Quote:
Fidel Castro resigns as Cuba's president By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
1 minute ago



HAVANA - An ailing, 81-year-old Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he will not accept a new term when parliament meets Sunday.

The end of Castro's rule ? the longest in the world for a head of government ? frees his 76-year-old brother Raul to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. President Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition.

"My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath," Castro wrote in a letter published Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma. But, he wrote, "it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer."

In the pre-dawn hours, most Cubans were unaware of Castro's message. Havana's streets were quiet, and there was no movement at several party-run neighborhood watch groups in Old Havana. It wasn't until 5 a.m., several hours after Castro's message was posted on the internet, that official radio began reading the missive to early risers.

Castro temporarily ceded his powers to his brother on July 31, 2006, when he announced that he had undergone intestinal surgery. Since then, the elder Castro has not been seen in public, appearing only sporadically in official photographs and videotapes and publishing dense essays about mostly international themes as his younger brother has consolidated his rule.

There had been widespread speculation about whether Castro would continue as president when the new National Assembly meets Sunday to pick the country's top leadership. Castro has been Cuba's unchallenged leader since 1959 ? monarchs excepted, he was the world's longest ruling head of state.

Castro said Cuban officials had wanted him to remain in power after his surgery.

"It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis-a-vis an adversary that had done everything possible to get rid of me, and I felt reluctant to comply," he said in a reference to the United States.

Castro remains a member of parliament and is likely to be elected to the 31-member Council of State on Sunday, though he will no longer be its president. Raul Castro's wife, Vilma Espin, maintained her council seat until her death last year even though she was too sick to attend meetings for many months.

The resignation opens the path for Raul Castro's succession to the presidency, and the full autonomy he has lacked in leading a caretaker government. The younger Castro has raised expectations among Cubans for modest economic and other reforms, stating last year that the country requires unspecified "structural changes" and acknowledging that government wages that average about $19 (euro13) a month do not satisfy basic needs.

As first vice president of Cuba's Council of State, Raul Castro was his brother's constitutionally designated successor and appears to be a shoo-in for the presidential post when the council meets Sunday. More uncertain is who will be chosen as Raul's new successor, although 56-year-old council Vice President Carlos Lage, who is Cuba's de facto prime minister, is a strong possibility.

Bush, traveling in Rwanda, pledged to "help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty."

"The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy," he said. "Eventually, this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections ? and I mean free, and I mean fair ? not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as true democracy."

The United States built a detailed plan in 2005 for American assistance to ensure a democratic transition on the island of 11.2 million people after Castro's death. But Cuban officials have insisted that the island's socialist political and economic systems will outlive Castro.

"The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong," Castro wrote Tuesday. "However, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century."

Castro rose to power on New Year's Day 1959 and reshaped Cuba into a communist state 90 miles from U.S. shores. The fiery guerrilla leader survived assassination attempts, a CIA-backed invasion and a missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Ten U.S. administrations tried to topple him, most famously in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.

His ironclad rule ensured Cuba remained communist long after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.

Castro's supporters admired his ability to provide a high level of health care and education for citizens while remaining fully independent of the United States. His detractors called him a dictator whose totalitarian government systematically denied individual freedoms and civil liberties such as speech, movement and assembly.

The United States was the first country to recognize Castro's government, but the countries soon clashed as Castro seized American property and invited Soviet aid.

On April 16, 1961, Castro declared his revolution to be socialist. A day later, he defeated the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. The United States squeezed Cuba's economy and the CIA plotted to kill Castro. Hostility reached its peak with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

The collapse of the Soviet Union sent Cuba into economic crisis, but the economy recovered in the late 1990s with a tourism boom.

I hope Raul's gonna save Cuba from the capitalist pigs just like his brother in the years to come.;)

sad news,
yeah i just hope that Raul will continue what Fidel was doing, and he won't fall down under americans, cause in every country they bring democracy u can't live normaly, (Afghanistan,Iraq,)

Sad news but he was elegal ruller there I was in Babtista side viva imperialism

((and my heart will give it all the fire that callous cowards deny it...condemm me...it does not matter history will absolve me)) fedel castro 1953

death to imperialism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How old is Raul?

Raul is about 75 i think hes old too,
too bad they don't have 3rd younger brtother

LONG LIVE EL COMADANTE

With the resignation of Fidel, let's see if this will be a transition to democracy.

Castro was no saint, but he did do more for his people than Batista did. Batista was basically business partners with the Mafia and used his postion to line his own pockets and those of his friends. Say what one will about Castro, but he at least provided schools, healthcare, and other services to the Cuban people.

