11/28/16 11/28/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! happening at is the moment. it has changed everything that must change. this complete equality and freedom. and be treated like a human being. it is emancipated ourselves for ourselves and by our own strength. it is challenging the dominant

forces inside and outside the country. it i is defending our values at anprice. amy: fel castro has di a at the age 90. he survived 11 u.s. presidents anmorerehan 600 assassinioion attempts, many orchestrated by the a. e cubanovernment has declar nine da o of naonalal mourning. today we spend the hour lookokig back at castro's life anand legacy. >> our duty is to fight until the last minute, even of someone were to say that humidity had only 10 years left. we would have to fight during country,years for our for everyone, and for humanity. that cannonot wait, but the situation is difficult, more difficult than ever. amy: we will host a undtable discsionon with ll fletcher, , and kobluh

professorlou perez. all that and more, coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the cuban government has declared nine days of f national mourning following the death of fidel castro. he died friday at the age of 90. his death came 60 years to the day after he, his brother raul, che guevara, and 80 others set sail from mexico in 1956 to begin what became the cuban revolution to oust the u.s.-backed cuban dictator fulgencio batista. batista fled the island in 1959 and the castros have led cuba ever since. the cuban revolution would inspire revolutionary efforts across the globe and lead castro

to become one of the archenemies of the united states. it is said he survived over 600 assassination attempts, many orchestrated by the cia. across the developing woworld, fidel castro was viewed as a hero who stoodod up to washingtn and offered support for anti-colonial struggles. this is bolivian president evo morales speaking on saturday. .> fidel is a manan fidel is a brother, a great human being. fidel is a politician, a great revolutionary. fidel castro is a great teacher of principles and bellies, a teacher of revolututionaries. his s fight has not t only beenr the cubaban people, nor for thee people o of latin america, but r the people of the world that fought for freedom. amy: sello hatang of the nelson mandela foundation also praised castro. > to the people of cuba, your pain is ours. fidel castro belonged to you as much as he belonged to us. and we all believe -- we all

know that at some point one has to transition to the other world. and i think in his case, he is a proud man having helped many struggles around the world to achieve freedom. amy: in a prepared statement president obama said -- "history will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and the world around him." memeanwhilile, president-elect donald trump tweeted -- "fidel castro is dead!" he later described him as "a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades." in political news, president-elect donald trump is claiming that millions of people illegally voted in the november eight election but offered no , evidence to support his claim. on sunday trump tweeted -- "in addition to winning the electoral college in a landslide, i won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."

while trump did win the electoral college, democratic nominee hillary clinton's lead in the popular vote has now reached over 2 million and is expected to grow to 2.5 million. on saturday, clinton's legal team said it had agreed to participate in a recount of wisconsin votes after the state's election board approved the effort requested by green party candidate jill stein. stein requested the recount after some computer scientists and election lawyers raised the possibility y that hacks could have affected the results. dr. stein: today we filed our petition for a recount, a hand recount of the ballots in the presidential race in the state of wisconsin. so this is very exciting because we are standing up as a grassroots campaign in a grassroots movement, ststandingp for a voting system that we

deserve, that we can have confidence in, that has integrity and security, and that we know is not subject to tampering, malfeasance, hacking, and so on. so we are standing up to say that we deserve thahat in this election -- and actually, in every election. amy: donald trump has tapped conservative billionaire betsy devos to serve as the united states education secretary. devos is a longtime backer of -- she is a longtime backer of charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. american federation of teachers president randi weingarten criticized the pick. she said -- "in nominating devos trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding, and destroying public education in america." devos' father-in-law is the co-founder of amway and a longtime supporter of right-wing causes. her brother is erik prince, founder of the mercenary firm blackwater.

meanwhile, donald trump has named south carolina governor nikki haley as the next u.s. ambassador to the united nations. ththe daughter o of indian immigrantsts, haley isidelely sn as a foreign policy novice. israel was one of the first countries to welcome her nomination. last year goverernor haley becae the e first gogovernor to signgn legislation n against the bds or boycott, divest, and sanction movement to pressure e israel to comply witith internationanal lw and respect palestinian rights. this comes as donald trump has yet to announce who his pick f r secretary of state. formerer massachusetts governor mitt romney and former new york mayor rudy giuliani are said to be in the running. on sunday, one of donald trump's top advisers, kellyanne conway, publicly criticized romney during an appearance on "meet the press." >> people feel betrayed to think governor romney who went out of his way to question the character and intellect and

integrity of donald trump now our president elect, would be given them a significant cabinet post of all, secretary of state. that is a decision only one man can make will stop amy: in news from north dakota, the u.s. army corps of engineers has announced it plans to close public access to the site e of e standing rock protest camp on december 5. for months, indigenous water protectors have cacamped outut n the area to fight the $3.8 billion dakota accccess pipelin, which would carry crude from the bakken oilfields of north dakota through south dakota, iowa, and illinois. in a statement sunday, the u.s. army corps of engineers said it had "no plans for forcible removal" of protesters but the agency said anyone who remained would be considedered unauthorid and could be subject to vavaris citations. dave archambault, the chairman of thehe standing rock s sioux tribe, saiaid in a statatementht the tribe was dedeeply disappointeded by thdedecision

meanwhwhile, sunday night, musil legends jacksoson browne and bobonnie raitt performed a benet concncert for the standing rock protesters. >> ♪ want to be with our family ♪ amy: jackson browne made headlinenes last month when he sisigned an open letteter to key warren, ceo of energy transfer partners, which owns the pipeline. warren also owns a small music label, music road records which , once released a jackson browne tribute cd. browne said -- "i do not support the dakota access pipelinine. i will be dodonating all of the money i have received from this album to date, and any money received in the future, to the tribes who are opposing the pipeline." in the press release about the jackson browne tribute album, pipeline owner kelcy warren

