Fidel Castro's Family, Ideology and Regime

Essay by maxhackHigh School, 11th grade May 2004

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Fidel Castro's Family

Very little is known about Fidel Castro's family. Castro, unlike most communist dictators never promoted a 'cult of the leader'. In fact Castro promotes what some call a reverse cult of the leader; his regime promotes dead revolutionary heroes such as Che Guevera and Camilo Cienfuegos on everything from statues to key chains to t-shirts sold to tourists. Though his power is unchallenged, and phrases from his lengthy speaches are often quickly adopted as national slogans, the Cuban media is strictly prohibited from reporting on Castro's personal life. Castro claims this is for securities sake given the more than 600 assassination attempts he says the CIA and Cuban exiles have mounted against him since 1959.

I found several sources that seemed to disagree on Castro's immediate family however several of them said Fidel has 6 sons and only ever 1 wife. His wife is named Dalia Soto del Valle and his children (all boys) are named; Fidelito, Angel, Antonio, Alejandro, Alexis and Alex.

Castro is reported to have had several affairs throughout his reign that have produced offspring but that seem of no importance to Castro. Other than Fidel's brothers Raul and Ramon and his oldest son, Fidelito, none of the above hold and publicly visible jobs, wield any political power, and are unlikely to play a role in the succession to the 77 year old ruler.

Castro and his family live modestly considering the power Castro holds. They do not have huge castles or legions of sports cars. In fact, it is rumored that none of Castro's children even own cars. This illustrates somewhat Castro's devout belief in communism.

Castro's Ideology

Fidel Castro studied law at the University of Havana. He then campaigned for a parliamentary seat in the 1952 election, ultimately proving that Castro was...