Fidel Lives!

Fidel is back!  In spite of all that ill will from the Cuban exiles and those who are part of the anti-Castro cottage industry all over the world, he has improved tremendously from the frail condition of just a few years.  He's still the inspirational leader of the revolution and of those who want to be free from the overbearing presence of the American empire.  Deep down, we in Latin America admire his guts in standing up to the U.S. for half a century, and going his own way to a more just society.  Under the most difficult conditions, Fidel has stayed the course, resisting all kinds of pressures and attempts to do away with Cuban socialism.  Those who point to his "failures" fail to consider what Cuban society would be like, if the rest of the world would have respected its sovereign right to conduct its affairs as it deemed appropriate.

One last thing.  I find it significant that, in Latin America, even those who hate him to death call him by his first name, while the rest of the world refers to him as Castro.  I suppose it's a sign that we feel a sort of kinship to him, recognizing him as one of our own.