wrote -- "i don't know of anybody that admires jackson more than me." in news from syria, the united nations is warning that about 500,000 children a are now trapd in besieged areas and are "almost completely cut off from sustained humanitarian aid and basic services." it is estimated there are 100,000 trapped children in the whichheld areas of aleppo witnessed intense fighting over the weekend. according to the syrian observatory for human rights, two rebel held areas of eastern aleppo have fallen too governmet forces in what has been described as the biggest defeat for r the opposition in aleppo since 2012. in other news from syria, the pentagon has announced the u.s. military has suffered its first combat death in syria. the military said a special operations forces member was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern syria on thursday. with less than two months in office, president obama has

quietly moved to expand u.s. military operationons in somali. according to the "new york times," the administration has decided to deem the militant group al shabab to be papart of the armed d conflict that t cons authorized aftfter the september 11, 2001 attacks, even though al shabab did not exist as an organization at the time. the move will make it easier for u.s. forces to intensify airstrikes and counterterrorism operations. israel has announced plans to build 500 new settlement homes in occupied east jerusalem in violation of international law. it is the first announcement of new settlement construction since the election of donald trump who has claimed all of , jerusalem as part of israel. palestinian lawmaker mustafa barghouti criticized the move. >> the declaration of the establishment of 500 -- only the beginning of a very dangerous step to legalize more than

30,000 new settlement units in the area of jerusalem. and more than that, the israeli government is planning to legalize and initiate 120 new settlements in addition to the 15159 settlements. amy: an estimated 1000 indigenous people andnd allies gathered a plymouth rock, massachusetts, thuhursday, foroe 47th national day of mourning. this y year's gathering,g, t the largest everer, was held in solidarity with the water protectors at standing rock north dakota. speakersrs included the coleader of the united american indians of new englandnd. >> in the spirit of crazyhorse, in the spirit of metacom, and in the spirit of geroronimo, butt above of a all in the spspirit f the water protectorsrs at standg rock, let's be surure of this. wewe are not p panicking.. we are not conquered.. we are as strong as ever. ho!

amy: and those are some of thee headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today we spend the hour looking at the life and legacy of cuban revolutionary leader and former cuban president fidel castro. he died friday at the age of 90 . the cuban government has declared nine days of national momourning. castro h had been in poor healah since 2006 and formally ceded power to his younger brother raul in 2008. fidel castro died 60 years to the day after he, his brother raul, che guevara, and 80 others set sail from mexico in 1956 to begin what became the cuban revolution to oust the u.s. back dictator fulgencio batista. batista fled the island in 1959 and the castros ve led cububa ever since.

the cuban revolution would inspire revolutionary efefforts across the globe andnd lead caso to become one of the archenemies ofof t united states. this castro addressing his fellow cubans in the 1980's. having a senses at the moment. it has changed everything that must be changed. it is complete equality and freedom. it is the treat and be treated like a human being. it is emancipated ourselves for ourselves and by our own strength. it is challenging the dominant forces inside and outside the country. it is defending our values at any price. amy: fidel castro embraced communism -- he called himself a marxist-leninist. washington repeatedly tried to remove him from power with the ill-l-fated invasion at the bayf pigs in 1961 and a decades-long economic embargo.

castro denounced the u.s. blockade of cuba in the 1988 film, "the uncompromising revolution" directed by saul landau and jack willis. >> foror the first 1 10 years, e revolution h had to survrvive te blockade increased possibilities of develelopment.. in these years, basic progress occurrrredike eradicatingng ililliteracy. building an eduducational syste, gegetting schchools to remotee , providingg teachers. in those days, we even "improvised teachers" because there were not enough teachers.. doctors. of our 6000 doctotors, 3000 in of the u united states.

yet greatt challllenges. amy: across the developing world, fidel castro was viewed as a a hero who stood up to the united states and assisted marxist guerrillas and revolutionary governments around the world. in the 1970's, he sent cuban troops to angola to support a -- the government over the initial objections of russia. cuba helped defeat south african insurgents in angola and win namibia's independence from south africa in 1990, adding pressure on the apartheid regime. after nelson mandela was freed from prison in 1990, he repeatedly thanked castro. on saturday, the leader of the people's movement for the liberation of angola said castro was like mandela. >> in the world, from time to time, there will be individuals like this who appear, be it in

signs or politics. these individuals are like mandela. when they leave us, they leave us with a gap. for some, fidel castro was a dictator. for us, he was a revolutionary. regardless of any y name, he was also a charismatic figure. even as western enemies respected him. it is difficult for people like that to exist in today's world. amy: many cubans who fled the regime consider castro a tyrant who demanded absolute obedience from the cuban people through censorship of the media and by imprisoning people he deemed antisocial including dissidents, , artists, and members of the lgbt community. 2015, president obama reestablished formal diplomatic relations with cuba after castro's death was announced friday, obama released a statement saying "we know that this moment fills cubans and cuba and the united states with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which fidel

castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and the cuban nation. history will judge and record the impact of the single figure on the people and the world around him." donald trump tweeted -- prime minister justin trudeau issued a statement that described castro as larger-than-life and remarkable leader -- he also noted that his father proud to call castro a friend. all of this comes as several major u.s. airlines are beginning commercial flights to cuba this week. for the first time in 55 years, the first flight is landing today. today as we broadcast, that

