Raul Castro Update: More Radical, Less Charismatic

Seems like a winning combination to me.

Ace's Rule of Cult-of-Personality Tyranny: You can't be a long-lived tyrant when you project the all the sex appeal and virile authority of the little bald guy from The Benny Hill Show.

Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro is President Fidel Castro's staunchly loyal younger brother and his designated successor. At 75 and five years younger than Fidel, Raul is far less charismatic than his brother though far more radical.

...

Three weeks after taking power in January 1959, Castro named Raul his successor, telling supporters: "Behind me are others more radical than I."

...

While Fidel headed up many of the mass protests in Havana, it was the mustachioed Raul, dressed in his olive green uniform and a full head shorter than his brother, leading tens of thousands of chanting, flag- waving citizens in the provinces.

SlapSlapSlapSlapSlap.

Hey, if such superficial concerns as looks, height, and charisma matter in a mature, extraordinarily-successful democracy, they must count ten times as much in Cult of Personality Tyranny.

Cuba may be about to get a bit of political pluralism.

Not by design, of course. But while no one would dare challenge Fidel for power, I think there are going to be a few ambitious generals who think they're more suited to be Dictator For Life than Slappy Castro.

posted by Ace at 01:52 AM

| Access Comments