The Dictator Castro steps down after 49-year rule

[donsaeid]

احمدي نژاد در گفتوگوي تلفني با رائول كاسترو مطرح كرد؛

اعلام آمادگي ايران براي ادامه معالجه فيدل كاسترو

رئيس جمهور در گفتوگوي تلفني با برادر فيدل كاسترو رهبر كوبا،ضمن اطلاع از آخرين وضع سلامتي و روند معالجات وي براي رهبر كوبا سلامتي و بهبود وضع جسماني به منظور ادامه خدمت به مردم اين كشور آرزو كرد.


به نقل از دفتر امور رسانههاي رياست جمهوري، احمدينژاد در اين گفتوگو كه عصر امروز يكشنبه صورت گرفت، آمادگي جمهوري اسلامي ايران براي كمك به ادامه درمان فيدل كاسترو و برگزاري هرچه بهتر نشست سران جنبش غير متعهدها كه شهريور امسال (سپتامبر 2006) در هاوانا پايتخت كوبا برگزار ميشود، اعلام كرد.
رائول كاسترو جانشين موقت فيدل كاسترو رهبر كوبا نيز ضمن تشكر از احمدينژاد، ايران را كشور دوست و برادر كوبا دانست و براي دولت ايران در مبارزه با استكبار جهاني و دستيابي به فناوري صلحآميز هستهاي آرزوي موفقيت كرد.

[Rasputin]

digeh beh zoudi beh darak mireh, az dastesh hameh rahat mishan ! ba'ad az ina,nobateh akhoundast !

[abadani69]

Khoda nakone, javoone mardom ro dasti dasti darid mikoshid

[donsaeid]

چريك پير؛نيازمند جايگزين مناسب


همه در انتظار مرگ فيدل كاسترو هستند! اما اين انتظار دو وجه دارد. برخي از اين مرگ خوشحال مي*شوند؛ برخي ديگر منقلب و ناراحت.


