Fidel Castro’s Death Sparks Responses Around the World

On November 25, Cuban president Raul Castro announced the death of his older brother, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who withdrew from government affairs after transferring power to Raul in 2008. For the past eight years, the leader of the Cuban Revolution had  remained a marginally influential figure in Cuba, writing publications denouncing the United States and giving speeches from time to time.

Castro’s death evoked many responses from the international community. According to the Cuban state newspaper, Granma, the majority of Latin American heads of state paid their respects to the former Cuban leader. Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela credited Castro’s government with establishing the country’s major state companies, while Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico praised Castro as an influential figure of the twentieth century.

Beyond Latin America, Fidel Castro’s death was also discussed among heads of state. President Obama adopted a neutral stance, expressing hopes that both the United States and Cuba could continue along the path of reconciliation. Leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un echoed sentiments of admiration and respect for the deceased Cuban strongman.

Within the Cuban sphere, however, reactions to Castro’s death were mixed. For the most part, Cuban-Americans exulted in Castro’s death, notably with celebrations in the famous Calle Ocho of Little Havana in Miami. CNN interviewed several of these Cuban-Americans, many of whose families fled Cuba decades ago to escape Castro’s oppressive regime. One of the interviewees remarked, “This is a celebration, but not a celebration of death, but the beginning of a liberty that we’ve been awaiting for many years.”

In Cuba, businesses closed temporarily and the government designated a 9-day period of mourning to honor Castro. Many Cubans have expressed dissent against the state’s censorship and repressive reinforcement of the mourning period. However, the atmosphere on the island in the wake of Castro’s death mainly centers around sadness or apathy, largely due to a generational change. Older Cubans who lived under the Castro regime for decades mourned their former leader, but for the most part, Castro’s death did little to move the country’s younger generation. Having lived only briefly in the waning years of Castro’s rule, Cuba’s younger population chooses to look forward to a post-Castro era rather than reminisce about the revolutionary past of their parents and grandparents. For Cuba’s youth, a future without Castro signifies a new era of opportunities, both economic and social.

With the death of Castro, questions arise as to how the country’s political structure will be affected. Some analysts predict that the Cuban government will lift censorship and restrictions on freedom of speech. Others, however, tend to focus on the economic repercussions, believing that with or without Castro, Cuba would have inevitably shifted to a free market economy. Abraham Jimenez Enoa, a blogger, insisted that “the country will continue on the path that it’s on,” according to The New York Times.

In terms of relations between the United States and Cuba, the future is uncertain. With Obama’s presidency coming to a close, Donald Trump preparing to assume the reins of a hardline Republican presidency, and Raul Castro announcing plans to withdraw from politics in 2018, the progress made on US-Cuban rapprochement could easily backtrack.

Fidel Castro’s controversial status in history sparked praise from those who considered him an anti-imperialist revolutionary and a social progressive, as well as criticism from those who considered him a tyrant and despot. Graciela Martinez, a Cuban citizen, summed up Castro’s legacy in the wake of his death, saying that, “For those who loved him, he was the greatest. For those who hated him, there was no one worse.”