HAVANA (AP) 鈥� would have turned 100 on Thursday, and his long shadow continues to loom over the island as he remains revered by some who miss him in the face of a crippling and blamed by others who see him as the architect of the system that led to Cuba鈥檚 current crisis.
This week, Cuba commemorated Castro with events including the International Book Fair, art exhibitions, concerts and gatherings of delegates from leftist organizations across the continent.
Posters bearing his image hang in hospitals, while billboards displaying his slogans 鈥� including his widely-known 鈥淗omeland or Death鈥� 鈥� line the streets. His presence is so familiar that many Cubans refer to him simply as Fidel.
鈥淚 believe (Fidel Castro) leaves Cuba a legacy of dignity, morality, tireless work and concern for the poor,鈥� writer and essayist Miguel Barnet, who also is a member of the National Assembly, told The Associated Press. 鈥淎nd a philosophy that was translated into concrete policies in areas such as culture, education and public health.鈥�
Castro鈥檚 centennial comes as Cuba faces an that began when the Trump administration imposed a fuel blockade in January and followed up with a series of sanctions aimed at pressuring the communist government to make political and economic changes. The measures have deepened a five-year economic crisis fueled by earlier U.S. sanctions and a failed domestic financial overhaul.
For Cubans, the effects have been far-reaching: , shortages of fuel and medicine, , flight cancellations, transportation restrictions and reduced work and school hours.
Castro governed Cuba for five decades, from 1959 until he handed over the presidency to his brother in 2008, holding massive rallies and making hourslong speeches. He remained influential until his death in 2016.
鈥淔idel left us everything, everything good that came from Cuba鈥檚 revolutionary process,鈥� said Argelia Mustelier, a 61-year-old retiree who lives in Old Havana. 鈥淚n these difficult times we鈥檙e living through, he would have found a way to bring some happiness to his country and his people.鈥�
From guerrilla campaigns to leading a country
Fidel Castro Ruz was born Aug. 13, 1926, in eastern Cuba鈥檚 sugar country, where his Spanish immigrant father first worked recruiting labor for U.S. sugar companies and later built up a prosperous plantation of his own. Shortly after graduating as a lawyer, he became politically active.
In 1953, Castro and more than 100 others attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro was captured and later released, then went into exile in Mexico. He returned to Cuba with fellow rebels and launched a guerrilla campaign that culminated in Batista鈥檚 ouster in 1959 and Castro鈥檚 rise to power.
Castro took power and radically transformed Cuba through agrarian reform, a massive literacy campaign and the nationalization of private businesses, policies that put his government on a collision course with the U.S.
Across Latin America and developing nations, Castro became a symbol of anti-colonial and revolutionary movements. His policies also fueled deep opposition, first among wealthy Cubans, many of whom fled to the United States, and later among those who opposed the Communist Party鈥檚 monopoly on political power.
鈥淗e is a controversial figure,鈥� said historian Manuel Cuesta Mur煤a, president of the opposition Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba.
鈥淭here was no justification for sacrificing freedoms 鈥� There was no justification for preventing the rest (of the Cuban people) 鈥� and the country鈥檚 political diversity and plurality 鈥� from expressing themselves,鈥� Cuesta said. 鈥淭hat created a rift whose consequences we are still living with today.鈥�
For many younger Cubans, Castro remains an icon, but his influence is less immediate for them than for older generations who lived under his leadership.
鈥淥ur generation didn鈥檛 experience him as an active leader. What we saw was a less visible Fidel, one who rarely appeared in public,鈥� 27-year-old Cristian Cohello said. 鈥淲hat remains of Fidel Castro right now, of what he left behind, is nothing; absolutely nothing.鈥�
Speaking of the island鈥檚 current crisis, Cohello said there is no solution: 鈥淩ight now, even if they brought another Fidel, they wouldn鈥檛 be able to fix this.鈥�
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