آنها كه مرگ كاسترو برايشان خوشايند است، تصور مي*كنند مانع و ديواري مستحكم از پيش رويشان برداشته مي*شود،آنهايي هم كه از اين مرگ متاسف مي*شوند، احساس مي*كنند يك يار ديرينه را از دست داده*اند، يك هم*پيمان، يك دوست و يك ... و در كنار آنها گروهي از مردم هستند كه كاسترو را به عنوان يك اسطوره مي*پندارند و به خاطر آرمانخواهي و روحيه آزادي خواهي خود، از مرگ او متاثر مي*شوند و حسرت مي*خورند،مانند «چه گوارا» همرزم فيدل كاسترو، او نيز به خاطر مبارزات انقلابي و ضد امپرياليستي خود در يادها باقي مانده است. اما چه گوارا ديدي فراتر از كاسترو داشت.
كاسترو در 22 مرداد ماه سال 1306 خورشيدي به دنيا آمد.او پس از پايان تحصيلات وارد ميدان سياست شد. «فيدل» با جمع آوري دانشجويان ناراضي دانشگاه هاوانا و دوستان خود، مبارزاتش را عليه «باتيستا» آغاز كرد.
پس از آن كه به خاطر مبارزات انقلابي به زندان افتاد پس از آزادي همراه با عفو، همراه ديگر دوستانش به مكزيك تبعيد شد. در مدت اقامت در مكزيك حدود 80 نفر از كوبايي*هاي مخالف باتسيتا را آموزش داد و در همانجا بود كه با «ارنستو چه گورا» آشنا شد. انقلابيون كوبا به رهبري كاسترو در آبان ماه 1335 خورشيدي با قايق «گرانما» در سواحل كوبا پياده شدند،هنگام ورود انقلابيون نيروهاي ارتش باتسيتا در جنگي نابرابر 78 تن از آنها را كشتند و تنها 12 نفر از جمله كاسترو، برادرش رائول، چه گوارا و كاملو كه از رهبران جنبش ضد ديكتاتوري بودند به همراه چند تن ديگر از ياران، به جنگل*هاي «سيرا مائسترا» پناه بردند و جنگ پارتيزاني خود را از همانجا آغاز كردند.
پس از اين كه در دي ماه سال 1337 و در پي جنگي سخت كه ميان نيروهاي انقلابي و ارتش باتسيتا در گرفت باتسيتا به دومنيكن فرار كرد. كاسترو و نيروهايش فاتحانه وارد هاوانا شدند و از آن تاريخ تاكنون حكومت انقلابيون كوبا به رهبري فيدل كاسترو ادامه دارد. اما اين حكومت 40 ساله از همان ابتداي پيروزي انقلاب، فراز و نشيب*هاي بسياري را به همراه داشت. از جنگ خليج خوكها گرفته، توطئه*هاي سيا و «كا.گ.ب» براي ترور كاسترو، بحران موشكي كوبا و ... همگي نشان دهنده اين موضوع بود كه بسياري از سران كشورهاي استكباري از روي كار آمدن دولت انقلابي كوبا به رهبري كاسترو، خشنود نيستند.
فيدل كاسترو، سقوط كمونيست را خود مشاهده كرد، اما دست از آرمانهاي سوسياليستي و كمونيستي بر نداشت. او 40 سال تاريخ كوبا را در دل دارد.
كاسترو با انقلابش، دنيا را تا مرز جنگ هسته*اي پيش برد، جزيره*اي كوچك در دل آبهاي گرم اقيانوس و در همسايگي امريكا، او امريكا را در منطقه به ستوه آورده است و اينك در سن 80 سالگي با مرگ دست و پنجه نرم مي*كند، او نگران آينده كوبا پس از خود است. آيا كوبا راه او را ادامه خواهد داد؟!
پاسخ به اين پرسش، بستگي به نوع و روش حكومتي او بر مردم دارد.
هنگامي كه در روزهاي يكشنبه هر هفته، مردم هاوانا در خيابان* كنار ساحلي ملكون، راهپيمايي ضد امريكايي خود را آغاز مي*كنند، كاسترو در بيشتر اين راهپيمايي ها پيشاپيش مردم با همان لباس سبز نظامي خود و كتاني سفيد بر پا، دوشادوش مردمش عليه سياست*هاي استعماري امپرياليسم امريكا راهپيمايي مي*كند و در پشت سرش حدود 2 ميليون كوبايي ديده مي*شوند.
زماني كه به سخنراني مي*پردازد ساعت*ها طول مي*كشد، اين ساعت*ها يعني 5، 7، 10 و ... اما مردم به حرفهايش گوش مي*دهند و اين نشان دهنده آن است كه مردم كوبا كاسترو را دوست دارند.
اما در كنار تمامي اين موارد، مردم كوبا سختي*هاي بسياري را تحمل كرده و مي*كنند. مردم كوبا در فقر شديد به سر مي*برند. وسائل ارتباط جمعي بسيار محدود است. راديو و تلويزيون، مطبوعات و روزنامه*ها در دست حزب كمونيست است،ماهواره و اينترنت مطلقاً در خانه*هاي مردم وجود ندارد و همين امر باعث بي*اطلاعي آنها از وضعيت جهان خارج شده است. بي*اطلاعي و بي خبري مردم از تحولات خارج از جزيره كوبا، آنها را مطيع ساخته است، اما باز هم در مقابل سياست*هاي خصمانه امريكا ايستادن و مقاومت كردن قابل تقدير است و اين به خاطر صادق بودن فيدل كاسترو با مردم است.
دستاوردهاي بزرگ انقلاب كوبا براي مردم و حتي كشورهاي منطقه قابل كتمان نيست. پيشرفتهاي علمي و پزشكي كوبا زبانزد است و در كنار آن آموزش به ديگر دانشجويان كشورهاي آمريكايي لاتين در دانشگاه علوم پزشكي* هاوانا آن هم به طور رايگان از ديگر برگهاي زرين رهبري كاسترو است كه وي را در ميان ملتهاي منطقه نيز محبوب كرده است.
اما اگر با رفتن كاسترو، تمام آرمانهاي انقلابي از بين برود، آن را بايد يك شكست بزرگ براي كوبا و جنبش هاي چپ در آمريكا لاتين دانست. مردم كوبا بايد پس از كاسترو، از آرمانهاي او حفاظت كنند كاسترو نياز به يك جانشين مانند خود دارد.
رمز پيروزي و پايداري كوبا پيوند ناگسستني مردم و رهبري آن است، كاسترو نه تنها براي مردم كشور خود، بلكه براي مردم ديگر كشورهاي منطقه آمريكاي لاتين و حتي آزاديخواهان جهان يك چهره دوست داشتني، قابل احترام و كاريزما است.
داستان زندگي و رهبري فيدل كاسترو، داستان دنباله*دار تاريخ است. داستان كمونيسم در مقابل كاپيتاليسم، جنبش*هاي انقلابي چپ، رويارويي شرق و غرب سياسي و ..

[Rasputin]

Spanish authorities confirm surgeon flew to Cuba to study possible Castro surgery

MADRID, Spain (AP) — Spanish authorities confirmed Monday that a leading surgeon who treats ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has flown to Havana last week to study whether he should undergo more surgery.
Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, chief surgeon at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital, traveled to Cuba's capital Thursday, Madrid region health official Manuel Lamela told reporters.

He also added that Madrid's health department has been sending medicines to Cuba since June, but he declined to say which type of medical material or anything about Castro's condition.

"If I did, I would be revealing the patient's pathology and we would be violating medical confidentiality and the Cuban government's media policy."

He said Spain would continue to give its support and assistance to the Cuban government.

Castro, 80, has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July. Since then, there has been little information from Cuba regarding his condition. Castro has placed his younger brother, Raul, in charge of the government.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close ally of Castro, recently denied reports that the Cuban communist leader was suffering from cancer.

Garcia Sabrido is credited with having operated on several important personalities in the past and is very prestigious in Spain and abroad. His work and experience is well-known by the Cuban government as he recently addressed a surgery conference on the Caribbean island.

