NewsLab

It’s the end of an era for Cuba, as Fidel Castro announced his retirement after 49 years in power. The news, have made the world’s headlines, while Washington says it is not likely to lift the embargo any time soon. Cuba’s parliament is to meet on Sunday in order to elect a new president, most likely the comandante’s brother Raul.

“My voice will not be stifled, it will rise from my breast, even when I feel most alone”. His fiery speech during his trial in 1953, after the failed coup against dictator Batista, guided his every step. Even now, that his body is feeble, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz’ s soul found the strength to “countersign” the end of an era. In a statement published on Communist Party’s Granma newspaper website, Castro said that he will not aspire to or accept the positions of President of Council of State and Commander in Chief when the National Assembly meets on February 24.

Almost half a century passed by, from the day Fidel Castro and his faithful companion Ernesto Che Guevara made their victorious entry in Havana. Ever since, Comandante Fidel was the thorn in the sides of the United States. He survived the Bay of Pigs invasion, the long-lasting embargo and decades of diplomatic isolation. He knocked out 10 American presidents, keeping a communist state in the threshold of Washington. He also survived numerous assassination plots.

People tend to worship or hate him. He was hailed by his opponents as a dictator, who strangled and jailed his decriers, while most Cubans lived in extreme poverty. For his partisans, he was a national hero, a leader who gave dignity to his people, the last rebel. The retirement of Fidel Castro draws the curtain on a long, passionately controversial political career.

Castro had not appeared in public for almost 19 months after undergoing intestinal surgery, even missing the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the launching of the Cuban Revolution. His younger Brother Raul has been in power ever since and is expected to become officialy Cuba’s next president.