flight is leaving from new york to cuba. in april of this year, castro gave what would be his farewell speech. addressing the closing of a communist party congress in havana, he defended his record, saying -- "soon i'll be like all the others. the time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the cuban communists will remain as proof on this planet that if they are worked at with fervor and dignity, they can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need, and we need to fight without truce to obtain them." when we come back, we host a roundtable discussion on fidel castro's life and legacy. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we spend today looking at the life and legacy of the cuban

revolutionary leader fidel castro, who died on friday at the age of 90. we're joined by three guests. bill fletcher, jr., is a longtime labor, racial justice and international activist. editorial board member and columnist for blackcommentator.com. founder of the black radical congress. his recent piece is headlined, "black america and the passing of fidel castro." peter kornbluh is the director of the cuba documentation project at the national security archive. he is the co-author with william leogrande of "back channel to cuba: the hidden history of negotiations between washington and hahavana." and joining us via democracy now video stream is lou perez, j jr, professor of history at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. he is the author of several books including, "cuba in the american imagination: metaphor and the imperial ethos" and "cuba: between reform and revolution." welcome you all to democracy now! peter kornbluh, let's begin with

you. your reaction to the death of fidel castro. >> well, the world has lost one of the most famous leading and dynamic and dramatic revolutionaries who ever lived. he is going to have a very controversial legacy, but it is indisputable that he took a small caribbean island and transformed it into a major actor on the world stage -- far beyond its geographic size. he stood up to the united states. he became the david versus goliath, withstood all of the efforts to kill him, overthrow him, and that is what he will go down in history for in many ways. cuba is in a very difficult situation today. in extraordinary transition in terms of the cuban leadership and in terms of the leadership of the united states. it is not clear where the

relationship between washington and havana is going to go under .onald trump in that respect, the death of fidel now comes at an extremely delicate moment. but the world is going, i think, to remember fidel as someone who really stood for independence and sovereignty and brought a great pride in nationalism to the cuban people. bill fletcher, your immediate response when you heard that fidel castro had died? i mean, he was no longer the actual president. he had handed over power in 2006 to his younger brother raul, then formally ceded that power in 2008. much of what -- as what peter just said, we lost an audacious

leader, an outspoken champion of national liberation, national independence. in the mainstream media that are many, many criticisms being made of fidel castro -- and there are certainly legitimate criticisms -- but the u.s. media mrs. white is that most of the world mourns his passing. it is not just the morning of a historic figure, but a figure who actually shook up the planet. amy: in what way? -- it is things interesting. he took a country that had been anded into a whore house gambling casino of the united states and gave that country vigor. he turned a country that was poor -- remains poor, into a major location for the production of medical personnel

who had gone around the world and made themselves available to countries that could never afford that kind of assistance. he, as peter mentioned, he combated the apartheid regime in south africa, but in addition, provided all sorts of assistance to forces that were fighting portuguese colonialism and white minority rule. he helped construct the idea of latin america independence, working very closely with the president of venezezuela. this is one of the reasons he has a special place for much of black america, that he stood up to the united states. the united states did everything they possibly could do to destroy him, to bring him down, to bring down his government. and it did not work. aboutou perez, jr., talk your interest in fidel castro and your response to these latest development, the death of

fidel castro. >> good morning. what resonates in the world, at least as much as fidel castro, is the cuban revolution. the cuban revolution is a historical process that comes out of 100 years of struggle. the cuban revolution represents . culmination of cuban history behind fidel castro, even perhaps had a fidel castro, our people, a people who lead been struggling for and nationalation sovereignty for the better part of a century. fidel castro happens to be the person who had the capacity to bring to fruition the historical of a long process. it happens that this process culminates in the early 1960's at the same time the decolonization of africa and southeast asia and ththe middle east -- then all of a sudden,

cuba comes in with a global phenomenon. worldly no country in the is more of an imprint of the american domination more than cuba did in the 20th century. so that fidel castro with 6 million of the cubans assumed the political position of challenging the american presence, of minimizing american influence, asked sounding american capital, of breaking diplomatic relations, and then ofhstanding 60 years invasion, multiple embargoations, and an most of it speaks to the resolve not only a fidel castro, but the resolve of the cuban people. amy: professor, the dominant discussion in the u.s. corporate media is that he was a dictator,

that he was a killer, that he killed many and imprisoned dissidents. your response to that description? >> i don't know how to respond to that. this is a system that is not reluctant to use repressive means to maintain power. this is a system that has bond a fairly extensive intelligence system, surveillance will step in many ways, i think cuba .ffers as a cautionary tale 30, 40, 50 years cuba has been under siege from the united states. and once that idea of national security enters into the calculus of governance, you are aware that civil liberties and the freedoms of the press and freedoms of political exchange shrink. we are experiencing this year since 9/11. so that cuba becomes a national security state with justification if one believes

the duty of a government is to protect the integrity of national sovereignty. so for 50 years, cuba, 90 miles away from the world's most powerful country, struggles to maintain its integrity, its national sovereignty. and in the course of these years, increasingly becomes a national security state. ironically, the united states contributed to the very conditions that the professes to abhor. peter kornbluh, yet a chance to meet fidel castro. give us a thumbnail sketch about murphy, of fidel castro. how it was 60 years to the day before he died on friday, he made that trip leaving mexico with che guevara and his brother raul to begin the cuban revolution. >> i did have big store near opportunity to spend some real time, quality time with fidel

castro, if you will. we organized two major conferences. one on the 40th anniversary of the invasion and one on the cuban missile crisis. what all of the surviving kennedy administration officials officials retired cia and in the case of the bay of pigs invasion, we've brought former members of the cia-led brigade that invaded cuba to sit at a conference room table and discuss this rather extraordinary history with fidel. over the course of time, we had four private lunches and two state dinners. i was able to kind of sit in front of him and listen to the history that he embodied and that he was a part of, and that he changed with the power of his personality and the force of his leadership. historicalt a figure, and with him goes tremendous amount of history that only he knew and only he

