There was not another man in the world last weekend whose
death could have stirred the conscience across nations as Fidel Castro –
indisputably one of the most important figures of the 20th century. To few
leaders is it given to be integral to the world’s geopolitical stage for close
to 60 years. And it would be no exaggeration to suggest that alone in the
Communist world, Fidel Castro held on to its ideology even a quarter century
after it had met its near total eclipse in the Soviet Union and East Europe
(1989-91). 

That link was snapped forever in Havana on Friday and the
ideology will be the poorer in the absence of el Jefe Máximo (the Maximum
Leader), not least in Cuba which has in recent years trimmed its sails to the
winds of change… even mending fences with the United States of America under
brother Raul. Not that Fidel, fighting age and illness, had approved of the
entente cordiale between Havana and Washington; the thaw would have been
inconceivable both to him and the ten US Presidents he had to countenance. Just
as Barack Obama’s gracious tribute would have been anathema to his
predecessors. Fidel would often refer to himself as “David to the Goliath
across the Florida Straits”.

Nonetheless, his unflinching contribution to the ideology
ought to transcend his relentless defiance of the USA, which was essentially
the reflection of the Communist philosophy on international relations. Fidel
and Che Guevara had become the spearhead of change not merely in Cuba, but
across Latin America. Indeed, Fidel was the most important leader to emerge
from Latin America since the wars of independence early in the 19th century. He
had shaped the history of Cuba as an independent nation. His revolution had
transformed Cuba and has had an enduring impact throughout Latin America, and
it was a deeply reassuring legacy that Raul had inherited in 2006, when Fidel
stepped aside on account of serious illness.

Not that the legacy was overwhelmingly successful. It was
what has been described as a “mixed record” of social progress in parallel with
abject poverty, racial equality and political persecution, of medical advances
and misery of the people. He was a symbol of revolution throughout the world
and had an abiding influence on fellow-travellers, preeminently Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela. His contribution at home – since those heady days of 1959 when he
overthrew Batista – ought not to be overshadowed even as his defiance of
American power made him an icon of resistance in Latin America. The beard, the
long cigar and green fatigues have become the universal symbols of revolution.
His obsession with the US and in turn America’s obsession with him must lapse
in the limbo of history.

(Editorial)