Wow, what a stereotype! I know SO many wealthy white Americans who are wild about Obama and are supporting his campaign with money, phone calls, door to door canvassing, etc. If you look at the stats, it’s the blue collar white Americans who are more likely to vote for Hillary or McCain.

As far as Cuba goes…. didn’t we already go through this in July of ’06? Of course we did. What has changed since then? The answer is zilch. We can expect the same in the wake of this supposed “big news.” The Revolutionary Armed Forces (RAF) have the island pretty much locked down. They’ve got subsidized oil from Chavez pouring in and plenty of support from Beijing. Oh yeah… and all those tourist dollars- er… I mean euros. It won’t be until ‘Act III’ roles around when Fidel dies (in about 4 years) that any real change in Cuba takes place. That’s when Raul will go into voluntary exile, and the RAF will institute democratic reform at a pace that is painfully slow (from an outsider’s perspective, at least).

One think is for sure…. Cubans’ opinions of Fidel Castro and the Revolution cannot be reduced to ‘black vs. white’ as several posts suggest. I’ve spent months and months in Cuba over the last several years, and I would never say that “Havana is filled with black people who LOVE what Fidel has done for the people.” Most of my black friends (although Afro-Cuban would probably be a better way of putting it, since exporting U.S. notions of race is problematic for a variety of reasons) do not appreciate being stopped and asked for ID over and over and over again just for walking in tourist areas. Crackdowns on hip-hop festivals also throw into question Cuban leaders commitment to Afro-Cuban empowerment and equality. The fact that Revolutionary leaders have almost unilaterally been white males for the last 49 years is yet another thing that many Cubans of African descent (not to mention women) look to as one of the ways that the Revolution has failed them.

the only people who can decide cubas future are cubans living in cuba. if cuba was to follow any world bank or imf initiatives the island would gi downhill. just look to jamaica that used to offer free education but now primary and secondary schools have fees. you have charities to pay for school fees

i do not wish that on cuba.

Peace & Blessigs

The white cubans hate Fidel because he shook them (or their grandmama’s mamas and fathers) out of their comfort zones. It’s like how wealthy, white Americans will feel when OBAMA IS THE NEW PRESIDENT. Ashai Ase Ashe!

Modern-day Cuba has many amenities: Free health care, free education (even medical school!), etc. But it is still a poor country, and Id like to see that change, but hopefully, not become a capitalist country (like the US).

L

Do you think Fidel stepped down because Obama is doing so well in the presidential election. I know this is out there but bear with me. Fidel is (was) the longest ruling dictator in the world. He saw the assassination of Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement, the fall of the Soviet Union, etc. Through all that, I would bet he never thought he would live to see a man of African descent actually have a chance of becoming POTUS.

I suppose it made him realize that the world has changed so much that he should probably step aside and left someone rule. Odds are there won’t be a US lead invasion of the island now. The Cuban-American probably won’t be able to go back and immediately seize their pre-revolution possessions. It was now or never.

He’s probably on his last leg and taking his last breaths but he can savor his victory.