could share. books the movies and the to come are going to be extremely important for us to evaluate and seek more about the history that he helped to make and dominated in many ways over the last 50, 60 years. he was born to a spanish immigrant who become a major land owner in the provinces of cuba. he grew up a relatively privileged life. he became a lawyer. he began to oppose the cuban dictator batista leading a kind on july 26, attempt 1953 at the macabre barracks. that effort failed miserably and he was thrown in jail. he miraculously was released

exiled tosty and mexico where, as we know he organized the cuban revolution. credit for a lot of sparking a revolution, but lou perez would be the first to say, there is tremendous opposition to batista in the urban sectors, organized independently of fidel castro, but his landing in cuba on december 2 1956 inin a small 88 guerillllas to go intoto the mountains started the process going forward in a big way. it was an improbable revolution. the landing party led by fidel was attacked almost immediately and he lost the vast majority of his men. only 12 members of the landing group, the guerrillas who is bringing to cuba, survived.

among them, him and raul's brother and che guevara, and just a handful of others. but for the force of his personality managed to broaden the appeal, hook up with the urban revolutionaries in oppositionon and bringng about s extraordinary revolution. he surviveddssassinatition attempts. he might have actually been killed at the bay of pigs. members of the brigade had him in t t rifle sights. he survived therere, survived te missile crisis in n which the kennedy admiministrationon was a most ready to obliterate cuba to takeke out theovoviet missiles. turned hishe way, he country upside down. there's going to be a lot of debates and there is debate right now over the legacy of his repression, his economic decisions, even he later in life

acknowledged the model he is set forward wasn't successful in the end for cubans over the long term. but he will be remembered for zynga's is on health care, education, and certainly his uncompromising commitment to independence and sovereignty. and the legacy of his discussions with the united states shows this extraordinary commitment. at one point, the carter administration sent a secret negotiating team down to talk to him and they basically said, we will lift the embargo if you get out of africa. he said in response, you know, i don't accept the united states gets to operate by one set of rules and cuba, smaller country, is being told operate by a second set of rules. the revolution meant independence for our governance and are foreign policy, and that is what we are going to pursue.

and he pursued that until the very end. amy: i want to turn to the relationship between castro and nelson mandela, of course, the south african president in prison for decades himself. in 1991, a year after he was and a few years before he became president, nelson mandela visited cuba t to thank presidet fidel castro. this is when they first met. anything, youay must tell me e when you're comig to south africa. >> the sooner the better 11/28/16 11/28/16 .

>> when n are you coming? visited my south african homeland. i love it as a homeland. homeland as i love you. amy: that was nelson mandela imploring fidel castro to come to south africa. in this is fidel castrtro speakg in south africa in 1998. >> that south africa be a model of the more just and more humane

future. [applause] if you can d do it, we willll ae able to do it. amy: that was fidel castro speaking in south africa. and before that, nelson mandela just after he got out of jail, visiting castro in cuba to invite him to south africa. bill fletcher, talk about the relationship of cuba, fidel castro come up with the continent of africa and liberation struggles there. >> is interesting because there was a special relationship that existed between the cuban revolution in africa from almost the beginning. the cubans were very supportive of the algerian struggle against the french, which seceded in 1962. they went on to support the

various anticolonial movements in africa, including the anti-portuguese movements. they were unquestioning in their support for the anti-apartheid struggle inin south africa. it is the angolan struggle that receives a lot of attention. and one of the things that was not understood at the time by many of us in the united states, including many of us on the left, was that in cuban troops went to angola, they did not go at the behest of the soviet union. in fact, the soviet union was not in favor of cuban troops going there. the cubans went there out of a sense of solidarity. they actually believed in solidarity. they went there to stop the invasion that was in the process of taking place between -- by

the south african apartheid troops and their allies in the fmla. this relationship has been very strong. you could tell in the words of this bond,ndela, this love for the cuban people, the cuban revolution. that bond also translated into filling in black america of the certain kind of bond come the certain kind of support for the cuban revolution, feeling this was a revolution that paid attention to africa, but also paid attention to the struruggle around racism within cuba -- although, obviously, the research limitations to that but i would a cuba probably made the greatest advances in the struggle a around racism of any country in the western hemisphere. amy: to turn cuba's role in to angola, this is a clip from the 2001 documentary "fidel: the untold story," directed by estela bravo. you hear the narrator vlasta vrana first.

>> right from the beginning, cuba's revolutionary ideals not only spread throughout latin america, but also forged strong has with national liberation leaders. >> when the regular south african troops invaded angngola, we could notot stand by and do nothing. when the mpla asked for our help, we offer them the help they needed. >> in 1975, as angolaa move towards independence from portugal, the cia, along withh the apartheid govovernment of south afafrica, tried to bring down the new angolanan governmn. at the request of the angolan president, fidel and 36,000 troops to keep the south african

forces froattackining rwanda, the capital. for many cubans, whose ancestors were african slaves, thehe fight inin angola was a way to repaira debt to history. in 14 years of war, over 30000,0 cubabans, doctors, teacherers ad engineers asas well asoldiers, played an imimportant role in angola will stop more thahan 200 lost their liveses. in 1988, fididel sent in more cuban troops for the e decisive battle and dirirected operatiois from cuba. the defeat of the south african army drove a large nail into the coffin of apartheheid and helped advavance the struggle of the south african people. amy: that is a clip from the 2001 documentary "fidel: the untold story," directed by estela bravo. now let's go to the film "cia and angolan revolution." in this clip, former secretary of state henry kissinger explains why the u.s. was concerned about the cuban troops that fidel castro had sent to

fight in angola. after kissinger, you'll hear fidel castro himself. >> we thohought t that the sovit union could intervene a at such diststances, from areas that wee far from the t traditional secucurity concerns, and then cuban forces could be introduced to rebels but if the west could not find a counter to that, then the whole international system could be destabilized. >> it was a questition of globalizing our struggles also vis-a-vis, the globalized pressures and hararassment of te u.s. in this respect,t,id not coincide with the cobia -- sovietet viewpoint. we acted. but without the cooperation.

