President Fidel Castro insisted Friday that his socialist system will survive him, as he celebrated the 10th birthday of Elian Gonzalez - the shipwrecked boy who was the center of a fierce international custody battle. Castro characterized as "idiots" those who believe that socialist rule on the island will end with his death.
Yeah, you dumb guys! When Fidel dies, Egon Krenz will pick up the banner and march on! | "This revolution does not depend on one individual, or two, or three," Castro declared in a speech of more than two hours at a birthday celebration in the courtyard of Elian's school in the child's hometown of Cardenas, about 85 miles east of Havana. Speaking about a meeting he said occurred earlier Friday in Washington between Cuban Americans and U.S. officials, Castro said "that group of idiots ... would die of bitterness, of frustration and even shock to see how this country has resisted 45 years of blockade." The 77-year-old leader, who will celebrate 45 years in power this New Year's Day, also joked about his "longevity genes." His father, Angel Castro, was in his early 80s when he died October 1956, two years before the triumph of the Jan. 1, 1959 revolution.
Wonder if everybody was happy to see him go, too? |
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