Castro Steps Down!

[Mitch]

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who ruled the Caribbean island nation for nearly half a century, announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as president a year and a half after temporarily relinquishing power to his brother.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/02/19/castro-cuba.html

What are your feelings on Castro's stepping down?

Personally, I really liked Castro, though he killed lots of people (so has Bush), he has done great good for that country. He got the Americans out and founded an amazing Education and Health Care system. Every child gets quality education and post-secondary, they even send doctors down to Venezuela.

[Ed Jones]

Delighted.

Once he kicks the bucket i'll run naked down the main street with sparklers.

[Cattraknoff]

One commie tyrant down. Lets hope his successor follows shortly.

But I do hope Western influence remains minimized.

[Locke]

Although I don't exactly sympathize with him, his villainy was much overblown. As Borg stated, he has brought great good in some areas to his country.

[Mitch]

There's no doubt that there will be yet another dictator. With Castro still alive, he will still make many of the decisions.

[Cattraknoff]

There's no doubt that there will be yet another dictator. With Castro still alive, he will still make many of the decisions.

Dictatorship isn't so bad if the Western "democracies" aren't involved. If they take the path of China however, their people are in for much worse than they have currently. Or if they make progress to being westernized, they'll be corrupted as everyone else has. Their best hopes lay in distancing themselves from us as much as possible, if they can afford to.

[Mitch]

The good thing is, Cuba CAN afford to. They have one of the best education and health systems in the world, even above the US. They are supported by and support Venezuela, by trading well trained doctors for oil.
When I was in Cuba, versus the Dominican Republic, they were much better off. The poverty is equal, but everyone is alive. There is no deep, deep poverty in the country.
I think that Cuba is better off as a communist country at the moment, until the US improves their relations with them at least.

[Locke]

Contrarily, there exists deep poverty, but no desperate poverty as a result of a good public system.
Not to mention, when Chavez is assassinated (or peacefully seceded) Cuba cannot have full faith in the fact that his successor will be as sympathetic.