quite the opposite. amy: that from the film "cia and angolan revolution." bill fletcheher, as we wrap up this s stion on cuba and africa? >> there's a story i heard about what happened in angola on the night of independence. there was panic in the capital. south african troops and their allies were approaching, and no one knew what was going to happen. and then at midnight, people .ent down to the docks and out of the darkness came cuban troops, cuban ships, that then landed troops. and they look on the face of the person who told me the story, who witnessed this, something i will never forget. the sense that they had been saved at a critical moment in an act that had not been driven by the soviet union, but have been driven by a belief in solidarity

and a particular relationship between cuba and africa. and that is something that the u.s. mainstream media iss compmpletely ignoring at this moment. amy: che guevara would be in africa, , right, fighting -- leading cuban forces before he would ultimately die in latin america. that is correct. you want to the democratic republic of the congo and was fighting the neocolonial regime that ironically, he was working cabilla in the begininning. but the forces that were poorly organized. they were not really ready to carry out a revolution, and the cuban advisors withdrew ultimately because the conditions were not right. amy: speaking about che, i thought i would turn right now to che guevara. i want to go to another clip from the film "fidel: the untold story," directed by estela bravo.

this is fidel castro talking about che guevara filling his execution n in bolivia in 1967. >> i dream abobout him offten. i dream tthat i am talking to him, that hehe is alivee. it is a veryry special thing. it is hard to accept the facact that he isis deaead. that? i would say it is becauause he s always present. always preresent everywhere. amy: in 1997, three decades after he was killed, che's remains were found and returned to cuba. castro talked more about him in the film "fidel." > dream abobout him often.

i am talking to him, thahat he is alive. it is a very spepecial thing. it is hard to o cept the factt that he is dead. that? i wouldld say it is because he s waways p present. always present everywhere. amy: that from "fidel." we're going to go to break and come back and talk about the effect of cuba and fiidel castro and che guevara in latin america. we look at the life and legacy of fidel castro will stop he died on friday at the age of 90. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're hosting a roundtable discussion of fidel castro, who died friday at the age of 90. we're speaking with bill fletcher, who is the founder of the black radical congress, peter kornbluh of the cuba documentation project and professor lou perez, jr., author of "cuba in the american imagination: metaphor and the imperial ghosts." lou perez, jr., talk about the effect of fidel castro in latin america. we just left this conversation .bout che guevara, his death talk about what che guevara was

doing there, what he was doing for fidel, and what fidel overall, fidel castro was doing in latin america beyond cuba. >> the power of fidel castro in the cuban revolution stands as a theomenon of resisting american push back against a cuban revolution. it is in a region that had been repeatedly intervened militarily , mexico in the central america, central america, political .eddling, economic intervention the example of cuba, especially with the failed invasion of the bay of pigs, which contributed powerfully to the consolidation and centralization of power in the cuban celebrated the bay of pigs as the first defeat of impeperialism in the ameriricas. and that projection, that

victory, just reverberated across latin america and perhaps more than anything else, the capacity to resist intervention, perhaps it was indeed possible. may be and isbans part of the new world, that idea of being able to affirm autonomy, agency, self-determination, national sovereignty just resononated across latin america. che guevara takes the model of the e cuban guerrilllla war, , e idea that a small handful of people enter t themselves -- inr themselves in a latin american country, can create the subjective conditions of revolution, and from that would expand a revolutionary movement

ththat would eventually prevaill and claim victory will stop che guevara modeled a r revolution essentially is a replplication f the cuban guerrilla war duringg 1957 and 1958. amy: and talk about what happened with che guevara in bolivia and what that meant to fidel castro in the cuban revolution. >> the capture and execution of che guevara really dealt a body of ththehe whole idea ararms strtruggle in latin n am. itit would not b be untntil t te victoryy in 191979 where you do have a triumph of ththe guerrila movement. after the defeat and the death of che gueuevara, the cubans turned more toward domemestic issues. thesese are the years of e big push for the economy.

this is the year the disastrous -- and between the death of che 1970, it is possible to take a look at those set of years -- really determining moments that alter the trajectory of the cuban revolution. amy: i want to turn to today and the response of the u.s. leaders. you had president obama actually tweeting i believe after donald trump, the president-elect did, first he tweeted "fidel castro is dead!" then condemned the late cuban leader. in a statement issued hours after castro's death, the statement read -- not clear who wrote it or tweeted it -- "the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his people for nearly six decades.

