Castro resigns from presidency

[Tsontos]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...QZuagD8UTI1P88

[Foti66]

Good riddance to the clown. He screwed an entire nation and turned it into nothingness. It was once a thriving nation. It is now a third world hellhole. I live in the U.S. and have many friends of Cuban ancestry. They were the lucky ones whose families made it out of there.

I am not a huge fan of their food. Rice and beans are a staple (like we have bread). The remainder fried plantains and bananas, and grilled meats. I do however enjoy their coffee, which is very sweet. I also like a good Cubano sandwich (which is the same thing as a toast in Greece). Just thought I would lighten the mood with this second paragraph.

[Vasiliye]

Tyrrant.Certain charm and occassional witt (striking Tito parallel) is not an excuse for what he has done to an entire people.Good ridance.His brother lacks the capability to be a self-contained "icon", he'll probably manifest more direct brutality.Popular revolt plus certain pressure from outside will eventualy tear down the totalitarian farce.

[Foti66]

The Cuban elite in the U.S. who want to help their country, I believe, see it as a failing cause. Castro has done such enormous damage to the psyche of the Cuban people. He has kept them completely isolated from the outside world for decades. I think they feel it would be extremely difficult to ignite a spark from their people in Cuba. Perhaps seeing the disparity of life between the newly created tourist areas and their own meager existence might do the trick? But I do not think they are allowed in those areas unless they are workers.

[Truth Bearer]

Castro was a hero to his people back in 1959 he got rid of a brutal dictator in Batista but sadly power the better of him and he should have let his people decide....

[Bardas]

History will be kind to Castro IMO.

He may have been a communist dictator but he did come to power in the wake of a popular uprising against the far more oppressive Batista, whom under his dictatorship Cuba became a free zone for American organized crime.

And especially during the 60’s and 70’s, he was far less oppressive than the American-backed juntas in neighbouring Central American nations, such as Guatemala and Panama; Cuba never had death squads running around out of control, for example.

Also, in an already poor region of the world, Cubans would have at the least had a marginally better standard of living during that period. Perhaps his greatest legacy will be Cuba’s public health system. Even Castro detractors will begrudgingly admit Cuban doctors are the best in Latin America.

In short, he wasn’t as bad as the Americans or Cuban-exiles would like us to think.

But agree with TB that in a changing world he should have guided Cuba away from Marxism and one party-rule and towards an open and democratic society.