[Rasputin]

هوگو چاوز، رييس جمهوری ونزوئلا گفته است حال فيدل کاسترو، رهبر کوبا خوب نيست اما اظهار اميدواری کرده که او صد سال ديگر زنده باشد.
فيدل کاسترو که 80 سال دارد، از ماه ها قبل دچار ناراحتی معده بوده و در مجامع عمومی ديده نشده است.

هوگو چاوز که از متحدين نزديک آقای کاسترو است، در اجلاس سران اتحاديه تجاری آمريکای لاتين، مرکوسور، در شهر ريو دو ژانيرو صحبت می کرد.

اظهارات وی در رسانه های دولتی کوبا پخش نشده اما خبرنگار بی بی سی در هاوانا می گويد نشانه ای از تشديد تمهيدات امنيتی در اين شهر به چشم نمی خورد.

در ماه اوت گذشته که آقای کاسترو به دليل بيماری به طور موقت از قدرت کنار رفت، تعداد گشت های امنيتی در خيابان ها افزايش يافت. از آن زمان، رائول کاسترو، برادر فيدل کاسترو، اداره امور اين کشور را بر عهده دارد.

فيدل کاسترو، روز 13 اوت سال 1926 به دنيا آمد و از حدود نيم قرن قبل تا کنون زمام امور کوبا را در دست دارد.

فيدل کاسترو فرماندهی انقلاب منجر به سرنگونی رژيم باتيستا در کوبا را در سال 1959 برعهده داشت و از همان زمان، سمت رياست هيات وزيران را در دست گرفت.

از سال 1965، کاسترو سمت دبير اول حزب کمونيست کوبا و از سال 1976 مقام رياست شورای دولتی - رييس جمهوری - کشور را نيز به سمت های خويش افزود.

آمریکا از زمان به قدرت رسیدن فیدل کاسترو و انقلاب کمونیستی در کوبا روابط خود با این کشور را قطع کرده است و از سال 1960 علیه کوبا، تحریم اقتصادی وضع کرده است.

[Rasputin]

Chavez says Castro battling for life

RIO DE JANEIRO — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that Fidel Castro is "battling for his life" and that he spoke with the ailing Cuban leader for nearly half an hour several days ago.
Chavez, a close ally and admirer of Castro, compared the Cuban leader's attempt to recover from an unspecified medical condition to the 1950s, when Castro was a guerrilla in Cuba's eastern mountains fighting the government he would overthrow.

"Fidel is in the Sierra Maestra again, battling for his life," Chavez said after attending a summit of South American leaders in Rio.

Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since shortly before July 31 when he announced he was temporarily stepping aside while he recovered from an operation.

He has provisionally ceded power to his brother Raul, the 75-year-old defense minister.

Castro's medical condition is a state secret, but Cuban authorities deny he suffers from terminal cancer, as U.S. intelligence officials have claimed. Cuban officials have nonetheless stopped insisting Castro will return to power.

In a speech Wednesday night, Chavez called Castro's situation "delicate" but dismissed as speculation recent Spanish press reports portraying Castro as near death after three failed operations and complications from the intestinal infection diverticulitis.

On Friday, Chavez said he could not give more details about Castro's condition "because I'm not the doctor who's caring for Fidel."

He added: "And if I was, I wouldn't anyway, but nevertheless I can tell you: I don't know when Fidel will die, I hope he lives 80 more years, I hope he lives 100 more years."

Chavez is known for making bold statements without elaborating.

Also Friday, he accused his nation's main telecommunications company of spying on him, apparently at the bidding of the United States.

Chavez, addressing 10 South American leaders gathered at a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc, gave no additional details.

The accusation came less than two weeks after Chavez announced he would nationalize the telecommunications company, CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela — CANTV.

The company issued a statement late Friday denying the charges. Brian Penn, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, declined to comment.

[Rasputin]

فيدل کاسترو، رهبر کوبا، برای نخستين بار از ماه ژوئيه که به علت بيماری بستری شد در يک برنامه زنده راديويی شرکت کرده است.
صدای رهبر کوبا در يک برنامه زنده راديويی متعلق به هوگو چاوز، رئيس جمهور ونزوئلا، شنيده شده است.

تصور می شود که اين رهبر 80 ساله از تضعيف ديواره های کولون (بخشی از روده بزرگ) رنج می برد.

آقای کاسترو در اين برنامه گفت او "درحال پيشرفت است" و افزود احساس می کند "انرژی و توان بيشتری دارد." وی آخرين بار در ويدئويی از پيش ضبط شده در ماه فوريه ديده شده بود.

فيدل کاسترو در آغاز يک محاوره مفصل با رهبر ونزوئلا در برنامه "سلام رئيس جمهور" گفت: "سلام، دوست عزيز و متشخص من چطوری؟"

وی افزود: "احساس خوبی دارم و خوشحالم."

آقای چاوز در اين مدت چندين بار به عيادت فيدل کاسترو رفته است که آخرين آنها در ماه ژانويه بود.

آقای کاسترو 80 سال سن دارد و از تابستان گذشته به خاطر بیماری و نیاز به جراحی، سمت خود را به طور موقت به برادرش رائول کاسترو، وزیر دفاع کوبا واگذار کرده است.

