Habana 3/23 -- "Who is this new president?" a friend and fellow Spaniard asked over a quick lunch at Tia Sofias. "I've been hearing about him for decades, but I don't feel like I know who he is. There are so many rumors about him. Is he a fool or a demon or a hero or a genius? I guess we'll find out."
It is true that the people of Cuba know less about their incoming leader than they did about their founder and lionized leader since 1959. But Raúl Castro is no stranger to them. As a local journalist once quipped, "Fidel is the one who reads us bedtime stories; Raúl is the one who makes us sleep lightly."
Born the fourth of seven children and the youngest of three brothers, Raúl grew up meeker and less focused than Fidel. His classmates tagged him "la pulguita," the little flea. His radically different appearance from his siblings has fed rumors for decades that he and Fidel had different fathers. But in the incipiency of the revolution, Raúl found his fervor and his calling. It was he who nurtured a friendship with the legendary Che Guevara; it was he who most fervently championed the cause of communist revolution in Latin America.
When Fidel Castro rose to power, he placed his younger brother, Raúl, in charge of the military, a post he has held faithfully for almost half a century. Raúl Castro has proven to be an able administrator, a loyal champion of the regime, and a strict guardian of the tenets of the revolution. The brothers seem to have achieved a kind of "good cop, bad cop" routine, and Raúl has been known to kiddingly refer to himself as "Raúl the Terrible." He is alleged to have personally executed a top general, Arnaldo Ochoa, for treason in 1989.
Whether Raúl Castro's reputation for brutality has been softened with age (he is now 78) should soon become apparent. In the corridors of power in Havana today, this is a topic of much whispered conversation. Cuba knows this man, but does it know him well enough?
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