Published April 15, 2007
Havana · Ask Malvis Legra to compare Fidel Castro with his protégé Hugo
Chavez, the Venezuelan president, and her green eyes immediately widen
behind her cracked wire-rimmed glasses.
"No comparison," she says without hesitation. "Fidel is unique. There is
no one like him. I adore Chavez but, for me, Fidel is like God is to
believers."
With Castro recovering but infirm, Chavez is viewed in many quarters as
heir to the mantle of the Latin American left. Whether Chavez can
command the reverence that Castro has, however, is another question.
The parallels between the two leaders are many: both are fierce orators
against the United States; both have shrouded themselves in the aura of
Simon Bolivar, the 19th-century liberator of much of South America; both
fancied themselves big-league pitching prospects.
"Chavez has really embraced Castro's anti-Americanism and is probably
the new standard bearer in Latin America for anti-U.S. feeling," said
Dan Erickson, a Caribbean expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a
Washington think tank.
Legra, 52, is in charge of vigilance for the 556 Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution in Old Havana. Known as CDRs, the neighborhood
watchdog groups monitor the community to insure that residents don't
stray from the principles of the revolution.
The CDR municipal office is a sparsely furnished storefront with a few
wooden desks and chairs, a phone line and an old manual typewriter.
There are photos of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the
ailing 80-year-old Cuban leader in military uniform. A poster on a wall
shows a smiling Venezuelan president with the words, in Spanish,
"Welcome Hugo Chavez."
But Legra said she worships only Castro. She keeps a framed photo of him
on her night table along with fresh flowers.
"When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is look at his
picture," Legra said. "Every day I pray to our comandante."
Still, Mayra Hernandez, 45, another CDR staff member in Old Havana, said
the parallels between the leaders were not lost on most Cubans.
"They have the same ideals," she said. "They fight against injustice.
Fidel has many more years of experience. He is irreplacable. But Fidel
Castro and Hugo Chavez are very similar."
Antonio Lopez, a 34-year-old taxi driver, said: "as long as the United
States is around there will be a space in Latin America for men like
Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez."
Since Castro temporarily transferred power to his younger brother Raul,
the defense minister, after emergency intestinal surgery last summer,
Chavez has emerged as the chief conduit for news about the ailing
leader's condition.
In recent months, a healthier-looking Castro has appeared in videos with
Chavez, discussing world politics and perhaps signaling a comeback to
power. Castro also has called into Chavez's weekly radio talk show. On
Friday in Venezuela, Chavez said Castro had recovered enough to
informally return to power, making and receiving calls and advising
subordinates about the affairs of state.
The relationship between the two leaders demonstrates that Cuba retains
the support of influential players outside the island, analysts said.
"It demonstrates the fact that Venezuela will remain a major backer of
Cuba both now and during a post-Castro transition," Erikson said. "It
also prevents the appearance that Castro is bestowing authority at a
greater level on some figure of the Cuban government."
Indeed, Venezuela's support for Cuba includes the almost 100,000
subsidized barrels of oil it sends here each day. The Chavez government
also plans to send 100,000 poor Venezuelans to Cuba on all-expense-paid
vacations. In return, Cuba has helped Venezuela establish support
programs for the poor called missiones, or missions, created on the
advice of Castro. The programs include thousands of Cuban doctors sent
to Venezuela to offer free medical care in Caracas' slums.
"It's almost as if Chavez is being prepared to be Castro's successor,"
said Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on
Hemispheric Affairs. "A big difference is that at this time Venezuela
under Chavez is demonstrably a democratic society. And there is no Cold
War now. There is no Soviet Union now. There is Venezuela now. Venezuela
in a sense has become the chief rabbi of Havana."
For many in Havana, however, Chavez is more like a son to Castro.
"He is the man who will continue the work of our comandante, but there
is no comparison," Legra said of Chavez. "Forget about it. If there is a
God, He sent us Fidel.
Ray Sánchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sun-sentinel.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment