Fidel

I am an unabashed fan of Fidel Castro. He and his right hand man of the great revolution - Che Guevara - have not only been an icon since my childhood, but a symbol of benevolent socialism. The vast gulf of difference between all the countries of south/central america and Cuba portray the success of Fidel in implementing his policies for good governance. In medicine, sports, education, it is comparable to the developed nations. And I guess, I particularly like him because he brought US to it's knees. Imagine, a country as small as Cuba doing that to the might of the US for more than 40 years. In Europe, Cuba is one of the most popular tourist destinations, and fidel is respected and admired. Western Europe, though being capitalist, is erudite enough to accept that there can be diverse way of state policies for common benefit of the people. "Joto mot, toto poth" - Vivekananda said this about religion. I believe the same about governance.

Just to put on record for people who are washed away by the dose of American media potraying cuba and fidel as the bad guy. Fidel and Che and other comrades freed Cuba from Batista, the cuban dicatator till 1959 and a stooge of America. US controlled Cuba de facto through him. Castro came and nationalised all the industries, thereby stopping the profit of the big American corporations. And as we know, the corporations control America. So, USA put sanctions against Cuba. They tried innumerable times to assasinate Cuba, tried to invade it through Bay of Pigs misadventure. But, Fidel in the last 40 years built a lasting society of peace and prosperity. Yes, there are areas in which things can improve in terms of freedom of expression. But, overall what he has achieved has left a lasting impression. A symbol tht communism can indeed succeed in pulling a poverty ridden country to comparative affuence. I salute you.