign which saw him lock horns with many of the world’s powers, including the United States, for which he maintained a decades-long animosity.

Castro, who turned 90 on August 13, died at 10.29 pm on Friday after a prolonged bout with illness, his brother, President of the Council of State of Cuba, Raul Castro, said in a statement aired live on Cuban television late Friday.

“With profound pain I appear to inform our people and the friends of the Americas and the world, that today, November 25, at 10.29 pm, the commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz died,” Raul Castro said in his statement.

“In compliance with the expressed will of the Companion Fidel, his remains will be cremated.” Raul said the committee presiding over arrangements for Castro’s funeral will provide Cubans with “detailed information” on the organisation of a posthumous tribute which will be done for the founder of the Cuban Revolution.

The Cuban Government will immediately observe nine days of mourning for Castro, after which there will be two days of observances in Revolution Plaza in Havana. The late leader’s ashes will then be transported across the country to the eastern city of Santiago.

His funeral mass and ceremony, to be held on December 4, precedes an internment in the cemetery of Santa Ifigenia.

Castro, who visited Trinidad and Tobago under the former Basdeo Panday-led United National Congress (UNC) government, in 1995, to attend a conference of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s, began losing his grip on power a decade ago when emergency intestinal surgery, which left him in a weakened state, forced him to relinquish Cuba’s governance into the hands of his younger brother, Raul.

And while the father of nine had kept a low profile, making a sprinkling of brief public appearances, over the last ten years, Castro’s dominant influence, bitter or cherished, was felt in all corners of the globe, as leaders and Cubans residing in countries around the world, expressed mixed reactions to his passing.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, in a brief statement, said Castro’s passing marked an end of an iconic period of history not only for the Caribbean and Latin American Region, but also for the world.

Rowley extended condolences to the people of Cuba, acknowledging that Castro was one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.

Further, he said a letter conveying TT’s condolences has been dispatched to President Raul Castro.

“Our prayers accompany them in their time of grief,” Rowley said, noting that TT and other Caricom nations had enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad- Bissessar spoke glowingly about Castro’s leadership, describing him as an “imposing presence” who shaped the region throughout the 20th century into the 21st century with the emergence of the “Pink Tide”in Latin America, which forged of increasingly closer relations between Caricom and Cuba.

Recalling his humble beginnings - the son of a sugar cane farmer who became involved in politics to reject the dominance of his island by foreign capitalist interests — Persad- Bissessar observed that Castro’s life was one for the history books.

“Mr Castro’s life and his control over Cuba, his personal efforts at improving the lives of his people and his role on global stage have already engaged the attention of historians of different social and political stripes,” she said in a statement..

“The enduring legacy of the man who featured in some of the world’s most iconic dramas will no doubt live on in history and in legend.” Persad-Bissessar added that Castro’s regime had implemented a series of reforms which enhanced the lives of poor Cubans.

“He nationalised and redistributed land and implemented programs to raise literacy and education among the poor rural population. He also created a free universal health care system,” she said.

The effects of Castro’s passing also were felt throughout T&T’s labour fraternity.

Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah hailed Castro as “an exemplary leader who was undoubtedly one of the most important and influential persons of the Twentieth Century.

“Fidel’s legacy is immense. There is no challenge to the fact that he was not only courageous but also stood by his convictions and principles,” he said in a statement.

“This was demonstrated from the time of his leadership of the student movement at the University of Havana in the late 1940’s; and his early involvement in party politics as a candidate for the Orthodox Party which won the 1951 elections but which government was removed by a coup d’etat in March 1952 by the dictator Batista.

Abdulah described Castro as a “beacon” to all in the world who believe in social justice and the dignity of all people; as well as those who value the right to self determination, independence and sovereignty of all nations.

“That Cuba under Fidel’s leadership “walked the talk” is manifest by the undoubted social progress in Cuba with the ending of illiteracy in the first few years of the Revolution; the development of a quality education system that was unprecedented in Latin America and the Caribbean; a health care system that is internationally recognised as one of the finest in the world; infant and maternity death rates that are lower than all but a handful of so called “developed countries”and life expectancy that is on par with or significantly higher than the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said.

Recalling Castro’s contribution to the development of science, research, culture and the arts and sport in Cuba; Abdulah said the Communist leader also encouraged movements of artists and intellectuals through institutions such as Casa de las Americas, Casa del Caribe and Intellectuals for Humanity.

“Fidel and the Cuban Revolution inspired and gave hope to millions of people the world over and in Latin America and the Caribbean in particular, that “Another World is Possible,” he said.

Joseph Remy, president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUN), meanwhile, said Castro changed the face of Caribbean politics.

“I think his memory will last forever,” he said.

Remy, who is also the president general of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), told Sunday Newsday he witnessed first hand Castro’s enduring appeal, during a recent visit to Cuba.

“I know how he was revered by the Cuban people with the courage and the resilience he instilled in them and from all of the reports that I am hearing, it is a sad day in Cuba,” he said..

Saying the CWU had a long-standing relationship with Cuba, Remy said the island’s people and those throughout the region “can take strength from what he has done as an example of how we try to make a difference in this world.

“I am one of the people who believed in his ideology and I believe that his effort was to change the world because we have seen the ravages of the capitalist system,” he said.

“I think his ideology is one that we should look at because the world is in turmoil right now and the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. There is no thrust towards social justice and equity.”