Fidel Castro: An International Hero

Castro was a flawed man, but he saved lives in Cuba, Africa and around the globe. Fidel rescued Cuba from the Batista dictatorship and provided free health care and the highest literacy rates on the planet.

Some facts you may not know…

According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can’t read. That’s 14 percent of the population. 21 percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates can’t read.

The American literacy rate is around 86%

Cuba has the highest literacy rate on the planet: 99.8%

(along with Latvia and Estonia)

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“Fidel, as he is known to all in Cuba and worldwide, is recognized as the principal leader of the Cuban Revolution, for his relentless struggle in overthrowing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.”

Most importantly, Fidel inspired Cuban workers, students and peasants to carry on the fight against U.S. imperialism and go forward to build socialism.

Despite all their propaganda, U.S. imperialists know that it is not Fidel Castro alone who made and sustained the Cuban revolution. The Cuban people as a whole worked and struggled to defend their socialist revolution and their liberation.

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Fidel’s unique capacity as an audacious military and political

  leader earned him the rightful title of “Comandante en Jefe,”

and the deep admiration of the Cuban people.

Despite a relentless CIA campaign of demonization and assassination plots, Fidel not only survived, but emerged defiant as an immensely popular and revered leader in the worldwide anti-imperialist movement.

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…Cuba’s alliance with Venezuela’s revolutionary process following Hugo Chávez’s election as president, has breathed new life into the hopes and aspirations for all Latin America and the oppressed peoples of the world.

“By defying Yankee imperialism for 50 years, instituting the best healthcare, child immunization and literacy systems in the Western Hemisphere (surpassing the US and Canada), exporting doctors to countries in need all over the globe (the Bush administration turned down his offer to send medical teams to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina), and being an unrepentant advocate of the poor and exploited it is no surprise that millions will mourn his passing.”

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Fidel Castro passed away at age 90.

Standing well over 6 feet (1.8m) tall, the bearded Castro was for years a cigar-chomping bulwark of ideological resistance to the United States.

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HAVANA: Flag-waving Cuban students broke into a mass chant of “I am Fidel” to salute Fidel Castro as nine days of mourning began for the combative Cold War icon, who dominated the Communist island’s political life for generations.

This is a photograph of Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro during a tribute ceremony. (Reuters Photo)