After the death of Fidel Castro on the 25th of November 2016, world leaders have gathered on the 29th of November in a ceremony in the Plaza de la Revolución, Havana in a memorial honouring his legacy. The memorial included a mass rally to honour the former revolutionary leader. The rally began with the playing of the Cuban national anthem, and a black and white revolution-era footage of Castro and other guerrillas on a large screen.
From Bolivia to Mexico to South Africa – presidents, prime ministers and diplomats took to a podium in Cuba’s Plaza of the Revolution, where Fidel Castro had delivered many of his speeches before amassed Cubans. These leaders made sure to commemorate his name with only words of admiration and remembrance.
Military cadets with photos of Fidel Castro at Revolution Plaza in Havana. (Ricardo Mazalan/AP)
He is remembered as the father of Cuba’s communist revolution – who brought health care, education and military strength to his people. According to the vice president of Iran Majid Ansari, Castro’s name would go down among the most prominent independence fighters in the history of man. The president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro also described El Comandante as a father figure who founded his country’s socialist ideals.
“Fidel is more alive than ever, more necessary than ever,†said Bolivian President Evo Morales. He praised Castro’s success in fighting back the United States, and his legacy that lives in his people. “He’s alive, vigilant, contemplating our common cause. The Cuban people are stronger than ever and ready to fight imperialism. And the anti-imperialists of the world are united like never before.â€
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa also paid tribute to Castro and praised Cuba for its record on health care, education, aid its support for African struggles in independence. He told the crowd that Fidel Castro could be remembered as “a great fighter for the idea that the poor have a right to live with dignity.”
Raul Castro | Ricardo Mazalan/AP
Successor and younger brother of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro then closed the rally with a speech of gratitude, thanking world leaders for their praise for his brother, whom the former called the leader of a revolution “for the humble, and by the humble.”
Photos from BBC News and Google.
