Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Editorial
February 22, 2008

End of an era

22.FEB.08

This week’s announcement by Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz that he is finally stepping down from that post marks the end of an historic era, not just in Cuban politics but in world politics. For while Cuba in geographical terms is a small nation, in political terms, under Fidel Castro, it became a political heavy-weight, remaining one of the key defining points of the foreign policy of a global superpower, the United States of America, for half a century.{{more}}

Castro’s relinquishing of the Head of State position is hardly surprising. Since his ailment and major surgery eighteen months ago, there has been continuous speculation that he would not resume the Presidency, even though some of his allies, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, kept predicting his return. Somehow, though, especially in light of Cuba’s continued stability under his brother Raul, as Acting President, one got the impression that Fidel was easing his way out of the hot seat. His weekly writings, appropriately entitled “Reflections” gave more than a hint of a new role for Fidel.

Perhaps no world leader has generated the range of passions as Fidel Castro. Revered by millions around the globe, he is also the central hate figure of those who have never forgiven him for ending Cuba’s domination by the United States. Leading a successful revolution after a disastrous first attempt at insurrection in 1953, Castro has a strong claim to being the most outstanding political figure of the 20th century. It was a century that saw such titans as the liberators Gandhi and Mandela; the western World War 2 heroes Roosevelt and Churchill and Castro’s fellow socialist revolutionaries Lenin and Mao Tse Tung. Yet this committed Cuban patriot, just 90 miles away from the most powerful country on earth, survived assassination attempts, invasion, subversion and a criminal economic embargo against his people for fifty years. Whatever one thinks of his politics, this must be a hugely outstanding achievement.

In the process, not only has he outlasted nine US presidents, all of whom pledged to end the Cuban Revolution, but in spite of the embargo and Russian treachery in the nineties, he was able to transform Cuban society and lead his country to a place of dignity in the world. Above all, his outstanding internationalism has assisted many underdeveloped nations, including ours, offering selfless assistance in health, education, sport and other forms of technical assistance. Grenada’s Pointe Salines airport is a living testimony to this, and we here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines hope to benefit in a similar manner, if not on the same scale. Finally, it must never be forgotten that it was Castro’s Cuba which broke the back of apartheid South Africa’s army in Angola to pave the way for the liberation, not just of Angola, but of South Africa itself.

He leaves the stage with these tremendous accomplishments to his credit, but acutely aware that much more needs to be done in his own country to chart new paths in economic and political democratic involvement. His successors must face that challenge. The world is witnessing the end of an era that has lasted five decades.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    12 left homeless in mid-day fire at Richland Park
    Front Page
    12 left homeless in mid-day fire at Richland Park
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    A fire that destroyed a multi-family complex in Richland Park on Monday has left at least 12 people homeless, including a 23-year-old mother of a six-...
    PM responds to US military strike on small boat off Venezuela
    Front Page
    PM responds to US military strike on small boat off Venezuela
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves has responded to reports by the United States administration that its military had carried out the bombing of a boa...
    Building material disappear from the Mary Hutchinson Primary School
    Front Page
    Building material disappear from the Mary Hutchinson Primary School
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Police investigators on Union Island are said to be looking into the “disappearance” of building materials that were sent to the Southern Grenadine Is...
    What’s new at Fitz Hughes Government School?
    Front Page
    What’s new at Fitz Hughes Government School?
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    by Grace Francis After sharing a small space for over a year, children and teachers at the Fitz Hughes Early Childhood Centre went into brand new prem...
    MRI-6 donates over $70,000 for school meals for vulnerable students
    Front Page
    MRI-6 donates over $70,000 for school meals for vulnerable students
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Several secondary schools and special needs institutions across St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have received $5,000 donations towards meals for s...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    News
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...
    PM Gonsalves heads delegation to Ethiopia
    News
    PM Gonsalves heads delegation to Ethiopia
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is leading a delegation to the East African country of Ethiopia; the delegation left the state on Wednesday, Septe...
    New Port to be opened on October 24- PM Gonsalves
    News
    New Port to be opened on October 24- PM Gonsalves
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The modern port in Kingstown is expected to be handed over to the government just before this country celebrates its 46th anniversary of political ind...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok