Cuban revolutionary and long-time leader Fidel Castro passed away last Friday, creating an array of different reactions from around the world.
According to Reuters, Castro had been ill ever since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006. Two years later, the bedridden leader officially handed over his position to his younger brother, Raul.
The younger Castro, now 85, appeared on Cuban national television on Friday night to announce the death of his sibling.
"At 10:29 at night, the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died," he somberly shared without stating the cause, and ended the speech with "ever onward, to victory", the well-known slogan of the Cuban revolution.
The Cuban icon’s passing inspired a diverse global response, ranging from Vietnam and China’s solemn solidarity to American President-elect Donald Trump’s terse tweet, “Fidel Castro is dead!”
According to Tuoi Tre, the Vietnamese government released a statement last week, saying: “Vietnamese leaders and people are deeply mournful” to learn of Castro’s death. “Cuba has lost an unyielding, brave and seasoned leader while Vietnam has lost a very close and dear comrade and fellow fighter,” the statement reads.
The Cuban leader, despite being one of the United States’ most indefatigable enemies, maintained a cordial relationship with Vietnam. He first visited the Southeast Asian country in 1973 as a gesture of support between the two communist nations. President Tran Dai Quang, among the last world leaders to meet Castro in the flesh, visited the Cuban leader at his home on November 16.
Photo via People.
China also echoed the Vietnamese government’s sentiments towards the late Castro, reports Channel News Asia. In a message broadcast nationally on the night of the Cuban leader’s death, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: "The Chinese people have lost a good and true comrade. Comrade Castro will live forever."
Castro only set foot in China for the first time in 1995. Up until Mao’s death in 1976, Cuba and China did not have a close relationship due to the former’s ties to the Soviet Union, China’s rival after the 1960s. Naturally, after the dissolution of the USSR, the two communist nations became closer, with Chinese leaders visiting Cuba frequently.
For the most part, reactions from Cubans have been as expected, especially among members of older generations, reports The New York Times.
Graciela Martinez, 51, who works at a cafe in Havana, told the news outlet: “He was the only leader I ever knew.” She paused, then started crying thinking of her father, who fought for the revolution, and of her relatives who escaped to the United States. “For those who loved him, he was the greatest,” she said of Castro. “For those who hated him, there was no one worse.”
For generations of Cubans, Castro was the only ruler they knew, having served in office for 49 years. Thus, it’s impossible for them to separate him from their national identity. However, he’s also been absent from local politics for so long after passing on the torch to his brother that the newest crop of Cubans doesn’t identify with him or his legacy.
The bearded, cigar-smoking Fidel Castro became Cuba’s leader after ousting American-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. At only 32 years old, Castro quickly transformed the island into an egalitarian society.
Castro’s regime was given credit for improving the quality of life of poor Cubans, in addition to improving healthcare and literacy rates while eradicating a powerful mafia presence. However, his ironclad style of rule also lead to numerous extrajudicial executions, human right abuses and mistreatment of priests and homosexuals, as well as his political opponents, according to The Independent.
[Photo via Bao Phu Yen]
