Originally posted by Surtur
Your country might have had normal relations with him, but you have to admit he is a monster. Or was.I knew about Trudeau's connection to the family, but you'd think he would say that in private to them or something, not make a statement like that for everyone to see.
Castro was one of the few dictators to get as much admiration as criticism (Marshal Tito was probably another.) We all know before the revolution that Cuba was America's whorehouse, exploited by gangsters and corporations like United Fruit Company. After the revolution Castro's appeal for aid was spurned by the White House, which was why he turned to the Soviet Union instead. Who knows what Cuba could have become without several decades of US economic blockades and hundreds of attempts to assassinate Castro by the CIA, making him draw the security net around the island tighter and tighter. (On a tour group in Havana in 2007, I was told Castro never slept in the same place two night in a row, for security purposes.) Cuba has drawbacks as a system, but the people are better off than pre-1959, just being able to participate in shaping their country.
What I can say about Fidel is, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he should have followed China's lead in developing some market reforms. But he was hardened by the decades long standoff with the USA, and wanted them to come to the table first.