Chanting “I am Fidel,” young Cubans marked the first anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Saturday (November 25) at the emblematic University of Havana.
Hundreds of students gathered on the grounds of the university, where Fidel Castro was trained as a revolutionary and Marxist when he was a law student. Fidel, a towering figure of the 20th century who built a Communist-run state on the doorstep of the United States and defied U.S. efforts to topple him, was remembered with poems, songs and speeches. Fidel died aged 90 on Nov. 25 last year.
The President of the University Students Federation (FEU) of Cuba, Raul Alejandro Palmero Fernandez, said that Fidel’s ideals still hold true among youngsters on the island.
The event was led by 57-year-old Cuban Vice President, Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is tipped to be Raul Castro’s apparent heir to the presidency.
Cuba’s electoral cycle will start on Sunday (November 26) with a municipal vote and will end with the selection of a new president in late February. Raul, 86, has said he would step down at the end of his two consecutive terms.
The transition is expected to be gradual as Raul will remain head of the Communist Party. It comes, however, as the country faces a tricky time with a decline in aid from ally Venezuela, weaker exports and a resulting cash crunch.