firing squads, theft, unimimaginable suffering, denial of fundamental human rights." trump am senior adviser, kellyanne conway. >> we're allowing commercial aircraft. pretend we're doing business with the cuban people when really we are doing business with the cuban military. he as been very clear that the major priority now is to make have the same freedoms that cubans here in america have, which is political, religious, and economic freedom. make sure they are finally free and make sure the american fugitives face the law. amy: that is kellyanne conway. you responduh, can to her description and also talk about what this means for today as this all takes place in this period leading into donald trump presidency and what this means? >> i can. but let me just follow up on lou perez, jr.'s point by saying

news verynecdote when early saturday morning came in that fidel castro had died, i spoke to a very special friend of mine from peru and she said to me, for most of my life, he was a hero to me for standing up to the united states. and certainly throughout latin america and much of the third world, that, i think, was a prevalent thought about fidel's passing. he stood up to the u.s., gay pride, nationalism, self determination, sovereignty, independence to cuba. it also created a model and an aspiration for many other people, many other countries in the third world that had been under the sum of the united states for many years. we're in a very delicate moment right now with the election of donald trump. in september, trump went to miami and tried to garner votes by saying he was going to resend

and reverse all of the executive orders of barack obama had made to move the process of normalization in relations with cuba forward. and that he would reverse those, that process, unless the cubans gave in to our demands. gave in to our -- made concessions. i can tell you from being in cuba often, the word "concession" is a true four letter word in cuba. at least -- it leaves almost explosive negative reaction will stop that cuba would make any concession to the united states. that is the pride they have in their revolution. what obama has done is not made a bad deal with cuba. he is not made any deal with cuba at all. he is said to the cubans, we're going to move forward in the interest of u.s. policy, and the interest of our relations with the rest of latin america, and in our own interest that we should have a different relationship with you and we

think it will have an impact on our society, your economy, and on your politics over the long-term. that we are going to move forward for normal relations. if you wantn us wit and if you don't want to, you don't have to. cubans have always had normal relations with the united states. classified history of fidel reaching out to the u.s. and between speeches denouncing imperialist yankees is very clear in the book that rio grande and i did "back channel to cuba." he wanted validation for having a peaceful coexistence with the united states. and as lou perez pointed out, cuba purported not to live in the shadow -- preferred not to live in the shadow from the colossus of the north. they would much prefer not to have the threat of u.s. intervention hanging over them. and that is what normal relations would eventually mean to them. and now we have a situation where trump may want to roll back these great gains, at this

very moment with these direct flights to havana and tens of thousands of americacans -- amy: landing as we speak for the first time, direct flights. >> this is a dramatic moment and a moment in which u.s. citizens and citizens around the world are going to have to really organize to press for continuation of this very important process of peace and dignity and harmony between the u.s. and cuba, which is now being threatened by the position of the incoming president donald trump. amy: and your response to the description of fidel castro as a brutal dictator, peter? >> well, listen, fidel castro was an authoritarian and rolled with an iron fist. there was repression and is repression in cuba. argument, he did it in the name of a different kind of democracy, a different kind of freedom, the freedom from

illness, freedom from racism, freedom from social inequality. and cuba has a lot of very positive that a lot of countries we don't talk about don't have. dang violence -- there is an gang violence, people are not being slaughtered i guns every day. they defeated the zika virus right away. there is universal health care. and universal education. this is the debate over the lelegacy of fidel castro. amy: we have to leave it there but i thank you so much for being with us. we will continue this discussion. thank you to peter kornbluh, director of the cuba documentation project at the national security archive. co-author of "back channel to cuba: the hidden history of negotiations between washington and havana." thank you to lou perez, jr. professor of history at the , university of north carolina at chapel hill. "cuba in the american imagination: metaphor and the imperial ethos."

bill fletcher, author of "black america and the pas

annenberg media ♪ provided by: narrador: bienvenidos al episodio 43 de destinos: an introduction to spanish. primero, algunas escenas de este episodio. no puedo dejar de comparar tu vida con la mía. mientras tú tienes una posición estable en la universidad yo no he podido conseguir eso. tú diriges obras de teatro, y yo... escribo artículos que ni siquiera sé si alguien los lee. ¿y raquel? debe estar en su habitación.

después la llamo. tal vez tenga ganas de salir. bueno. podríamos ir todos a conocer la ciudad. yo hago de guía. iay sí, vamos! pero antes tengo que llamar a puerto rico. mercedes: ianimo, papá! ya verás que pronto estaremos de regreso. mañana, ¿eh? si no mañana, yo mismo me levanto y tomo el avión. sí, ya lo dijiste. pero no será necesario. creo que exageras. parece que la enfermedad de tu padre no te deja ver las cosas con claridad. en este episodio, van a aprender vocabulario y expresiones relacionados con los viajes. me gustaría hacer reservaciones para cuatro personas. ¿para cuándo, señor? para el próximo fin de semana. ihuy! es muy pronto. eh, primero creo que debo de preguntar si hay vacantes. si no hay en el sol caribe vacantes

las habrá en otro hotel. en cozumel hay muchos hoteles muy buenos además del presidente. ¿el plan incluye el vuelo en avión? sí. el precio incluye viaje de ida y vuelta en avión más tarifas, más impuestos y tres días y tres noches en el hotel. entonces, ¿le hacemos su reservación? sí, pero tengo que consultarlo con una amiga. ella no sabe nada de todo esto. captioning of this program is made possible by the annenberg/cpb project and the geraldine r. dodge foundation. hola, raquel. i¿luis?! sí, raquel, soy yo.

ivaya sorpresa! en el episodio previo, raquel recibió una sorpresa una sorpresa relacionada con su pasado. durante la cena, arturo observaba a luis y luis también observaba a arturo. vaya. ¿y qué hacías tú en buenos aires? asuntos de trabajo. hacía una investigación. es una larga historia... raquel se encontraba en una situación difícil. gracias, es un regalo de arturo. mientras tanto, juan regresó a nueva york para buscar a pati. pero no la encontró en el apartamento. ilaura!

pati estaba trabajando. ( actores gritan ) iya! iya! iya! muy bien, muy bien. finalmente raquel, arturo y luis salieron del restaurante y regresaron al hotel. ya que don fernando no vuelve hasta pasado mañana tenemos el día libre mañana, ¿no es cierto? es verdad. raquel, ¿no llegan mañana tus padres? con que de argentina, ¿no? sí. fue entonces cuando raquel por fin comprendió por qué luis hizo el viaje a méxico. en su habitación, raquel analizaba la situación mientras arturo y luis hacían lo mismo. ( teléfono suena )