The posts on this thread makes me feel so loved.......

Written by Arian Totalis on 20.02.2008 at 04:52

The posts on this thread makes me feel so loved.......

It's cool to hate America, and it's just as cool to act like it doesn't bother us.

Anyway, no matter what the man may have done for his country, I never support a dictator. You want to give your people choices, help, and freedom, start by holding elections. The man may have done good things for his country, but so did Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Oh well.

Written by Clintagräm on 20.02.2008 at 05:54

Written by Arian Totalis on 20.02.2008 at 04:52

The posts on this thread makes me feel so loved.......

It's cool to hate America, and it's just as cool to act like it doesn't bother us.

Anyway, no matter what the man may have done for his country, I never support a dictator. You want to give your people choices, help, and freedom, start by holding elections. The man may have done good things for his country, but so did Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Oh well.

True, but compared with Batista- well Castro was basically the lesser of 2 evils.

Written by Clintagräm on 20.02.2008 at 05:54

Written by Arian Totalis on 20.02.2008 at 04:52

The posts on this thread makes me feel so loved.......

... The man may have done good things for his country, but so did Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Oh well.

And even Bush did some good things (especially AIDS wise in Africa)

Frodo - Man but how Cuba looks before and after more socialistic buildings how here , in latvia build car, radio, in Hungary build bus and chaos , damn i beter be poor an dlive in Babtista time show nowdays Cuba , even there are good climat and cigars and rum

Growing in USSR I hate left idiologc but right after thay saying ''ppl are wellcome ehr ebut thay live and work in tham own country'' sometimes socialism realy are better

BTW if Hitlar died in assasination in 1939 HE BE A HERO for germans

@C.J.W.Wyatt
well i em for dictation, some good dictator like was Tito in yugoslavia or like Fidel was for Cuba,
i deslike democracy in USA cause US alwas saying abou democracy and they don't respect that democracy ....
the break human laws..... but this ain't sujbect here



Fidel Give to ppl of Cuba free education, free health care to me that alot, how much ppl in USA pay for health care and for skool ??

baptista was asshole,

it's about time...i hope the economic situation improves in Cuba

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 20.02.2008 at 08:39

Written by Clintagräm on 20.02.2008 at 05:54

Written by Arian Totalis on 20.02.2008 at 04:52

The posts on this thread makes me feel so loved.......

... The man may have done good things for his country, but so did Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Oh well.

And even Bush did some good things (especially AIDS wise in Africa)

Yep, I know. You have to remember though that not only was he elected by the American people, but when we went to war, the majority of Americans were for it. Not saying it was right, but I don't think most people in Germany or Russia were for a lot of their "leader's" ideals, or better yet, even knew about a lot of them (let alone were able to choose their leader).

Written by EddieGunner on 20.02.2008 at 12:06

@C.J.W.Wyatt
well i em for dictation, some good dictator like was Tito in yugoslavia or like Fidel was for Cuba,
i deslike democracy in USA cause US alwas saying abou democracy and they don't respect that democracy ....
the break human laws..... but this ain't sujbect here

Indeed, but it doesn't matter what you really think about Democracy in the U.S., the procedural view of Democracy still goes on here, and not in Cuba. Sure he does good things, I'm not doubting that. But if he's so great, why not hold free elections so people can show them how much they love him, right? I'm not dismissing his pros (or his cons) but I'm pointing out his flawed distribution and continual presence of power.

By the way, Capitalism and Socialism are economic policies and are not synonymous to, though often associated with, Democracy and Communism, respectively. And we must remember, neither of these systems is inherently "bad" it's just when their policies are abused is when they become detrimental to the well being of others.

Now this is pity, in a way. I don't think this will change much. However, I must say that American blockade and sanctions are the main cause of poverty and many problems Cuba is facing. Castro is not a democrat, Che Guevara wanted elections but Fidel never allowed it, but do you actually believe that Castro wouldn't be elected in elections? I think not.

im sure Castro would be elected, election can be fixed, i member election in iraq few years before USA attacked them Saddam won by 97% those 3% were unusefull or mistaken ....

Well he is old and fragile, its only natural.

Yeah, and don't get me wrong, a revolutionary is always to be respected in some way. I realize he took people out of the hands of the oppressive Batista, and while I don't agree with his Marxist beliefs, I realize that's just another idea, and it could be applied to a country, and if successful, then more power to him. He also did a great job of helping to end a lot of corruption in Cuba. However, what I'm still in disagreement with is that he never reinstated voting, "on the spot" executions of enemies, and the whole missile ordeal (which I realize the U.S. were hypocrites since they had their own missiles in the East). You have to remember this all was going on at the height of the Cold War, so everyone seemed pretty paranoid.

I also find it kind of odd that Castro was certainly Anti-Imperialist, but in many instances he backed the invasion of countries by the Soviet Union, not to mention tried to spread the good will of socialism to neighboring countries (more through the will and failed actions of Ernesto Guevara, though one could argue they were both the "lesser of two evils," which in my opinion is still a poor excuse, in my opinion).

I also agree that while Castro could of done more to free Cuba from oppression, I don't think embargo's and sanctions by the Americas helped much either, not to mention the Bay of Pigs didn't help to improve emotions. You can't help but look like an asshole dealing with these issues. It's duality really, both have their goods, both their bads.

Cursed said it best .

Damn there no 20 century leaders anymore
If Coroner muamar kadaffi dies than .... he are last leader standing

Sadam Husein are dead, Pervez Musharaf well id ont count him such big Fidel Castro dont rulle, so Kadaffi last man standing long live to him

Written by Bad English on 22.02.2008 at 13:53

Damn there no 20 century leaders anymore
If Coroner muamar kadaffi dies than .... he are last leader standing

Sadam Husein are dead, Pervez Musharaf well id ont count him such big Fidel Castro dont rulle, so Kadaffi last man standing long live to him

Khameneie is still alive. he will never die. I promise!

Written by EddieGunner on 20.02.2008 at 12:06

Fidel Give to ppl of Cuba free education, free health care to me that alot, how much ppl in USA pay for health care and for skool ??

A ton. Nuff said.

Written by Lord TJ on 25.02.2008 at 17:40

Written by EddieGunner on 20.02.2008 at 12:06

Fidel Give to ppl of Cuba free education, free health care to me that alot, how much ppl in USA pay for health care and for skool ??

A ton. Nuff said.

Yeah, that is one thing that can definitely use improvement in this country, among other things. However, how would you defend Fidel's nationalization of business that has left so many people in poverty? Or his suppression of media? Or of him not reinstating fundamentals of the Constitution of Cuba?

It was about time. Cuba is now on a crossroad - does the old system/regime maintain it's power in lead with communist party or it will be overthrown by pressure from local people and turn into a democratic country. The second way could be better.

Written by Tod_Engel on 25.02.2008 at 20:03

It was about time. Cuba is now on a crossroad - does the old system/regime maintain it's power in lead with communist party or it will be overthrown by pressure from local people and turn into a democratic country. The second way could be better.

I read in the New York Times (yeah, I know) that Raul said he will carry on things much as they are. There were hints of change in him nodding at the idea that no government institution is sacred and that "We should never believe that what we have done is perfect." However, compared to all of the old revolutionaries still being in power, and basically Fidel in power but behind the scenes, I see no change with the near future? (And without violent revolution?)

Written by Clintagräm on 25.02.2008 at 20:25

Written by Tod_Engel on 25.02.2008 at 20:03

It was about time. Cuba is now on a crossroad - does the old system/regime maintain it's power in lead with communist party or it will be overthrown by pressure from local people and turn into a democratic country. The second way could be better.

I read in the New York Times (yeah, I know) that Raul said he will carry on things much as they are. There were hints of change in him nodding at the idea that no government institution is sacred and that "We should never believe that what we have done is perfect." However, compared to all of the old revolutionaries still being in power, and basically Fidel in power but behind the scenes, I see no change with the near future? (And without violent revolution?)

Violent revolution might be one way. On the other hand communist regime might start to make democratic reforms, which leads to bigger freedom for cubans (like in former Soviet Union) Then people just start to give pressure to the old communist regime to organise free elections. If the opposition is strong enough it will eventually happen. The opposition might also start non-violent protesting for the goverment to hear them. I mean tens or hundreds of thousands of people. Basically it happen in Soviet Union and it's sattellite countries. Still, Cuba's communist regime might take military action against protesters. And I think that if anything is going to change, it will probably happen after Raul Castro has left from his postion as leader of Cuba and a more democratic leader replaces him.

To all those who live in USA and say that the problem with Castro is that he never allow free elections, let me ask you a question, what's the point of free elections, when there's always fraud, like... mmm... i don't know... your country for example, do you remember the first time bush won?... No, well he and his brother cheated. Long live USA democracy!!!.

Second, all of you that say "he doesn't allow freedom of speech", let me say this, Dixie Chicks. Long live USA freedom of speech!!!