Word: castros
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...recalling the famous mountain redoubt where the revolution was born almost 40 years ago. Few are allowed to penetrate to the heart of the last socialist bastion in the western hemisphere, one of a handful of communist regimes struggling to ride out the 20th century. Here is where Fidel Castro secretly pulls the strings guiding his country. And where he still pursues with unswerving dedication the same sacred mission he began decades ago: preservation of the revolution...
...imagine Fidel Castro there one day sometime in 1995. He is wrestling with complex, politically dangerous solutions to the crushing failure of his Marxist economy, but at last his nation is beginning to emerge, inch by painful inch, from the darkest years of the "special period," when the world predicted that his country and his government would collapse, just as did that of the Soviet Union. He decides one salve to the trauma is to go ahead with an idea that has intrigued him for some time: a visit by Pope John Paul...
...After more than 30 years of official atheism, and with very little access to information, many of the people welcoming the Pope were not believers,? says Drummond. ?Castro had given them the afternoon off and urged them to come out and greet the pontiff. They were there out of a sense of duty to the revolution.? An unusual scenario indeed, particularly in light of the media-driven perception of the Pope as anti-communist crusader who would serve as a magnet for opposition forces. ?Cuba is not Poland,? says Drummond. ?The Church here was always associated with the rich, many...
...unimpeded conversations with ordinary Cubans, Drummond found widespread opposition to the U.S. embargo ? although few expect the Pope to get it lifted. Most, however, believed the visit would boost Castro: "People on the streets seem to be very much in favor of the revolution," she says. "They have many complaints about their everyday difficulties, but on the whole most people I've spoken to seem very much in favor of the present form of government." And this week, they'll have unprecedented U.S. airtime to state their views...
...Threat From Fidel More Imagined Than Real? As Il Papa prepares to play 'Our Pontiff in Havana', the Pentagon reluctantly reports that Castro has chemical and biological weapons capability. The Pope and El Jefe meet in Cuba. The story on what brought them together in our TIME Cover: Clash of Faiths