Fidel Castro Retires
One of the world’s most oppressive dictators has retired: earlier today, Fidel Castro announced that he would no longer be Commander-in-Chief of Cuba, the country he ruined. The announcement came 19 months after he underwent stomach surgery and, thus, 19 months after he last truly and publicly ruled.
“To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent days of electing me a member of parliament … I communicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept — I repeat not aspire to or accept — the positions of President of Council of State and Commander in Chief,” he said in a statement published on the website of the Communist Party’s Granma newspaper.
He will be succeeded by his brother, Raul who is… 76 years old. No matter what happens, then, 10 years from now the Castro and communist regime will be gone. My prediction is that Cubans will get rid of communism before those 10 years are over by the way.
The average man in the street wasn’t surprised by the news. “Everyone knew for a while that he would not come back. The people got used to his absence,” said Roberto, a self-employed Cuban. Another Cuban said that “I don’t know what to say. I just want to leave. This system cannot continue.”
It’s clear that the regime waited so long before it announced Fidel’s retirement because it wanted to prepare Cubans for it. If Fidel would suddenly have retired, it’s quite possible that chaos would have broken out and the regime overthrown. By taking their time to announce the decision, however, Cubans have learned to live without Fidel - that’s one - and, two, they still fear the power and reach of the state.