¿bueno? raquel, ¿estabas dormida? no, luis, todavía no. me gustaría verte ahora, ¿sabes?, a solas. tengo algo para ti. ¿ahora? sí. ¿no te animas? no, luis, disculpa, pero estoy muy cansada. bueno, está bien. pero prométeme que hablaremos mañana... a solas. sí. te lo prometo. hasta luego. adiós. mientras tanto, en nueva york, pati regresa a su casa.

no sabe nada de la sorpresa que la espera. iay! ijuan! ime asustaste! perdona. ¿cuándo llegaste? hace como dos horas. pero, ¿a tu papá...? no te preocupes, no ha pasado nada. sólo vine a verte. te erañé.

¿mucho? pues, sí. y tú a mí, ¿no? bien sabes que sí. ¿cómo van tus asuntos? me alegro de haber regresado. hoy manuel me dijo que si yo no hacía unos cambios la obra no se estrenaría. no tenía idea. ¿y qué piensas hacer? le dije que considerara eso muy bien-- que los periódicos estarían muy interesados en un caso de censura. pati... he estado pensando. ¿sí? no estoy contento con mi carrera... con mi profesión. no puedo dejar de comparar tu vida con la mía. mientras tú tienes una posición estable en la universidad

yo no he podido conseguir eso. tú diriges obras de teatro, y yo... escribo artículos que ni siquiera sé si alguien los lee. tal vez... tal vez lo que siento es envidia. no siento que soy necesario. ¿necesario? sí, necesario. ¿no ves? tú tenías que regresar a nueva york porque eres necesaria. te necesitaban para continuar con la obra. en cambio, yo... a ti te necesitan en méxico. ¿quién sabe? creo que exageras. parece que la enfermedad de tu padre no te deja ver las cosas con claridad. ¿no crees?

al día siguiente, en la clínica de la universidad de guadalajara... ianimo, papá! ya verás que pronto estaremos de regreso. mañana, ¿eh? si no mañana, yo mismo me levanto y tomo el avión. sí, ya lo dijiste. pero no será necesario. mañana regresamos los dos juntos. ¿no me vas a dejar aquí sola, verdad? buenos días.

buenos días, señor. ¿qué se le ofrece? estoy pensando en pasar unos días en la playa. muy bien. ud. es argentino, ¿no? sí, soy de buenos aires. estoy aquí por un rato y quería aprovechar un fin de semana para conocer una playa. bueno. sabrá que aquí en méxico hay muchas playas y lugares de vacaciones. cozumel está en el caribe, ¿no? agente: sí, señor. es una pequeña isla, muy linda y el buceo es algo que hay que ver. ¿cuántos irán? seremos dos... no, no seremos cuatro. ¿necesitarán una habitación para cuatro? no. necesitaremos tres habitaciones: una para dos personas, y dos individuales. ¿le interesa cozumel? sí. tenemos diferentes planes. ¿quiere ud. un plan económico? aquí ofrecemos...

perdone, pero me gustaría un plan que incluya los mejores hoteles. perfectamente, señor. aquí tenemos un plan que incluye el hotel sol caribe. es un hotel de cinco estrellas. en cada habitación tiene baño privado con ducha. todas las habitaciones tienen vista al mar. el hotel tiene canchas de tenis, una piscina muy grande, jardines y playa privada. me parece muy bonito. también está el hotel presidente. también es de cinco estrellas. ¿cuál me recomienda? bueno, yo prefiero el sol caribe. muy bien. me gustaría hacer reservaciones para cuatro personas. ¿para cuándo, señor? para el próximo fin de semana. ihuy! es muy pronto. eh, primero creo que debo de preguntar si hay vacantes. si no hay en el sol caribe vacantes las habrá en otro hotel. en cozumel hay muchos hoteles muy buenos

además del presidente. sí, felipe gonzález de la oficina de turismo. necesito tres habitaciones para el próximo fin de semana: una doble y dos individuales. ¿cuántas? bien. perfecto. muchas gracias. tiene suerte. hay varias vacantes. ¿y cuánto tiempo piensan quedarse en cozumel? el fin de semana, nada más. ¿el plan incluye el vuelo en avión? sí. el precio incluye viaje de ida y vuelta en avión más tarifas, más impuestos y tres días y tres noches en el hotel. ¿entonces, le hacemos su reservación? sí, pero tengo que consultarlo con una amiga. ella no sabe nada de todo esto. está bien. puede hacer ahora

una reservación sin compromiso pero la tiene que confirmar mañana a más tardar. muy bien. hablaré con mi amiga esta noche y mañana vengo a confirmar... y pagar. muy bien. su nombre, por favor. arturo iglesias. y los nombres de las otras personas... ah, raquel rodríguez... raquel: les pido a las primeras cien estrellas que veo esta noche que podamos encontrar a angel en puerto rico.

arturo: yo también les pido lo mismo y que esta persona, esta mujer sea parte importante de mi vida y que yo sea parte importante de su vida también. luis: ¿no te alegras? es un buen trabajo... una gran oportunidad. pero, luis, eso significa que tienes que irte a vivir a nueva york. iclaro! inos vamos a nueva york! yo no puedo, luis. me falta un año para graduarme. yo no puedo irme ahora. pero es que yo tengo que ir. quiero irme. no pienso perder esta oportunidad. sí... entiendo.

