Cuba commemorates five years of the death of Fidel Castro with a center on his work

Cuba commemorates this Thursday the fifth anniversary of the death of Fidel Castro, inaugurating a center to preserve the work and thought of the revolutionary leader, while young government officials planned to march to the emblematic Malecón in Havana in his honor.

The Fidel Castro Ruz Center in Havana, the first and only building with his name in Cuba, will be officially opened in a ceremony led by President Miguel Díaz Canel, of which there are few details.

"In #Fidel’s office in the Palace of the Revolution, everything is as he left it on his last day there. I try to imagine it in the midst of the tough battles of so many challenging years. It inspires me, it excites me. And I keep fighting"the president said earlier in a message on Twitter.

Castro (1926-2016) led the revolution against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, which triumphed in 1959 to establish a socialist regime that still lasts, under the presidency of Díaz-Canel.

The official Granma newspaper recalled "the fifth anniversary of the physical disappearance of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution".

He became ill in 2006, handing over power to his brother Raúl, who has been retired since this year and at the age of 90.

After a decade-long convalescence, Fidel Castro passed away on November 25, 2016 at the age of 90.

Many Cubans remembered him this Thursday with nostalgia, although others say they did not miss him so much.

– "Fidelista and Castro" –

"I am a fidelista and a Castroite. People don’t really know how many people Fidel lifted out of poverty in this country. The blacks, the peasants, have to thank him all their lives"Juan Monduy, 71, who was part of Castro’s security team, tells AFP.

Rigoberto Celorio, an 85-year-old retired lieutenant colonel, believes that he was the only one capable of anticipating problems.

"By now … I would have done a lot more. As we say, I would have put my hand to the problems we have"says Celorio.

Five years into the absence of the historic leader, the country is experiencing a deep economic crisis. GDP plummeted 11% in 2020, the biggest drop since 1993, and strong inflation has led to food and medicine shortages. In addition, the toughening of sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration endure with Joe Biden in the White House.

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In recent years, a new generation has also emerged that demands rights and freedom of expression. And in this 2021 the historic and massive demonstrations of July 11 occurred, which were followed by an attempt at a prohibited protest this month.

"With Fidel, these marches would not have been proposed", considers Celorio.

But Enrique, a tourist from Santiago de Cuba (east) in Havana who did not want to give his last name, says he does not miss him "Not at all".

"You want changes, how can you not want changes, but here you cannot express yourself freely. Look how many people are in jail for participating in the July 11 protest", says the 32-year-old man.

At least 1,270 people were detained for the protests on July 11, of which 658 remain in jail, according to the human rights NGO Cubalex.

– "Red scarves" –

The commemorative celebrations began Wednesday night, when hundreds of students gathered at the University of Havana under heavy rain to remember with music, dance and words to the "Commander".

The young government officials "red scarves" they called for a march Thursday afternoon in honor of Fidel Castro.

The march will leave the Parque del Quijote and will go to the Malecón, the same route that the opposition leader Yunior García tried to do on the 14th, dressed in white and with a rose. That solitary demonstration was prevented by the police who surrounded his house before he could leave.

They announced that they will launch into the water a replica of the Granma yacht, which brought Castro to Cuba in 1956, made by artist Alexis Leyva.

Criticized by his opponents, who accused him of cult of personality, Fidel Castro asked that no monuments be made to him.

According to a law passed a month after his death, using the name of Fidel Castro is prohibited "to name institutions, squares, parks, avenues, streets and other public places, as well as in any type of decoration, recognition or honorary title".

There is only one exception to use your name: when the institution "is established for the study and dissemination of his thought and work".

Fulfilling Castro’s wish, in Cuba there are no statues, no streets or parks in his honor, although his image is present in the country in multiple ways.

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