Last Updated: August 16, 1999
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Castro's world: A trickle-up society
November 1, 1998
HAVANA -- The Fidel Castro show features drama, humor, bluster and even
some affection. And it is a show.
From the time the Cuban dictator walked into a stark assembly room in
a Havana convention center last weekend at 11:00 a.m. until he left in
a parade of Mercedes limousines at 5:45 p.m., Castro was onstage. His guests
were a delegation from the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE).
Castro immediately recalled that he had been a guest of ASNE in 1959.
He was shown a picture from that speech and looked at a Castro 39 years
younger. "It's a pity," he said.
"My English then was not good, but it was better than it is today."
Castro then asked the editors how many of them were at that '59 meeting.
Not a single editor raised a hand, prompting Castro to say, "None of you
were there then? This is a whole new generation of editors, and I'm the
same?"
Castro displayed practically every emotion during his 5½-hour
formal "conversation" with the editors. At one moment, he was soft-spoken
and contemplative. In an instant, he'd turn into the barking, angry, intemperate
dictator.
At several points, he debated the editors on the merits of capitalism
vs. socialism. He railed against individualism and selfishness and condemned
the materialism of U.S. citizens.
At another point, he easily poked fun at himself, saying, "People in
Miami must think God is bad because God has not taken me from this Earth."
The show continued even after the formal part of the conversation. He
bantered with the editors from his seat at the podium as he signed a few
books and texts of speeches.
One editor asked Castro what he thought about President Clinton's handling
of the Monica Lewinsky situation. Without hesitation, Castro said that
"I looked at it as a politician, and I thought that in his second speech
he should have said more. You should always say more if you're being self-critical."
He added that Clinton "didn't give enough reasons to the American public
why he should stay in office."
Castro said, however, that Clinton's State of the Union message in January
was one of the best speeches he had ever heard.
Castro was entertaining and charming when he met each editor individually.
I was introduced to him by ASNE president Edward Seaton as the treasurer
of the organization. Castro was told that I would become ASNE president
in 2001. Castro asked, "How long do you serve?" I replied, "For one year."
Castro asked, "Can you be reelected?" I said, "No. We move through each
of the officer chairs, we're president and then we're gone and forgotten."
Said Castro, "I could not be a member of your society."
© Copyright 1998 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
