Fidel Castro resigns!

[Brent]

HAVANA (AFP) — Fidel Castro resigned Tuesday as president and commander in chief of Cuba, the online official press said.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hgD ... Wh-7P7JMdg

[Chacor]

I wouldn't call it a resignation as much as a retirement.

[Chacor]

Message from the Commander in Chief

Dear compatriots:

Last Friday, February 15, I promised you that in my next reflection I would deal with an issue of interest to many compatriots. Thus, this now is rather a message.

The moment has come to nominate and elect the State Council, its President, its Vice-Presidents and Secretary.

For many years I have occupied the honorable position of President. On February 15, 1976 the Socialist Constitution was approved with the free, direct and secret vote of over 95% of the people with the right to cast a vote. The first National Assembly was established on December 2nd that same year; this elected the State Council and its presidency. Before that, I had been a Prime Minister for almost 18 years. I always had the necessary prerogatives to carry forward the revolutionary work with the support of the overwhelming majority of the people.

There were those overseas who, aware of my critical health condition, thought that my provisional resignation, on July 31, 2006, to the position of President of the State Council, which I left to First Vice-President Raul Castro Ruz, was final. But Raul, who is also minister of the Armed Forces on account of his own personal merits, and the other comrades of the Party and State leadership were unwilling to consider me out of public life despite my unstable health condition.

It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis-à-vis an adversary which had done everything possible to get rid of me, and I felt reluctant to comply.

Later, in my necessary retreat, I was able to recover the full command of my mind as well as the possibility for much reading and meditation. I had enough physical strength to write for many hours, which I shared with the corresponding rehabilitation and recovery programs. Basic common sense indicated that such activity was within my reach. On the other hand, when referring to my health I was extremely careful to avoid raising expectations since I felt that an adverse ending would bring traumatic news to our people in the midst of the battle. Thus, my first duty was to prepare our people both politically and psychologically for my absence after so many years of struggle. I kept saying that my recovery "was not without risks."

My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath. That’s all I can offer.

To my dearest compatriots, who have recently honored me so much by electing me a member of the Parliament where so many agreements should be adopted of utmost importance to the destiny of our Revolution, I am saying that I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of President of the State Council and Commander in Chief.

In short letters addressed to Randy Alonso, Director of the Round Table National TV Program, --letters which at my request were made public-- I discreetly introduced elements of this message I am writing today, when not even the addressee of such letters was aware of my intention. I trusted Randy, whom I knew very well from his days as a student of Journalism. In those days I met almost on a weekly basis with the main representatives of the University students from the provinces at the library of the large house in Kohly where they lived. Today, the entire country is an immense University.

Following are some paragraphs chosen from the letter addressed to Randy on December 17, 2007:

"I strongly believe that the answers to the current problems facing Cuban society, which has, as an average, a twelfth grade of education, almost a million university graduates, and a real possibility for all its citizens to become educated without their being in any way discriminated against, require more variables for each concrete problem than those contained in a chess game. We cannot ignore one single detail; this is not an easy path to take, if the intelligence of a human being in a revolutionary society is to prevail over instinct.

"My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, much less to stand in the way of younger persons, but rather to contribute my own experience and ideas whose modest value comes from the exceptional era that I had the privilege of living in.

"Like Niemeyer, I believe that one has to be consistent right up to the end."

Letter from January 8, 2008:

"…I am a firm supporter of the united vote (a principle that preserves the unknown merits), which allowed us to avoid the tendency to copy what came to us from countries of the former socialist bloc, including the portrait of the one candidate, as singular as his solidarity towards Cuba. I deeply respect that first attempt at building socialism, thanks to which we were able to continue along the path we had chosen."

And I reiterated in that letter that "…I never forget that ‘all of the world’s glory fits in a kernel of corn."

Therefore, it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer. This I say devoid of all drama.

Fortunately, our Revolution can still count on cadres from the old guard and others who were very young in the early stages of the process. Some were very young, almost children, when they joined the fight on the mountains and later they have given glory to the country with their heroic performance and their internationalist missions. They have the authority and the experience to guarantee the replacement. There is also the intermediate generation which learned together with us the basics of the complex and almost unattainable art of organizing and leading a revolution.

The path will always be difficult and require from everyone’s intelligent effort. I distrust the seemingly easy path of apologetics or its antithesis the self-flagellation. We should always be prepared for the worst variable. The principle of being as prudent in success as steady in adversity cannot be forgotten. The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong; however, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century.

This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write [for Granma] under the heading of ‘Reflections by comrade Fidel.’ It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful.

Thanks.



Fidel Castro Ruz

February 18, 2008

5:30 p.m.

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/02/19 ... tic10.html

[HURAKAN]

Like expected, this just passes all the powers to Raul Castro.

Nothing has changed.

[HURAKAN]

Castro once said "history will absorb me, and everyone will be witnesses."

It has happened. No history book will be able to leave out this unfortunate period of Cuban history.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Yeah, if Castro had stayed on until the bitter end, there may have been a surge of popular support for a new form of government. Now Raul will have some time before Fidel dies to consolidate power.


Do Fidel and/or Raul have any children still loyal to the revolution? Will Cuba become like North Korea?



Anyway, I actually think the best strategy is to remove all travel restrictions on American tourists to Cuba. Yes, it will improve the cash flow for the communist government, but even with American tourists confined to special tourist zones, the natives will certainly notice the fruits of capitalism.

[Derek Ortt]

did Raul have most of the power anyways for the last 18 months? If so, today's news is non news

[HURAKAN]

Do Fidel and/or Raul have any children still loyal to the revolution? Will Cuba become like North Korea?

Family:
By his first wife Mirta Díaz-Balart, Castro has a son named Fidel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart. Díaz-Balart and Castro were divorced in 1955, and she remarried. After a spell in Madrid, Díaz-Balart reportedly returned to Havana to live with Fidelito and his family. Fidelito grew up in Cuba; for a time, he ran Cuba's atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father. Díaz-Balart's nephews are Republican U.S. Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, vocal critics of the Castro government.

Fidel has five other sons by his second wife, Dalia Soto del Valle: Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Angel.

While Fidel was married to Mirta, he had an affair with Naty Revuelta resulting in a daughter named Alina Fernández-Revuelta. Alina left Cuba in 1993, disguised as a Spanish tourist, and sought asylum in the United States. She has been a vocal critic of her father's policies.

His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s and was featured in a film documentary by Andy Warhol in 1965.

_________________________________________

His sons have never been important in his Revolution and they have always been kept out from public sight. I don't expect them to be significant figures in the future of Cuba.

Anyway, I actually think the best strategy is to remove all travel restrictions on American tourists to Cuba. Yes, it will improve the cash flow for the communist government, but even with American tourists confined to special tourist zones, the natives will certainly notice the fruits of capitalism.

I agree. The policies established since 1959 have not worked, and I don't expect them to work. I don't want to expand more the commentary and I don't want to make this a political issue. As a Cuban-American, I just want to make an statement about this important point in human history.

[HURAKAN]

did Raul have most of the power anyways for the last 18 months? If so, today's news is non news

It's not a surprise, like i said before, but deep inside Cubans it's kind of a shock. Fidel was always reluctant to be seen weak or that he wasn't in control. Still today behind doors I suspect, and most Cubans do, that he is a major force in the decisions in the island.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Not all Cuban-Americans oppose communism, sadly. This flag (A Cuban flag with the image of Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara superimposed) is proudly flown by a Cuban-American campaign volunteer in the local Houston campaign office of a presidential candidate. I won't mention his name, as US politics are now a verboten topic at S2K.

[vbhoutex]

You didn't have to mention his name since it is in the picture, which I am sure you already were aware of.

[southerngale]

You didn't have to mention his name since it is in the picture, which I am sure you already were aware of.

You took the words right out of my mouth!
I'm thinking... duh!

[Coredesat]

I won't mention his name, as US politics are now a verboten topic at S2K.

They aren't if you're a conservative, but I'll stop there.

As for the picture, that is probably either staged (no one else has bothered reporting on it), or it's just that lady's personal beliefs.

[mf_dolphin]

Core you are welcome to report any posts to any member of the staff that you feel cross into the political restrictions on the board. To date I haven't seen any reports from you. It's easy to take off-handed swipes but that being unfair since you don't see what happens behind the scenes. They do one hell of a job being even handed on the political posts and they have my FULL support!

[Ed Mahmoud]

For the person accusing me of lying, or of finding a staged photo...


http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/421834.html



I certainly hope that is just one volunteer's personal beliefs.

[vbhoutex]

Core you are welcome to report any posts to any member of the staff that you feel cross into the political restrictions on the board. To date I haven't seen any reports from you. It's easy to take off-handed swipes but that being unfair since you don't see what happens behind the scenes. They do one hell of a job being even handed on the political posts and they have my FULL support!

As another admin at this site I will echo Marshall's comments VERY STRONGLY!!

And as he said, if any member has a problem with something they see on the site, then report it to the staff(and yes that includes the reporting the staff)so we can deal with it according to our policies.

[Coredesat]

For the person accusing me of lying, or of finding a staged photo...


http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/421834.html



I certainly hope that is just one volunteer's personal beliefs.

Then it's not staged. However, there are a few Cuban Americans who do that (which is kind of odd and counterintuitive when you think about it); not all of them oppose the Castro regime. It has nothing to do with the political leanings of the Obama campaign, unlike what Fox News keeps belting out.

Of course, the accusations against the Obama campaign make no political sense, because communist regimes as they exist are far-right ultraconservative establishments, disguised as far-left "revolutions".

[x-y-no]

I'll second what Marshall said too - and I'm definitely not what you could term "conservative."

[southerngale]

It has nothing to do with the political leanings of the Obama campaign, unlike what Fox News keeps belting out.

Perhaps you ought to read again what Marshall said above.

I am pretty sure you don't watch Fox News, anyway. I have been leaving it on there for many hours a day while working and haven't heard them belt out anything of the sort. Not even once. Maybe you ought to check your sources.

[Coredesat]

What does Marshall's comment have to do with the fact that FNC is indeed conservatively biased? Most analysts have concluded just that, it's not my personal opinion.

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Mur ... ontroversy

And before you go saying "it's just Wikipedia", the statement is sourced.