Lamenting Fidel’s Death

An outstanding figure of anti-American movement in Latin America, Fidel Castro, died on Friday. He was 90. Having led the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and defeating pro-American administration of Fulgencio Batista, Castro maintained socialistic government in a major Caribbean island for decades. Losing a great icon, Cuban government focuses on economic reform and accelerate reconciliation with United States.

Newspapers in Japan introduced Castro as a charismatic leader who confronted American Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama, pushing the world into an edge of nuclear war in Cuban Crisis in 1960s, or restricted human rights under his cause for revolution. Leading regional integration against United State in Middle and South America, seen in Alternativa Bolivariana Para America Latina in 2004 or Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños in 2011, Castro disseminated such socialistic welfare policies as free education or medication in Latin America.

Asahi Shimbun introduced an argument that what made Fidel a socialist had been United States. While Fidel Castro sought normalization of the relationship with U.S. right after Cuban Revolution, U.S. broke up diplomatic relationship with Cuba and brought Bay of Pigs Invasion, trying to defeat Castro regime. Mainichi Shimbun introduced comment of a Cuban man that Fidel was their supreme leader and Che Guevara their idol.

Fidel Castro informally visited Japan twice. In 2003, he visited Hiroshima and appealed that the tragedy should never be repeated again. A former staff of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum remembered Castro as received sentiment of the sufferers of atomic bomb. For them, Castro did not look like a charismatic revolutionary but a kind grandfather telling about preciousness of peace.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe released a message, in which he expressed sincere condolence on the news of death of prominent leader after Cuban Revolution. On his meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana this September, he was impressed with emotional speech on international affairs. “He led the revolution to a success and contributed to building new country focusing on medication and education, opposing inappropriate economic blockade by United States,” told Chairman of Japan Communist Party, Kazuo Shii.

It is expected that Cuba will make slow progress to reconciliation with U.S. under the leadership of Fidel’s brother, Raul Castro. Although U.S. President-elect, Donald Trump, is negative on sudden improvement of bilateral relationship with Cuba, Castro’s death is not likely to ignite confusion in anti-American movement in Latin America. An era of socialistic movement there may have ended.