buenos días. buenos días, señor. ¿se le ofrece algo? sí, por favor. quiero hacer reservaciones para dos para ir a zihuatanejo. ¿para cuándo, señor? para este fin de semana... no, digo para el próximo. mmm. ¿cuánto tiempo piensa quedarse? unos dos o tres días nada más. pues, le podemos ofrecer un plan que incluye el hotel las palmas que... ¿no hay unas cabañas? un amigo me habló de unas cabañas en zihuatanejo. ah, sí... las urracas. son ideales para la gente que quiere pasarse unas vacaciones románticas. pues, eso es lo que yo quiero, ¿eh?

mi amiga no sabe nada de esto. será una sorpresa. cuidado con las sorpresas, ¿eh? ayer estuvo aquí un hombre que tuvo que cancelar su fin de semana en acapulco por no haberlo consultado con su esposa. pero en este caso, no habrá ese problema. bueno. entonces, le hago unas reservaciones para dos personas el próximo fin de semana. las cabañas incluyen un baño privado... su desayuno, señor. gracias. angela: ihola! ibuenos días! ¿qué tal? buenos días. ¿durmieron bien? ihuy, sí! yo estaba cansadísima. dormí como una piedra. yo también dormí muy bien. me siento como nuevo. a los dos les hacía falta descansar.

¿y raquel? debe estar en su habitación. después la llamo. tal vez tenga ganas de salir. bueno. podríamos ir todos a conocer la ciudad. yo hago de guía. iay sí, vamos! pero antes tengo que llamar a puerto rico. raquel: hola. todos: hola. buenos días. ven a desayunar con nosotros. no, no, siéntate, por favor. tengo que hacer algunas cosas. regreso en seguida. raquel, estábamos planeando ir a conocer la ciudad con roberto como guía. iqué bien! bueno, ahora regreso. todos: mmm. gracias. los señores también van a desayunar. gracias.

buenos días. buenos días, señorita. quisiera informarme sobre un viaje. ¿adónde? a guadalajara. somos tres, posiblemente cuatro. ¿y cómo prefieren viajar? en avión. ¿y cuándo es el viaje? para el próximo fin de semana. prefiero salir el viernes por la mañana. en la mañana hay varios vuelos.

hay uno a las 9:30 de la mañana que tal vez le convenga. hay muchos asientos disponibles todavía. ¿y cuándo volverán? no estoy segura todavía. en ese caso, se le puede ofrecer un viaje barato. ¿y si regresamos a méxico el lunes? en ese caso se le podría dar un viaje más barato. está bien. tengo parientes en guadalajara, pero quisiera saber qué hoteles me recomienda. quiero uno de los mejores. el hotel camino real es uno de los mejores. ¿qué tipo de habitación prefieren? pues, querríamos tres habitaciones: una habitación doble y dos individuales. está bien, pero para confirmar hay que pagar el 50% de anticipo. está bien. creo que es todo. ¿será muy tarde mañana para confirmar la reservación? en este caso no lo creo.

el turismo para guadalajara en este momento está un poco flojo. pero déjeme revisar los vuelos una vez más. es posible que haya una tarifa mejor. ihola! sí, ¿qué tal, tío jaime? ¿cómo están todos por allí? sí, raquel me dio tu mensaje. no, mira, lo del apartamento... pues, todavía no hemos hablado. por ahora es mejor que no hagas nada. sí, de acuerdo, tío. yo también creo que hay que pensarlo mejor antes de decidir. aquí está toda la información. muchas gracias. mañana podré confirmar la reservación o posiblemente esta tarde.

muy bien. adiós. adiós. bueno, ahora todo parece muy tranquilo pero anoche, ihuy! iqué situación! luis había llegado de los estados unidos y... bueno, pero uds. recuerdan quién es luis, ¿no? es mi ex-novio. bueno, pues, luis llegó y tuve que invitarlo a cenar conmigo y con arturo. imagínense, yo entre estos dos hombres. después, fuimos al hotel y subimos a nuestras habitaciones. yo apenas me había preparado para dormir cuando sonó el teléfono. ¿y quién era? ¿angela, arturo o luis?

( teléfono suena ) ¿bueno? raquel, ¿estabas dormida? raquel: era luis. no, luis, todavía no. era luis que quería verme. dijo que tenía algo para mí. ¿vi a luis anoche o no? tengo algo para ti. ¿ahora? sí. ¿no te animas? no, luis, disculpa, pero estoy muy cansada. no, no vi a luis. no quise. después de esa cena, estaba yo muy cansada.

bueno. le prometí verlo hoy. no sé cuándo, pero voy a verlo. mientras en méxico raquel hablaba con luis por teléfono en nueva york, juan esperaba a pati en el apartamento. ¿sabía pati que juan había llegado de méxico o no? iay! ijuan! ime asustaste! perdona. ¿cuándo llegaste? hace como dos horas. pati no sabía que juan había llegado de méxico. juan y pati hablaron de su matrimonio y del futuro.

no puedo dejar de comparar... durante la conversación, juan dijo algo que él había comprendido en la gavia. ¿recuerdan? ¿qué había comprendido juan? tal vez... tal vez lo que siento es envidia. bueno, había comprendido que tenía envidia de pati y de su carrera. ahora volvamos a raquel. bueno. tengo estos folletos. son de turismo. yo vine aquí esta mañana para pedir información sobre un viaje a guadalajara con mis padres.

pero estoy muy enojada con mi mamá por lo de luis. no sé qué voy a hacer. bueno. tengo que regresar al hotel. se me hace tarde. ¿a quién llamas? a jorge. mujer: ialó! ialó! ¿quién es? ah... perdone. creo que me equivoca de número. quería hablar con jorge. mujer: un momento, por favor. ¿cómo? mujer: que espere un momento.

lo voy a llamar. captioned by the caption center wgbh educational foundation