Cuba's Castro era ends

Wind of change in Cuba

 

Time is fast and era is changed.

Fidel Castro is a symbol of Cuba, Communist rebel leader.

Time flies and times change.

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Although he died, he made Cuba the poorest country in the world, set the stage for nuclear war during the Cold War, and helped to disrupt the world through illegal arms and drug trade.

His supporters were former Soviet Union and Venezuela.

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New Leader is going to be better Cuba than past. 

 

 

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Cuba is one of the world's few remaining one-party communist states. (China, Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea are the others.) Every year, a big political meeting is held in Havana, Cuba's capital city. Called the Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, it lasts for four days. This year's congress ended on April 19.

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Three years ago, the congress appointed Miguel Diaz-Canel as Cuba's president. The country's former president, Raul Castro, stood down. However, he remained as the leader of Cuba's Communist Party. Raul Castro will soon be 90. During the recent congress, he announced his retirement. Mr. Diaz-Canel was then named as the Communist Party's new leader.

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Diaz-Canel Cuba President

 

Mr. Diaz-Canel's appointment was "rubber-stamped". This means that it had been agreed before the congress. He now holds Cuba's two most important positions: head of the Communist Party and the country's president. This marks the end of an era. For the first time in 62 years, a Castro does not hold either of these positions. Mr. Diaz-Canel is 60 years old. He was born one year after Raul's older brother, Fidel Castro (1926 - 2016), seized power.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. It is only 144 kilometers from the U.S. In the past, Cuba was controlled by Spain and the U.S. In 1959, General Batista led Cuba's military government. The U.S. supported him. Then, many thousands of Americans visited Cuba each year. Most went to gamble at the city's casinos. General Batista allowed the mafia, or American criminal groups, to operate hotels and nightclubs in Cuba.

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In 1956, Fidel Castro started a revolution in Cuba. He led a group of rebels. Their bases were in the country's mountains. As General Batista was unpopular, many Cubans joined the rebel group. After two years of fighting, Fidel Castro's rebel army took control of Havana. General Batista and the other Cuban leaders fled.

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Fidel Castro dead in 2016

 

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Soon after taking over, Fidel Castro announced that Cuba was a communist country. This meant that the government now owned all the land, houses, businesses, and factories. Other political parties were banned. All the American businesses in Cuba were closed down or taken over.

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In 1960, the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Cuba. This meant that American companies were not allowed to sell anything to Cuba, or buy goods made in the country. A travel ban was also imposed. One year after the embargo began, the American government secretly helped to organize an attack on Cuba. It became known as the "Bay of Pigs" invasion. Fidel Castro's forces easily defeated the force that landed. After this, the Cuban leader decided to work with the then communist Russian-led Soviet Union. Then, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were enemies.

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In 1962, Russia's leaders wanted to ship some of their nuclear missiles to Cuba. The Americans discovered the plan. At that time, John F. Kennedy was the U.S.'s president. He warned the Soviet Union's leader, Nikita Khrushchev, that America would attack the Russian ships if they got near Cuba. Many people expected a nuclear war to start. The Russians and Americans then made a secret deal. The U.S. agreed to withdraw its nuclear missiles from Turkey. The Soviet ships turned back. This famous incident is known as the "Cuban Missile Crisis".

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Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962

 

Russia continued to help Cuba. Yet, when the Soviet Union began to break up in 1991, Cuba lost its biggest supporter. In 2008, after leading Cuba for 49 years, Castro stepped down. His younger brother, Raul, took over. Before this happened, Hugo Chavez (1954 - 2013) became the president of Venezuela. He introduced a socialist (or communist-like) system of government. Venezuela has large amounts of oil. Chavez agreed to support Cuba with some of his country's riches. However, due to mismanagement and government corruption, Venezuela has now become a failed state. With its economy in ruins, Venezuela no longer helps Cuba.

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Most Cubans have little money. The country is known for its good hospitals, schools and universities, yet they do not have modern equipment. Cuba has poor electricity supplies and telephone networks. Many buildings and roads need repair. Due to the American trade embargo, foreign companies are unwilling to invest in Cuba. In recent years, the government has allowed some luxury hotels to be built. Tourists from Europe bring much needed foreign money, or currency. However, local people cannot use the hotels.

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A few years ago, some Cubans were allowed to set up their own small businesses. Yet, due to government bureaucracy, few have decided to do so. The coronavirus has made life more difficult for Cubans. Now, many people spend most of the day standing in lines to buy food.

Many people think that Mr. Diaz-Canel needs to introduce more "non-communist" economic reforms. This may be unlikely. The slogan of the recent congress was "Continuity and Unity". When posting messages on the internet, Cuba's new overall leader uses the hashtag "we are continuity".

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[Source: https://havanatimes.org/features/who-is-cubas-miguel-diaz-canel/

Who Is Cuba’s Miguel Diaz-Canel? - Havana Times

For some, he is a reformist awaiting his chance to make the changes the Cuban Revolution needs. For others, he’s a gray handpicked bureaucrat

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-26/cuba-creditor-makes-fresh-effort-to-settle-castro-era-debts

Cuba Creditor Makes Fresh Effort to Settle Castro-Era Debts

An investment firm holding loans the Cuban government defaulted on decades ago is offering a deal it says would help the island return to international debt markets.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56802129

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www.bbc.com