Fidel Castro‘s Legacy Brought Hope for Cuba. Now What’

Reactions to Fidel Castro's death at age 90 strike a depressingly familiar tone. Some celebrate while others mourn. These two responses may not be evenly divided in the U.S., but they certainly would be if we polled the hemisphere. Castro's passing dramatizes what we have known for some time: Cuba stands at the brink of change, now apt to accelerate and, with a Donald Trump administration to the north, will quite likely be disastrous. The tsunami of predatory capitalism poised to hit the island will be impossible to stop and difficult for the state to control or redirect. Although these changes will enrich some - and already have disproportionately benefited those with close ties to the ruling party - they are sure to keep the majority impoverished, producing the same patterns of stubborn economic inequality that afflict Cuba's neighbors, both north and south. In a visit to Cuba last December, I did see evidence of resiliency in areas for which supporters of the Cuban Revolution are justifiably proud: population health statistics that are similar to those of the U.S.; ingenious strategies for economic self-sufficiency (such as agro-ecology); an astounding reach of free, public education, with rich and diverse communities of expert knowledge that put wealthier nations to shame; stalwart national pride in the face of great adversity.