حضور کم آقای کاسترو در انظار عمومی از ماه ژوئیه باعث شده تا شایعاتی درباره ابتلای رهبر کوبا به سرطان و وخامت وضع جسمی او منتشر شود.

مقام های کوبا با رد سخنان مقام های آمریکایی درباره سلامت آقای کاسترو، می گویند او به تدریج رو به بهبود است.

هوگو چاوز ماه گذشته گزارش های مربوط به وخامت اوضاع رهبر کوبا و ناموفق بودن سه عمل جراحی بر او را رد کرد.

آخرین بار تلویزیون کوبا تصویر فیدل کاسترو را در حالی نشان داد که آقای چاوز برای دیدن او به هاوانا سفر کرده بود.

[Rasputin]

رئیس مجلس ملی کوبا گفته است که فیدل کاسترو رئیس جمهور جمهور بیمار این کشور برای شرکت در انتخابات پارلمانی سال آینده از "سلامت کامل" برخوردار خواهد بود.
ریکاردو آلارکون گفت که آقای کاسترو هم اکنون بر بهبودی خود پس از جراحی تمرکز دارد و برای انجام کارهایش سلامت لازم را بازخواهد یافت.

فرآیند گزینش نامزدهای انتخابات طی ماه های آتی آغاز خواهد شد.

خبرنگاران می گویند این رای گیری نخستین گام برای انتخاب مجدد رهبر کوبا است که توسط نمایندگان پارلمان انتخاب می شود و نه مستقیما توسط مردم.

رهبر کوبا از زمان قرار گرفتن تحت عمل جراحی در ماه ژوئیه گذشته در ملاء عام دیده نشده و اقتداراتش را به طور موقت به برادرش رائول واگذار کرده است.

آقای آلکارون پس از یک جلسه پارلمانی برای بحث درباره انتخابات آتی گفت که آقای کاسترو در وضعیت خوبی به سر می برد.

وی افزود که کوبا تا مارس 2008 برای برگزاری انتخابات آماده خواهد شد که انتظار می رود آقای کاسترو هم در آن حضور داشته باشد.

تنها نامزدهایی که حزب کمونیست کوبا تایید صلاحیت کرده باشد حق شرکت در انتخابات را دارند.

آقای آلکارون گفت که اخیرا با پرزیدنت کاسترو تماس های زیادی داشته است و افزود هرچند وی قدرت را به بردارش سپرده اما هرگز "نقش خود را رها نکرده است."

وی گفت: "فیدل کاملا درگیر مسائل بوده و هست. او در همه جنبه های مهم تصمیماتی که این کشور می گیرد فعال و در تماس کامل بوده است."

[donsaeid]

Fidel Is Getting Better

روند مطلوب احياي سلامتي فيدل كاسترو


فيدل كاسترو رئيس جمهور كوبا روند مطلوبي در بازيابي سلامت خود را تجربه مي كند.



به نقل از آژانس پرنسا لاتينا، اين مطلب را روز گذشته ريكاردو آلاركون رئيس پارلمان كوبا بيان كرد.

ريكارد آلاركون با تاكيد بر اينكه تماس*هاي زيادي با رئيس جمهور كوبا دارد شرايط سلامتي فيدل كاسترو را خوب توصيف نمود.

رئيس پارلمان كوبا خاطرنشان كرد: مطمئن هستم كه فيدل كاسترو شرايط كامل براي ازسرگيري مسئوليت خود به عنوان رئيس دولت را كسب خواهد كرد.

آلاركون تصريح كرد، همانگونه كه بارها اعلام كرده ام نسبت به بهبود رئيس جمهور كوبا و بازگشت او به صحنه كاملا خوشبين هستم.

رئيس قوه قانونگذاري كوبا به علاوه از در جريان بودن كاسترو از تمام تصميم گيري هاي مهم كشوري و دخالت در آنها خبر داد و گفت، تنها تفاوت كار در اين است كه رئيس جمهور كوبا بيشترين وقت خود را صرف بازيابي قواي جسماني خود مي كند اما از همه امور اطلاع دارد.

فيدل كاسترو رئيس جمهور كوبا در جولاي سال گذشته ميلادي به خاطر ناراحتي در دستگاه گوارشي و خونريزي داخلي تحت عمل جراحي قرار گرفت و تمام مسئوليت هاي خود را موقتا به برادرش رائول وزير دفاع و فرمانده نيروهاي مسلح اين كشور واگذار نمود.

[donsaeid]

هوگو چاوز خبر داد

فيدل كاسترو از بستر بيماري برخاست


هوگو چاوز رئيس جمهور ونزوئلا اعلام كرد، فيدل كاسترو همتاي كوبايي اش از بستر بيماري برخاسته است.



به نقل از روزنامه ال موندو، هوگو چاوز روز گذشته با اشاره به اينكه رئيس جمهور كوبا روزهاي زيادي با خطر مرگ روبرو بود، تاكيد كرد: فيدل كاسترو ديگر بر روي تخت بيماري قرار ندارد.

رئيس جمهور ونزوئلا كه چندين بار به ملاقات همتاي كوبايي خود رفته است، خاطر نشان كرد: «به فيدل گفته بودم كه او نمي تواند بميرد اما فيدل در پاسخ تاكيد كرده بود كه نگران مرگش نباشد ولي آن كسي كه نبايد بميرد، هوگو چاوز است.»

اخيرا اوو مورالس رئيس جمهور بوليوي نيز از بازگشت فيدل كاسترو به قدرت در 28 آوريل آتي همزمان با برگزاري مراسم سومين سالروز تشكيل ائتلاف آلبا در هاوانا خبر داده است.

سه شنبه گذشته نيز يك وزير كوبايي با مساعد توصيف كردن روند بهبودي رهبر 80 ساله اين كشور گفت، او به زودي به شكلي فعال تر هدايت جزيره را بر عهده خواهد گرفت.

فيدل كاسترو در 31 جولاي 2006 به علت ناراحتي دستگاه گوارش مورد عمل جراحي قرار گرفت و موقتا مسئوليت هاي خود را به برادرش رائول وزير دفاع و فرمانده نيروهاي مسلح كوبا واگذار كرد.

[Rasputin]

Castro resumes official business

Mr Castro's health remains a state secret
Cuba's Fidel Castro has held talks with a top delegate from China in what is thought to be his first official act since his illness last year.
Mr Castro - who has handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul - has appeared to play a greater role in Cuba over the last few weeks.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma said the talks were "fruitful".

Its website also carried a photograph of Mr Castro, standing and shaking hands with the Chinese delegation.

The latest pictures published by Cuban official media also show him talking and apparently taking notes during Friday's meeting.


The latest photographs show a much stronger Fidel Castro

Mr Castro's health, which remains a state secret, came under close scrutiny by international media after he had stomach surgery last July.

The Cuban president has not been seen in public since then but his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been giving regular updates on his condition and recently said Mr Castro was "almost totally recovered".

The speculation now is whether Mr Castro might soon be fit enough to appear in public, reports the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Havana.

The forthcoming International Labour Day on 1 May is one possible date. For most of the last 47 years of his rule, Mr Castro has marked the occasion with a lengthy speech in Havana's revolution square.

While few expect Mr Castro to address the crowd this year, some sort of appearance is not being ruled out, our correspondent says, Mr Castro held talks for about an hour with Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo, Granma reported.

Mr Castro was handed a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao, in which he praised the "excellent ties" between the two countries, the newspaper said.

In 2006 China became the country's second largest trading partner, with trade between the two nations worth some $1.8m (1.4m euros; £0.94m) last year.

Mr Wu is on a four-day visit to boost political and trade ties between the two communist allies.

After his meeting with Mr Castro, Mr Wu also held talks with Raul Castro.

[Rasputin]

Castro & Chávez 2 Big Dictators

The democratic opposition in Cuba and abroad looks to the island's new day, without Fidel Castro at the helm, as a moment of transition. But Castro and his regime's apparatchiks refer instead to a "succession," as though living in a monarchy. Nearly 200 years after Latin American nations began winning independence from imperial Spain, and on a continent that has produced so many wondrous novels about deteriorating despots succumbing to the perils of absolute power, it seems we still can't let go of our kings.

The only problem with succession planning, of course, is that dead dictators can rarely stick around to supervise their elaborate designs. Today, things in Havana seem to be developing much as the ailing Castro desires, with younger brother Raúl assuming control. Nevertheless, the Shakespearean logic of royal successions suggests that more than one duke of Gloucester will try to crown himself Richard III.

The extraordinary difference in this case is that not all the dukes vying to succeed Castro can be found in Cuba. To the south, across the Caribbean, another duke has emerged: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Indeed, Chávez is the piper leading the most strident anti-Americanism to parade through Latin America since the Bay of Pigs invasion, and his ascent has done much to shape the popular belief that radical left-wing governments modeled after his own will soon dominate the region. But does Chávez really have what it takes to assume Castro's place as the leader of Latin American anti-imperialism? Will he become a permanent pebble in Washington's shoe, as persistent and vexing as Castro, for decades to come?

Certainly, Chávez seems to believe so. However, he is missing much more than the charisma of the receding Cuban leader. He lacks the essential ingredient to take Fidel's place: legitimacy. Castro, for all his faults, earned his anti-American and anti-imperialist stripes. Chávez, awash in petrodollars, is too embedded in the very global system he purports to reject.

Castro sets a high bar for any regional successor, all the more evident now at the moment of his political death.

Consider his superlative permanence in power: 47 years. That is 17 more years than Mexico's Porfirio Díaz, 12 more than Paraguay's Alfredo Stroessner and 11 more than Spain's Francisco Franco. Even North Korea's Kim Il Sung -- the gold standard of aged despots -- totaled only 46 years in power. To match Castro, Chávez would have to remain in office, without interruption, until 2045, past his 90th birthday.

Such prolonged rule is possible only in a totalitarian dictatorship that leaves no space for dissent. In Castro's case, the Cold War helped him win absolute control over Cuban society. With a powerful and ever-present enemy so close, Castro could always manipulate the fear of an imminent invasion to militarize Cuban life. Any opposition was more than political -- it was treasonous. Castro thus governed unencumbered by domestic adversaries.

