As of 2003 Fidel Castro was still El Lider,a position he had held since 1959. Critics blast him for oppressing the Cuban people, specifically for refusing to allow meaningful elections to take place and for denying Cuban dissidents the right to speak out against his regime. As Tony Mendoza noted after a 1997 visit to Havana, "every Cuban I talked to was very clear about this: if you are vocal in your opposition to the regime, you end up in jail." Critics also lambaste Cuban communism because it has not created new wealth but merely redistributed existing wealth, and because the collapse of European communism "proves" that communism in general does not work. They dismiss Castro as being irrelevant, and call for his resignation so that a new leader can move Cuba forward into the modern age of free elections and free markets.

Supporters praise...