Fidel Castro- a dictator or just passionate revolutionary.

It's hard to know where to place Fidel Castro in the annals of the history book. Castro, who died today at the grand old age of 90 was either a dictator or passionate revolutionary. Castro was undoubtedly charismatic to his finger nails and up until to his last days in power it still seems hard to categorise him. Was he a bully, a brutal dictator or just a political activist who spent the best part of his life rallying his nation and punching his fists triumphantly and then accepting all the high fives of praise and flattery when things were going well in Cuba?

I claim no in depth knowledge of any historical figure as such and would be deeply unqualified to pass any considered comment on the man. But throughout the decades it always seemed that Castro was determined to leave his military and political legacy wherever he went. It is hard to think of him as some bloodthirsty leader intent on wreaking havoc and wreckage on all and sundry.

Castro though always seemed to have the ear of influential prime ministers or presidents and was never short of opinion or controversial statement. He could be, I suspect, both fanatical, dangerous, dogmatic and according to some of his friends or foes, a dreadful and deplorable man. But that didn't stop him from leading his Cuban nation to greatness and then possibly failure. Castro must have been a contradiction in terms at times, ruthlessly powerful and a man who simply trampled upon those who disliked him in one moment then kind to those who liked him. But then I could be wrong. Maybe Cuba and Castro were meant for each other. Fidel Castro was a leader of many decades and seasons.