Cubans owe prosperity to Castro's anti-imperialistic policies, Analyst says

“The end of an era.” This is what many say about the death of the revolutionary Cuban leader Fidel Castro who died at the age of 90 after a lifetime of fighting against US imperialism right on its doorstep. He led the Cuban revolution to topple the pro-Washington regime of Fulgencio Batista and continued to fight for the independence and dignity of his people as long as he was healthy. In this edition of ‘The Debate,’ Press TV has interviewed Michael Lane, the founder of the American Institute for Foreign Policy from Washington, and Sara Flounders, the co-director of International Action Center from New York, to discuss Castro’s legacy and the future of Cuba without its charismatic leader.

“It certainly is the end of an era,” said Michael Lane. “Castro had ruled Cuba since 1960. That's an incredibly long time. I don't think his legacy will be particularly good. The island of Cuba is not in good shape. The economy is not in good shape. The people are not in good shape. Their freedoms, their individual and personal freedoms, are virtually non-existent. There's really no reason - other than the fact that you're stuck there - for people to want to live in Cuba these days.”

He further noted that with Fidel Castro's death, Raul, his brother and the current president, has the chance to exercise some independence and lead Cuba in a new direction of cooperation with the international community, particularly its closest and most logical trade partner, the United States.

“It is up to the leader of Cuba Raul Castro to decide whether or not he wants to continue Fidel's legacy of firing squads and oppression or whether he wants to reach out and take advantage of the opening that President Obama has given him,” Lane reiterated.

However, Sara Flounders, the other panelist on the show, described Fidel Castro as a legendary and influential revolutionary figure who stood against US imperialism right on its doorstep and turned his country into a prosperous land with high standards of living.

“Fidel Castro was absolutely an internationalist and he was a unique and leading figure. He was intransigent against capitalism. He was consciously a socialist leader of enormous proportion and he defied US imperialism right on its doorstep again and rebuilt Cuba from a backward impoverished country that was a playground for the wealthiest capitals into the highest standard of living, the highest standard of medical care,” Flounders said.

Flounders believes that Cuba is an example of what is possible when capitalism is overturned, when people are consciously committed to building socialism and when they're internationalist.

“Cuba played a huge role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, against colonialism and a revolutionary force in Latin America. So, this is really an outsize human figure that allowed Cuba, a small country, to play an enormous role for the liberation of all people,” she concluded.

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