Chávez, by contrast, lives in a post-Cold War world, his conspiracy theories about the CIA notwithstanding. And in an era of democratic consolidation in Latin America, he has much less room to suppress the opposition at home, no matter how hard he may try.

Despite Castro's unquestioned power base, however, his capacity to disrupt his Latin neighbors, or even to predispose them against los Yanquis , has long been overestimated by his sympathizers, including Chávez. Castro's anti-American credentials date to the 1960s, when the Cuban revolution, still imbued with childlike optimism, openly backed leftist guerrilla movements emerging throughout the continent. But one by one, they failed. Indeed, the dictator's supporting role in the Soviet Union's military adventures in Africa during the 1980s came about only after his efforts to spark uprisings closer to home faltered -- a sort of revolutionary diversification strategy. Despite much rhetoric to the contrary, "exporting the revolution" ceased to be a priority for Castro long ago. After the Soviet collapse, survival became more important.

His regional appeal lingered, but in a half-hearted, nostalgic kind of way. Since the late 1980s, Castro has always been the star attraction at the inaugurations of democratically elected presidents throughout Latin America. His presence was a cheap and harmless way for other Latin American leaders to display a modicum of independence from the United States. Yet, as soon as the crazy uncle boarded his flight back to Havana, his erstwhile hosts quickly adopted the pro-market economic policies pushed by Washington and the International Monetary Fund. Castro -- whether wiser or simply older, or both -- looked the other way.

Chávez seems not to understand this hypocritical undertone to our region's anti-Americanism. Recall the Summit of the Americas last November in Mar del Plata, Argentina, where he proclaimed the death of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a long moribund initiative begun by President George H.W. Bush. Though Chávez garnered great press -- not to mention fun photo ops with Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona -- many of the Latin American governments that he aspires to lead on his anti-imperialist crusade preferred to keep quietly negotiating trade preferences with the United States.

The rest of the region seems to have internalized the key historical lesson of our long and contradictory relationship with the United States: One rarely crosses Washington without eventually suffering the consequences. Porfirio Díaz's oft-quoted comment "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States" applies to Latin America as a whole. Chávez may seek to lead, but few may opt to follow.

In two centuries of U.S.-Latin American cohabitation on this continent, few leaders have been as consistent champions of anti-Americanism as Castro. His charisma, at home and abroad, surely played a role. But the longtime U.S. trade embargo against the impoverished island also gave Castro the political and (paradoxically) moral legitimacy of a proud Caribbean David standing up to the menacing northern Goliath. Poverty, in a perverse way, legitimizes anti-imperialism and its modern-day variants, anti-Americanism and anti-globalism. It also helps explain why even Castro's bitter enemies recognize and respect his unbreakable attitude -- one that is the basis of the feelings he inspires among many of the region's residents.

Chávez, to put it mildly, does not inspire such emotions. Despite his integrationist rhetoric and efforts to buy allies (such as by acquiring big chunks of Argentine debt), he has become a divisive force, succeeding only in winning new enemies -- or at least losing friends -- throughout Latin America. His ties with fellow lefty head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil deteriorated severely, for example, after Chávez encouraged Bolivian President Evo Morales to nationalize energy holdings, thus jeopardizing the investments of Brazil's state-owned oil company in Bolivia. True to himself, Chávez probably will make the mistake of seeking to broker, in his antagonistic and backhanded way, the coming internal battles in Cuba.

Chávez has also heaped scorn upon Latin American governments that seek to improve their citizens' economic prospects by quietly negotiating free-trade agreements with Washington. Yet Venezuela's president enjoys the benefits of his own informal trade agreement with the United States; after all, Venezuela is one of the most dependable oil suppliers to the United States. In the first five months of 2006 alone, Venezuela exported nearly 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day to the United States, putting it in fourth place after Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. With a wallet full of petrodollars, Chávez can fund an arms buildup and social programs at home while trying to export his Bolivarian ideals throughout the region.

Unlike Castro, Chávez has found the profitable path to anti-imperialism. But it is a devil's bargain for Chávez, because such riches only erode the legitimacy he needs to lead a crusade against Washington. For how can you claim the anti-American and anti-globalization mantle when you so obviously benefit from both America and globalization? Chávez's Venezuela feels less vanguard than throwback -- the textbook case of a populist Latin American petrostate degenerating into an illiberal democracy, militarist as well as corrupt.

Absent Fidel, it is reasonable to expect that other leaders in the region may also aspire to become the new voice of whatever latent opposition to the United States remains. Chávez has neither the temperament nor the skill to beat out Lula, or Peru's Alan García, or even Mexico's conservative Felipe Calderón -- why not? -- for that role.

As quaint or misguided as it may sound today, true anti-imperialist leadership in Latin America still requires old-fashioned guts and commitment. Much of the mythology surrounding Latin America's crusader par excellence, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, resides in the fact that, even through the manner of his death, he stuck to his guns. Castro, also true to his rhetoric, nationalized the Standard Oil affiliate in Cuba after the Bay of Pigs fiasco and stood up to the U.S. embargo for decades. But Chávez, his anti-American bluster notwithstanding, is still dealing with the Chevron Corporation.

[Rasputin]

Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro have often met as the leaders of their countries, and they have clearly developed a warm personal friendship as well. The Bush administration, Fox News, and the Venezuelan opposition try to use this as "proof" that Chavez is taking orders from Castro, that Chavez intends to turn Venezuela into a "communist dictatorship," with capitalism severely curtailed, and freedom of speech limited.

In reality there has been a lot of cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela. Cuba is a world leader in many aspects of medicine, and Venezuela has oil, so they have traded oil for doctors, and also for technical assistance in education, agriculture, and other areas. But the idea that capitalism is under attack in Venezuela is simply absurd. I was there for a month before Christmas, and the scene I saw was more like capitalism on steroids. Venezuela has huge malls with atriums and half a dozen floors, stores just like ours, and lots of stuff made in China, just like in the U.S.

Venezuela also has a huge "informal economy," including thousands upon thousands of street vendors selling just about everything. Food, produce, clothing of all kinds, watches, jewelry, books, luggage, copies of CD’s and DVD’s, little figures to put in crèches (crèches were everywhere), makeup, cell phones, office supplies… Before Chavez the police used to clear them off the streets and take their merchandise. Now they completely fill the sidewalks in many parts of the city, and nobody bothers them. This year people were buying a lot! Ironically the prosperity that led to all this consumption has led to a huge surge in the flow of trash. There were little mountains of it in Caracas streets when I arrived. By the time I left a month later they were just starting to get it under control.

I saw McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, TGI Friday’s, Subway, and Little Caesar’s, demonstrating that franchising is functioning well. One of the tackier symbols of international capitalism is the huge red coffee mug inscribed with the word "NESCAFE" on top of a tall building in the heart of the city. Venezuela has signed joint venture agreements with 19 international oil companies, and is negotiating with the 20th, ExxonMobile. The government is vigorously supporting small businesses in the form of cooperatives. In cities across the country neighborhoods are organizing, with help from the government, to draw up maps of the settlements where poor people have built houses on public land so they can get titles to their houses, thereby creating massive amounts of private property in the form of titled real estate. The government has been quite encouraging to capitalist development in general, seeing it as fundamental to a prosperous society.

Chavistas make it clear that they are not following any model from Russia, China, or Cuba, or any other scheme or theory of how society should be organized. They often talk about socialism, but they don’t mean nationalizing industry or eliminating private property. By "socialism" they simply mean basing decisions on what is good for the whole of society. Chavez frequently refers to Jesus as a great teacher of socialism, with his message of love and caring for the least among us.

The army runs mega-mercados in various parts of town. These are big open air fairs, where the soldiers sell pork hindquarters at a very low price. Hundreds of people line up for meat, and they also buy things from farmers, fishmongers, and other private merchants at a big open air market. The prices of basic commodities are regulated, and low. But the fun part is all the "non-basic" commodities, like the machine that squeezes fresh sugar cane into a cup of juice, served with a squeeze of citron. Blocks of something like brown sugar, but more delicious. Honey in the comb. All the usual vendors of food clothing, and everything else. And the Venezuelan music that turns everything into a party.

This is one of the ways the army promotes national security. It sells food that everyone can afford, and it provides small businesses with a secure location (patrolled by soldiers!) and a guaranteed clientele. Moreover, these are customers who might have some money left in their pockets after buying basic commodities. The Venezuelan army promotes the nutritional security of the nation, and the people create the fun and profit.

Venezuelans say that their Bolivarian Socialism is a "process," something that they are inventing, discovering, and creating. There are some basic ideas: participatory democracy, social justice, Latin American integration, and independence from the empire to the north. Education, health care, adequate nutrition, and decent housing seen as fundamental rights. But there is no formula for achieving these ends. The process is experimental and open ended.

Chavez is the president because millions of people see themselves as directly connected to this process. Nearly all of the poor people, and a lot of the middle class, are benefiting from the educational, health, and food missions. But many are also connected to a broad social movement consisting of neighborhood committees, cooperatives, and unions of many kinds (such as the housewives’ union.) These people are the ones who took to the streets when the oligarchy kidnapped Chavez and tried to set up its own government. They know that they put him back in the palace, and they approve of what he is doing there.

The oligarchy, and the portion of the middle class that looks to them for leadership, see this state of affairs as the world gone crazy. An egomaniacal demagogue supported by a bunch of malcontents and troublemakers. Votes bought with cheap food and Cuban doctors. Worst of all, it’s being paid for with money that used to go to them.

The big newspapers and the private TV and radio stations are relentlessly opposed to Chavez. They extensively quote Chavez’s critics, putting the worst possible spin on everything he does, often treating him with disrespect and derision. Nevertheless, there has not been any attempt by the government to censor them.


The election for the National Assembly on December 4 was a good example of how the opposition press operates. Since the constitution of 1999 has been in effect, elections for the National Assembly have not been at the same time as the election for the president. Therefore, turnout has been low, around 30% of registered voters. Polls gave pro-Chavez candidates a big lead, predicting a 70/30 split in the legislature. Opponents of the government raised various fairness issues, and the election authorities made changes in the procedures that completely dealt with those issues, in the opinion of delegations of independent observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States.

Nevertheless, four days before the election all of the opposition parties agreed to boycott the election, and they told their supporters not to vote. Of course with the opposition not voting, and with government supporters seeing no contest for their candidates, the turnout hit an all-time low of 25%. The next day the headlines of the two biggest newspapers in Caracas triumphantly proclaimed: "Abstention at 75%!"


In other words, the opposition had told its people not to vote, and since 75% of registered voters did not vote, they claimed that it was a great victory for their side. In reality it was probably a rough measure of Chavez’s hard core, because who else would bother?

Because of the boycott, 100% of the new National Assembly supports Chavez. Already opposition figures have begun to sneer at the legislature as a mere rubber stamp for Chavez, more proof that he is a dictator, because only a dictator would have no opposition in the legislature.

50 out of 167 National Assembly members are women, by the way, a world record. Just think of their task: creating laws to enable a peaceful revolution.

So, is Chavez a dictator? Bush, Fox, and the Venezuelan oligarchy will tell you that he is. But they live in a looking-glass world where conquest is called liberation, aggression is called defense, and economic domination is called free trade. A world where real democracy is called dictatorship.

[Rasputin]

Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez: Castro's Mini-Me

'One darned thing after another': That's how former Secretary of State Dean Acheson once defined foreign policy. The latest "darned thing" for the United States is Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez.

For no apparent reason, the leftist strongman is arming Venezuela to the teeth. He's also supporting local narcoterrorists and other Latin revolutionaries.

Chavez idolizes Cuba's Fidel Castro, is chummy with Libya's Moammar Khadafy and was a Saddam Hussein pal. He's made nasty remarks about President Bush and "suggestive" public comments about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

According to Gerver Torres, a former Venezuelan government minister, Chavez's "main motivation now is to do everything he possibly can to negatively affect the United States, Bush in particular . . . trying to bring together all the enemies of the United States."

It's tempting to write off Chavez simply as Latin America's latest tin-pot dictator, but that would be a mistake. Venezuela's own "Fidelito" has the potential to cause real trouble for the United States — right in our own backyard.

Recognizing our economy's Achilles' heel, Chavez has threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States. Venezuela is our fourth-largest source of oil, providing 15 percent of U.S. oil needs (1.5 million barrels a day). This threat can't be ignored.

Curtailing exports would push already high American gas prices through the roof. Cognizant of this fact, Chavez recently proclaimed: "We have invaded the United States but with our oil."

Sure, it would be painful for Venezuela to cut off the 60 percent of its oil exports bound for the American market. But Venezuela is already looking to diversify its oil clientele beyond Uncle Sam.

Last December, Caracas struck a huge deal with Beijing for oil and gas sales and investment in Venezuela's energy sector.

Venezuela is stirring the security pot, too, sowing fear among its neighbors. From Russia, Chavez is buying 50 advanced MiG-29 fighters, 40 helicopter gunships and 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles. He's also bought arms from Spain and Brazil.

A cashiered former army colonel, Chavez also plans to increase the size of the army reserve as "an honorable answer to President Bush's intention of being the master of the world."

Gen. Bantz Craddock, commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command, finds Venezuela's weapon extravaganza worrisome because Chavez's motives are unclear. "We're wondering just what the intent here is," the general told the Senate in recent testimony.

One of Washington's main concerns is the possibility of a conventional war between Venezuela and its neighbor Colombia, the U.S.'s main regional ally. At a minimum, Venezuela's oil-induced buying binge could set off a regional arms race.

There's also the possibility that some of el presidente's new "toys," especially the AK-47s and ammunition, could fall into the hands of Colombian FARC narcoterrorists.

The FARC is seeking to overthrow the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Bogota received some $3 billion in U.S. assistance over the last several years to support its fight against narcotraffickers and leftist rebel groups.

Chavez is rumored to be supporting the FARC, letting it use the Colombian-Venezuelan border area to recuperate and resupply.

Elsewhere, Chavez is mentoring Bolivian revolutionary Evo Morales, whose comrades recently tried to force President Carlos Mesa's resignation in an effort to take control of the National Assembly.

In Peru, it's been alleged that Chavez bankrolled the rogue army officer who tried to incite December's rebellion against President Alejandro Toledo. Chavez denies all of this, of course.

Many Americans will find it hard to take Chavez seriously, but his capacity for regional troublemaking shouldn't be discounted, especially as oil prices rocket.

Fortunately, the Bush administration recognizes this and is beginning to craft a new policy to deal with Chavez. The best approach will include working with other regional leaders to contain and isolate him, while not inflaming the dictator's popular support at home.

Chavez recently announced his intent to export his "Bolivarian revolution" (read: Cuban revolution). Considering his disastrous socialist economic and repressive political record at home, we'd better stop him before he gets started.